Take a drive over the border into Windsor, Ontario, then head out of town toward the Lake Erie North Shore and you will find yourself in Essex Pelee Island Coast wine country.
"It's kind of off the beaten path, lots of people have never been here before and they have no idea that it's so close," Megan Balsillie, co-owner of Farm Dog Cycles in Harrow, Ontario, said.
EPIC is home to 18 wineries.
Today at 6 p.m on Local 4: Ben Bailey shows us how local winemakers protect their vineyards from cold weather
Tom O'Brien, president and founder Cooper's Hawk Vineyards Winery in Harrow, Ontario, Canada, said the region is actually on the same latitude as northern California and Bordeaux, France, making it a great area for growing grapes. He said that over the last 50 years, growers have fine-tuned which grapes grow best in their region.
"A lot of the wines we produce in Ontario and at Copper's Hawk Vineyards are similar to the varietals you can get from Germany, you can get from France, not so much Italy and southern California because of the growing conditions, but cabernets, merlots, cabernet francs, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnays, reislings, pinot noir, these are the grapes that grow really well in Ontario," O'Brien said.
Stephen Mitchell, president of Sprucewood Shores Estate Winery, in Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada, said the region can grow fantastic red wines and white wines. He is also the president of the Essex Pelee Island Coast Wine Growing Association.
"You can find really ripe round Bourdeux reds, you can find delicious, crisp, fruity white wines that you find in northern Italy, south part of France, south part of Germany," Mitchell said. "Frankly, I think we're strong at everything."
Damian and Gilda Porcari of Royal Oak enjoy riding their bikes through the region. They have done so four times this year.
"The weather, the scenery, the people here are so nice, it's awesome," said Damian Porcari about why they like to visit the area. "These wines are terrific, especially the white wines."
O'Brien, who is also the president of the Southwestern Ontario Tourism Corporation, said 15 percent of visitors of EPIC wine country come from southeast Michigan and northwestern Ohio.
Porcari offers this up as to why more people should come and check it out.
"You can walk through the fields and see where they grew it, talk to the person that grew it and see how it was grown, know what's in it, what's not in it. It's just awesome," Porcari said. "Why would you travel, you know, 2,000 miles to San Francisco or 4,000 miles to Italy to do wine tasting when you can drive across the bridge?"
Five Dog Cycles was started by Megan Balsillie and Liam Brennan.
"We got married in the front yard, and all our friends came from out of town and asked if there was somewhere they could rent bikes or do wine tours, and there wasn't at the time, so we ordered 30 bikes, and five years later ,here we are," said Brennan about how the couple got the idea to start Farm Dog Cycles.
The company takes people on tours to local vineyards for wine tasting, or offers bike rentals.
"We just wanted to give them a different way, so when you tour by bike it's a bit slower, right, you have more time, you can see the road as you're going by it. There is more time to stop and ask questions," Balsillie said. "We like the small tours, too, so people get a more intimate experience."
There are several different ways to tour the region, including half-day, full-day, bus and trolley options. Click here to check a few of them out.
Mitchell said it's about getting people out to relax and enjoy themselves and have a wine experience.
"This is a lifestyle experience, when you come to a winery, it's not just about the retail experience of buying wine," Mitchell said. "When you come in, you can taste the wine, you can taste it together with food, you can learn about it."
Mitchell's winery has a beach front along Lake Erie.
"We've got paddle boarding going on, we've also got live music out by the water, people are outside sipping wine, enjoying picnic baskets you can purchase here, just enjoying a great day," Mitchell said.
"We know that people only come here maybe only once a year, but we want them to have a really positive experience, not only with the wines, but also with the foods, the grounds and the entertainment they can have here," O'Brien said.
"A number of the wineries now are attaching restaurants to it. We have tours, we have concerts here, we have plays here, we have a jazz series with Alexander Zonjic here," O'Brien said. "Were getting more and more B and Bs (bed and breakfasts) around here, there's a few small quaint hotels."
To see the accommodation options, click here.
O'Brien's winery is growing eight different types of grapes this season to make 23 different kinds of wine. Cooper's Hawk also opened its own restaurant, called The Vines.
Balsillie said there is also an emphasis on local food because horticulture is so prevalent in the region.
"The local chefs, a lot of them are local kids that grew up, the wine region was just starting and they saw that and got into culinary arts, and they're showcasing their home through their food, too," Balsillie said.
To make a visit to the region easier, there is an EPIC Passport that sells for $10. It lists all the wineries in the area, a map route to follow and discounts and special offers at the wineries. For more information, click here.