Who Are We?

The Grange is a small estate winery in Prince Edward County, Ontario. Ours is a family-run agribusiness established on an over-600-acre family farm purchased in the early 70s by my father, Robert Granger. Together, we began the third agribusiness situated on this original Loyalist farm.

I began the vineyard project in 1999 with a simple plan for 10 acres of vines. After a year of field preparation, we planted the first block on Victoria Day, 2001, with Chardonnay, Gamay and Pinot Noir grapes. I chose to start with these varietals because they perfectly suit both the calcium-based limestone in our clay-gravel soil and the region’s shortened growing season.

Today, with 60 acres under vine, the farm is home to 6 distinct vineyard blocks; plantings include Pinot Gris, Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc, and enough Pinot Noir to make it one of the larger vineyards in Canada. The Grange proudly participates in Sustainable Winemaking Ontario and, consistently conscious of environmental impact, the vineyard is run with Integrated Pest Management, a system designed to eliminate all unnecessary viticultural interventions. This has always been important to me because, while I was raising vineyards, I was also raising 3 children on our farm.

Wine production began with a vintage that won Prince Edward County’s first Ontario Wine Award: our Trumpour’s Mill 2003 Gamay Noir VQA. Other firsts for the Grange include the first Prince Edward County All-Canadian Championship Award for our Trumpour’s Mill 2004 Riesling and the first Cuvée award for the GPE 2007 Cabernet Franc. We were fortunate to break ground with the LCBO, first in the Go-To-Market program, then in Vintages and General list, with more releases to come.

The Grange embraces its corporate social responsibility and supports many Ontario-based community initiatives. From 2006 to present, the Grange has been the major sponsor for the Harvestin’ the County program, demonstrating our commitment to local, sustainable Canadian agriculture. New for 2010, the Grange has launched a yearlong campaign in support of Ontario Military Family Resource Centres across the province. With funds generated through all distribution channels – LCBO sales, restaurant sales, and revenues from tastings – our hope is to truly “support for the families of those who serve”!

- Caroline Granger