A recent trip to Canada's Prince Edward County and its thriving district of wineries led to a number of startling conclusions. One: Canadian wine? Who knew? Two: Canadian wine is really good.

Another revelation made while touring the area's wineries on a gorgeous blue-sky and sunshiny day? The hip, low-key look of the workers, from the chefs to the servers to the oyster shuckers at the Norman Hardie Winery is a funky style all its own.

Flannel shirts, cozy cardis, concert T-shirts, jeans and pants tucked into chunky hiking boots are great for braving the uneven, often wet, rustic landscape and a temperature that goes from hot to chilly depending upon where you are standing. The unique Norman Hardie style sensibility made a definite impression.

The look seemed to embody the spirit of this stunning section of Ontario: friendly, welcoming, unique and apt to make you do a double take with its element of cutting-edge cool coexisting with a sleepy smalltown vibe. With its trendy boutique hotels and cool coffee shops, Prince Edward County is a region of contrasts, where 5th-generation hardware stores rub up against "Portlandia"-style hip.

And nothing makes travel quite so rewarding as unexpected surprises, I think.