One of the County’s most highly anticipated wine and culinary festivals drew hundreds to the Loch Sloy Hangars at Picton Airport as Taste! Community Grown highlighted the trappings of local beverage producers, culinary artists and food growers on Saturday.

The family friendly festival hosted over 50 vendors who were lined up and down the hangar selling their ‘bounty of the county’, with hundreds of guests from near and far who came to enjoy the amenities of Taste.

The entrance was a greeting with smiles, orange pumpkins, squash and dried corn stalks as a ticket entitled participants to free parking, free workshops, a wine glass and tote bag, free art exhibits and entertainment for kids and adults.

Among the many vendors in attendance on Saturday was the Claramount Inn who paired award-winning maple smoked salmon on savoury lemon pepper biscotti and late summer corn relish with Norman Hardie Riesling.

The Acoustic Grill served pork tenderloin medallion marinated in County Premium Cider, grilled over apple wood chips, and paired with carrot and cucumber salad and County Cider Company’s Waupoos Draft Cider.

Brenda Alsop and Andrew Denyes were guests at the renowned festival and Alsop said “the festival is great, there was chocolate and cheesecakery bakery, we tried the County Bounty Sodas, local honey and we had a wonderful time.”

Prince Edward County-based restaurants, hotels, winemakers, brewers and farmers served diverse dishes such as grilled lamb poutine, maple pulled pork sandwiches, mini emu burgers, elk chili, spit-roasted wild boar, lamb consommé with truffled meat dumplings, and braised lamb and apple ravioli wrapped with eggplant.

Visitors sampled and sipped treats from the wineries, farmers, food vendors, breweries and cider companies.

Among the vendors included in the array of exhibitors were: Sandbanks Winery, Broken Stone Winery, Huff Estate Winery, By Chadsey’s Cairns Winery and Vineyard, Traynor Vineyards, Norman Hardie Wine, Terra Estate Winery, Three Dog Winery, Closson Chase Vineyards, Trail Estate Winery, Waupoos Estate Winery and Karlo Estate.

Farmers included Kricklewood Farm, Jubilee Forest Farm, The Prince Edward County Honey Company, Melody’s Garden, Portland Bridge Pickling Society, Fifthtown Cheese, Loyalist Jams, Millefleurs, Lavender and Honey Farm, Sunnydale Famrs, Pyramid Ferments, Viticult Foods and Cedar E Farms.

Food producers included Kaleidoscope Catering: A Moveable Feast, Mio Gelato, Kingston Olive Oil Co., Up in Smoke Pizza Co., Barb’s Handmade Pierogi, PapaGhanoushMommaHummus and The Waring House Restaurant & Inn & Cookery School.

Beer, cider and distilled spirits were dispensed by Kinsip House of Fine Spirits, Crimson Cider Company, Clafeld Cider House and Settlers Cider Co..

And artisans included Sprucewood Handmade Cookie Co., ARTeology, Centre & Main Chocolate Co., County Fare, Cheesecakery Bakery, RHONDA NORLAN ART, Essential Design – Lava Stone Diffuser Jewelry, Lakeside Dog Biscuits, Maggie’s Shortbreads and The County Bounty artisanal soda co..

“I love the festival! My husband and I have been coming to the county for about 20 years and we now spend our summers in the county and live now in Kingston, but we have come all the way from Oakville,” expressed Maddy Roppoli, long time attendee of the festival. “ I think it’s great to have all the wonderful bounty of the county here in one place and then you can go back and explore it again, it’s great! There was lots of wines, lots of new vendors and new locations I wasn’t aware of so that’s awesome!”

Taste! Community Grown 2020 is already being planned for next September.

For more information please visit http://www.tastecommunitygrown.com/