Name:
Location: Whitby, Ontario, Canada

Born in Malta but in Canada since age 5. Has written three books and presently does several columns about wine and food for various magazines.

Monday, September 26, 2011

September 19th Day Five: Poritz and Matos Winery Visits and Rocky Shore Pemium Seafood

Trip To Historic Clyde River: The Poritz Vineyards
Sydney Poritz was a likable fellow. When Tara, Roy and I drove into his home/vineyard we did not anticipate setting our feet on such hallowed and historical ground. The house he lived in went back some 200 years plus to 1810 and, until 1989 when Sidney purchased the house. Part of the original farm is still owned by the great granddaughter, Doreen Pound still lives with her spouse.
Such history! So much must have happened and so much experienced during those years.
Sydney lived in the house for twenty two years and then about four or five years ago decided to plant a vineyard.
His land sloped down towards the south onto the river and is planted with newer vines on the southern end and progressing to older vines as one moves back and towards the west of the house.
I mentioned that the whole setting reminded me of the Blomidon Winery in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley area. The only difference was that the land at Blomidon sloped into salt water where as the influence at the Poritz estate was fresh. The scene otherwise is much the same though the Blomidon vines were much more progressed and older.
The grape varieties raised were Marechal Foch, Marquette, Frontenac, L'Acadie Blanc and Joffre vines.
The one thing that amazed me was that this man was basically doing the work himself and this included his netting which is a tough job to begin with. For a young guy this would be a chore but this man Sydney Portitz was 73 years old. All I could say was God bless him. His enthusiasm, humility and genuineness was inspiring and refreshing to say the least.
Having finished with the Poritz Vineyards we went to visit a completely different winery that was taking significant risks and accepting new challenges.
Matos Winery
In 2007 Jamie and Heather Matos bought 50 acres of land in St. Catherine's (P.E.I.) to plant with vinfera vines bought from Burgundy France. Prior to that Jamie had run a 'Brew Your Own' business and did it well for 20 years. He decided to follow a dream and looked for places to plant a vineyard. He settled on Prince Edward Island and now has vinifera vines growing----some 16,000 of them. He says that his soil is loaded with the best nutrients and that he cares for the vines with TLC (Tender Loving Care) giving them what they need to survive. The Gamay, Chardonnay and Rose. Apart from the Chardonnay being a bit light, the wines were quite palatable. One suggestion I had was to allow the Chardonnay to gain some complexity and reduce acidity by leaving the wine on its lees for a period. Just a suggestion! I am sure that Jamie and Heather know what they want.
The equipment was first class and top of the line. His vines seemed healthy and he used some natural and artificial controls for weeds etc. Jamie stated he had no real insect problems.
Vinifera in Prince Edward Island seemed a risky proposition but I have been proved wrong before and will be very happy to learn that the Matos Winery has had a string of successful vintages. Only time, hard work and good weather will tell the story.
After the winery we headed up to Victoria By The Sea and to the Landmark Cafe. This place used to be a Grocery Store called Craig's Grocery but was turned into a restaurant. The atmosphere had a tinge of the middle-east with some ethnic dishes and music. I had a delicious soup and meat pie. Soon it was time to get on the road and go to the Rocky Shore Premium Seafood company which was also known as the Tong & Shuck.
Here Ted Boutiller showed us how to shuck oysters. i am afraid that I was not that good but Roy seemed a natural. Tara did well also. I sat in the corner waiting for my dunce cap but Erskine Lewis called us out to go on an oyster hunt. Actually, he took us to the oyster beds were and you could see them on the bottom when the boat we were in went over the beds.
They use a natural method of cultivation whereby dime size shells or "Seeds" are placed in the beds which have constant exposure to the tides which results in big, cup shaped shells. These shells remain on the bottom for about three to five years and then they are harvested. Because of the way they are naturally treated, such oysters can withstand being out of water for a period of up to three weeks. In fridges, they tend to hibernate. This means good quality for the consumer.
Collection from the boat was by rake like "Tongs" which look like two rakes facing each other. These tongs are light and open and close via hand/arm manipulation. They "grab" at the oyster bed entrapping groups of oysters from the bottom and are pulled up via the handle of the now closed tong. They are then released into a container and sorted. It was interesting to see that young oysters or seeds can attach themselves to anything that will support them such as mussel shells, rocks or even other oysters.
With oysters now picked, we headed back to land and back to the car. It certainly was interesting and fun. Most of all I enjoyed tasting the fresh oysters. We then drove back to our abode of the week and relaxed with our paperwork.
END OF DAY FIVE