December 16 - Skye, Woods Contractor

Another post from my parents about one of our family dogs, Skye. I always tell people he is possibly one of the dumbest dogs I've ever know. I once saw him poop uphill...so all his business rolled back to him.

Each time we hike the brook, Skye likes to help with storm clearance. 

He works away on various dead falls and then chooses a favourite to bring home. 

This involves maneuvering through some tight spots and then waiting patiently for the slow pokes. 

He usually needs some help at the gate but then he is triumphantly home. He generally has a collection going on the lawn which, sadly for him, disappears each mowing day!

Thanks as always to my parents for their great contributions (And Skye as well I suppose!).

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Alan

Dec 13 (This Friday) - Carols by Candlelight

Another blog post, this time courtesy of a friend of my parents who also works with them on the Belleisle Bay Watershed Coalition, Diane.

The neighbourhood is invited to attend a carol service at an otherwise retired church, the Bethel United Baptist Church in Lower Kars on Rte 124, right at the curve in the road. Someone leave car lights on so that you can get safely into the church, everyone brings their own candles. There is no electricity. 

An ancient oil stove provides a minimal amount of heat, but you need warm winter clothes too. The carols are lovely. The brief sermon is given by a retired preacher. Afterwards people gather at the community hall fifty metres toward the bay for cookies and cider or tea.

I've never been to this event myself but from the way Diane describes it, it sounds like an exceptional experience. I've included the details below. Hopefully I can convince Sara to brave the chill at attend this weekend!

7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13th at Bethel United Baptist Church, Kars.

BYOC (Bring your own candle!) and a little plate of treats to share for afterwards (I wonder if I should bring some warm mulled wine?)

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Alan

December 8 - Stream Walking Behind the Winery

Another day out, another great blog post from my parents!

One of our favourite hikes is up the stream bed on the hillside behind the farm. We had built a very nice trail along this stream but Mother Nature had other ideas. Each big rain storm the stream bed is diverted again and washes out a bit of trail. So we and the dogs just enjoy what is left.

There is beautiful fall colour everywhere. We have a pond behind the farm which is fed by the brook. Skye has to have a lengthy swim and fetch every time we pass this way.

This is a fun landmark, we call it the bum tree.

A newly carved waterfall courtesy of Mother Nature after the rain. Our beautiful brook brings us joy every time we visit.

The stream is alive and always changing.  Its music as the water tumbles over the rock is ever changing and brings a sense of serenity.  The songs of the stream after a heavy rain is loud and shouting saying look at us and in the periods of little rain it is a whisper saying we are still here.

 Rod and Judy

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Alan

November 27 - Preparing New Brunswick's Top Wine

Our winery enters into wine awards each year. Most local wineries enter into the Atlantic Canada Wine Awards. There they win lots of medals which they tell their customers about. The problem we have with that is they are not challenging themselves. Putting yourself up against only Atlantic Canadian wineries doesn't mean you have to truly commit yourself to the art of winemaking. That is why our winery only enters national wine competitions as we want to stack ourselves up against the best in Canada (And in the coming year, we are going to enter international wine competitions).

 

As I mentioned above with the commitment to winemaking, we are always trying new techniques (Or very old ones!). As some of you know, our Premium Red vintages have won multiple awards across Canada including a double gold medal this year from the All Canadian Wine Championships. We believe that success was in no small part to it being Amarone wine.

 

This is a traditional wine made in the heart of the wine world, Italy. We start by handpicking select bunches of grapes from the vineyard and placing them in a cool, dark room. We then blow air on them for 1-2 months constantly.

The process involves partially drying the grapes (Called appassimento) which allows the grapes to concentrate their sugars as they start to shrivel. After that time period we collect the grapes and process them as we would any other grape.

We put the grapes through our crusher/destemmer (Always a messy business!)

And are left with a deep, dark, rich grape juice from which we can ferment a nice high alcohol while maintaining a smooth, silky flavour.

This was our third vintage of this wine. The 2010, comprising of Baco Noir and Marquette grapes, has aged phenomenally in the couple of years it has been in the bottle. The 2011, comprising Marquette and Marchal Foch grapes, was so delicious that when it was still in our oak barrels my father asked us to wheel one up to the house for his personal stash. This recent vintage is comprised solely of Marquette grapes and we have, as ever, high hopes for it. Don't forget that if you want to sample these or any of our fine wines the winery is open 12-5, Saturday and Sunday, year round. We also can arrange to ship wines to you.

 

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Alan