Ch 4 - Business Case: Prince Edward County (PEC)

Prince Edward County (PEC), a small peninsula in Lake Ontario about 125 miles east of Toronto, has become an emerging powerhouse of viticulture and gastronomy.54 With more than forty wineries, it is producing world-class pinot noir and chardonnay. Part of PECs appeal is that the area has a similar terroir to Burgundy, home to some of the most expensive and most sought-after pinot noirs on Earth. Like Burgundy, PEC is prized for its limestone bedrock, which lends a succulent and mineral taste to pinot noirs and chardonnays, and for its climate, where the warm summer temperatures slowly taper off into autumn, producing wines with strong acidity without being sickly sweet.55

Winemaking in PEC is costly and challenging. Because temperatures plummet to 30C in the winter, workers have to bury almost all the vines until spring to prevent them from freezing. It leaves the vines more vulnerable in the spring as the soil temperatures rise. Dehilling, the process of removing the dirt mounds, happens after the threat of frost has passed.

This is the worst place ever to grow grapes, says Lee Baker, a winemaker at Keint-He Winery & Vineyards on Loyalist Parkway, a lakeside road deep in the county. Youre running a higher budget than you normally would anywhere else, because your labour is so much greater. The burial process requires wineries to hire more workers than vineyards of a similar size elsewhere. But quality wise, its one of the best, he says. Its not that hard to make a brilliant wine out of these grapes, as long as you get them in here and theyre sound.56 Keint-He, named after the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, was partly funded by former Bank of Montreal Vice Chairman Ron Rogers. Its home to Prince Edward Countys oldest pinot noir plantingssome of them a ripe old 29 years of age.57

Keint-He has grown to keep up with demand. Over the past five years, production has risen from 800 to 5 000 cases per year, and thirty-seven acres are now planted instead of twenty-three. Along with that growth comes the need for continuous improvement in viticulture practices, such as pest management, improved irrigation, and innovative vine trellis systems.

Discussion Questions

1. How is the planning process in the wine industry similar to that in other manufacturing industries?

2. What kinds of contingency plans are required in the PEC wine region?

3. What growth strategies are most suitable for the PEC wine industry?