The Grange of Prince Edward Winery Goes Home Again

The Prince Edward County’s new Estate Series wines are a welcome homecoming for the 20+ year-old winery.

Writer John Clegg

Photo by Reilly Donnelly

Although he has only been in the position since 2022, Jonas Newman, the winemaker at The Grange of Prince Edward winery, has already left his fingerprints all over the two most recent vintages of wine from the more than 20-year-old estate. Translating the vast knowledge he has gained at his cult-favourite Prince Edward County winery Hinterland Wine Company (where he also produces former Joe Beef owner David McMillan’s L’Imparfait Négociant line of wines), Newman is ushering in an exciting new era of high-quality winemaking at the Hillier property.

Founded in 2002, The Grange’s oldest vineyards date to 2001, which means they are practically antediluvian in terms of The County’s short winemaking history. Now The Grange has set its sights on bringing the best out of the mature vines that dot its 135-acre property, counting the vineyard as its North Star in a new and exciting era. The year before Newman was brought on board marked the return of veteran viticulturist Mike Peddlesden, who shepherded the vines through their infancy from 2002-2010, to The Grange. Tasked with “rejuvenating” the estate vineyards, Peddlesden has spent the last two years removing damaged vines, improving drainage, rehabilitating soil, fixing hedgerows to improve airflow, and planting cover crops.

Photo by Reilly Donnelly

Photo by Reilly Donnelly

These changes to the vineyard management, along with the property’s history, enticed Newman to take a leap of faith, wanting to see what he could do with the blue-chip fruit. He wanted the gig at The Grange for a couple of reasons, both of which had to do with the estate vineyards. “It’s a 22-year-old vineyard. You know, one of the older, more historic vineyards in The County,” Newman says of the enviable plantings. “And the right things are planted in the right places. So everything has the potential to be great.”

Prince Edward County is a cold-climate region, and Newman’s style of winemaking at The Grange takes advantage of the razor-sharp acidity and pure fruit flavours of the grapes grown there. The 2022 Farmer’s Series County wines, which use grapes purchased from throughout The County, are as good a rookie effort as can be. While clocking in at only 12.5 per cent alcohol, the pinot noir is remarkably powerful, balanced deftly between lithe underripe red fruit flavours and unctuous herbal qualities. The chardonnay shows a similar restraint. There is citric acidity that speaks to The County’s cool climate, but there is also an almost autumnal throughline based on a creamy desiccated apple quality.

Photo by Reilly Donnelly

Photo by Tara McMullen

However, it is with the recently released Estate Series that The Grange is finally seeing the combined skill sets of Newman and Peddlesden come together in the bottle. The 2023 Estate Pinot Gris is intended to take after the Alsatian style, providing complex, waxy stone fruit, honey, and mineral flavours that put to shame the often insipidly crafted wines made from the extremely popular grape. The 2023 Estate Rosé—a blend of gamay with small portions of pinot gris, pinot noir, and chardonnay—is perhaps the most prototypically “County” wine, with a ripping acidity that binds together the flavour profile of red fruit, salinity, and a refreshing jalapeño quality.

With Newman crafting such high-quality wines at The Grange, it almost prompts the question: Does he want to put his own esteemed winery out of business? According to him, the answer is not only no but also the opposite—he says that the more local wineries strive to produce wines that represent Prince Edward County terroir, the more interest consumers will have in the region as a whole. “My attitude is that we need to work together to get recognized internationally as just great wines from Ontario, not like any other place in the world.”