We had another lovely day at the Gryphon Ridge Highland Farm last Saturday – and as a treat we were invited to a wine tasting at Frogpond Farm, Ontario’s first certified organic winery.

A quick visit to their site shows that they are passionate about sustainability and clean energy. The owner, Jens,  gave us a tour of the vineyard and explained his philosophy of not using insecticides on the grapes, and returning to the land what he takes away from it, instead of using commercial fertilizers. It gets better – the entire farm is 100% powered by clean electricity from Bullfrog power.

The farm has (in addition to the frog pond) some sheep and ducks and a real jerk of an omega rooster whose behind is bereft of tail feathers because the alpha rooster keeps having to haul him off the hens. I couldn’t post this without mentioning him. The, er, ‘antics’ were hilarious.

Jerk.

We also got a tour of the wine presses and fermentation areas, and I learned that ‘oak cured’ means actually cured in an oak barrel instead of a steel chamber. Seems obvious, but I am totally a wine rookie.

We finished off the tour with a wine tasting where I confess I was giggly and silly after only 3 samples. In my defence, together they were practically a whole glass :) The wine is sweet and delicious and we walked away with one bottle each of the red, white, rosé and a non-alcoholic grape juice chardonnay.

If you live in the area, the weekend of the 22nd – 23rd there will be an event called ‘Art in the Vineyard’. Admission is free, and it’s 11am – 6pm on Saturday and Sunday. From the website:

Stop by the tasting bar for a glass of wine and then head out into the vineyard to discover exceptional work by Ontario Artists. As you explore you will find fabulous oil paintings, new favourite jewelry pieces, incredible mixed media and much more.

Check out their Facebook page to learn more!