New winery opening on P.E.I.

A new commercial winery is set to open next spring on Prince Edward Island.

The winery,the second in the province, overlooks the West River in St. Catherines, Queens County.

Owner Jaime Matos said he has worked in the wine business in Ontario. He now lives on the Island and said he wants to continue exploringhis passion for wine making.

He said he hopes his wine will appeal to Islanders and visitors.

"They're planted viniferas, imported from France," Matos said of the grapes. "Reds and whites and 10acres plus."

The grapes will be harvestedin a few weeksand Matos hopes to have his business open to the public next May.

The Island's existing wine producer is the Rossignol Estate Winery, located in Little Sands. John Rossignol founded it after he left Ontario for P.E.I. in 1990.He bottled his first product in 1994.

Rossignol now has a 45,000-bottle annual capacity, sellinga variety of fruit and table wines made from local produce.