When I grow up, I want to be like Norman Hardie. Let’s just ignore the fact that by most accounts I am already “grown up” and instead discuss how amazing Norman Hardie’s winery is. Not only does the winery produce some of the best wines in Prince Edward County, but it is also hosts a wood-fired pizza oven that produces amazing pizza. I don’t know if it was because of the beautiful vineyard setting, or maybe it was because I was with some of my very favourite people, but that pizza is probably the best I have had in Ontario.
Before I deep dive into the pizza, let’s back-up a bit. Early last week Byron and I headed out to Prince Edward County with Nick, Lauren and my nephew, Noah, so we could see what all of the fuss was about. I’d heard nothing but great things about The County and was quite excited to check it out. For those of you not in the know, Prince Edward County is a rural community on the shore of Lake Ontario, located about halfway between Toronto and Ottawa.
We stayed in an Airbnb in the Wellington area for 3 nights, and used that as a home base for checking out all that The County has to offer. We ended up visiting a handful of wineries, an artisan cheese maker and a cidery. I feel like we just scratched the surface and Byron and I are already trying to figure out when we can go back.
I enjoyed all of the different wineries that we visited, however Norman Hardie really took the cake for me. I enjoyed their wines the most, with my favourite being their Riesling, and I just can’t stop thinking about or talking about their phenomenal pizza.
We arrived at the winery at about 11:30 am and immediately put our name down for a table. The timing ended up working out pretty good actually, as we had about 20 minutes to wander around the winery and taste some wine at the tasting bar. Once my phone buzzed and we were notified that our table was ready, we sat down hungry and knowing exactly which type of wine we would want to enjoy with our pizza.
Nick and Lauren shared the Funghi and Margarita pizza. While Byron and I decided on the Napoli and Salsiccia de Bianca pizzas.
Funghi – fior de latte, oyster mushrooms, garlic and taleggio.
Margarita – tomato, fior de latte and basil.
Napoli – tomato, fior de latte, anchovies, basil and hot peppers.
Salsiccia de bianca – fior de latte, sausage, garlic, sautéed onions and hot peppers.
We had such a delicious meal at Norman Hardie; the pizza was outstanding, the wine was fantastic and the view was gorgeous. We were hoping to make a return trip before heading back to Ottawa, but sadly the pizza oven isn’t open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I guess that just means we’ll have to plan another trip back soon…
Happy Tuesday!
Life is Better Red 