Friday, June 12, 2009
Catch! Nova Scotia Seafood Festival
Christine White of the Wine Association of Nova Scotia has just given Gaspereau Vineyards four tickets for Catch! Seafood Festival June 27 - 28, 2009 at the Cunard Centre in Halifax. You can win these tickets by filling out a ballot at the winery boutique at 2239 White Rock Road, Wolfville Nova Scotia. We are open seven days a week from 9am to 6pm with complimentary tours at 12noon, 2pm, and 4pm daily. Complimentary tastings anytime! Please, feel free to drop into the winery and fill out a ballot to win these tickets. We will give the tickets away as two sets of two - therefore, we will have two winners! Draw date: Thursday June 25th at 5pm. You can not win if you don't enter! and enter often!!!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Bras d'Or Lakes Inn Wine Dinner June 27, 2009 - Only 12 seats left so call Rhoda right away!
Rhoda and Jean Pierre, owners of Bras d'Or Lakes Inn, will be hosting a Wine Dinner on June 27, 2009 featuring Gaspereau Vineyards and Jost Vineyards wines with guest speaker Gina Haverstock, winemaker at Gaspereau Vineyards. For reservations call Rhoda at (902) 535-2200 and for more information visit www.brasdorlakesinn.com. Menu -Cold puree of avocado withlime juice/zest, spinach, fresh herbs, and a chili salsa paired with Gaspereau Vineyards L'Acadie Blanc. Seafood appetizer of hickory-smoked shrimp on a curry blini with charred corn salsa, dressed frisee and radicchio greens, with a pita crisp paired with Jost Vineyards Habitant Blanc. Palate cleanser of Mango Sherbet. The Grand Entree is marinated whole quail filled with a savoury forcemeat of venison, pork and pine nuts, wrapped in smoked bacon, with a veal demi-glaze, served on a bed of wild rice pilaf; garnished with sauteed oysters and shitake mushrooms, with grilled white and green asparagus and paired with Gaspereau Vineyards 2007 Pinot Noir. Salad of arugula with fennel, granished with strawberry, toasted almonds and orange segments, dressed in a maple vinagrette paired with Jost Vineyards L'Acadie Pinot Grigio. Cheese Trio and then dessert chocolate parfait with cashew praline, carmelized Bosc pear flambeed with Grand Marnier and raspberry coulis, topped with whipped cream and paired with Jost Vineyards Framboise. Reserve your seats early for this event, you are not going to want to miss it!
Rhoda and Jean Pierre, owners of Bras d'Or Lakes Inn, will be hosting a Wine Dinner on June 27, 2009 featuring Gaspereau Vineyards and Jost Vineyards wines with guest speaker Gina Haverstock, winemaker at Gaspereau Vineyards. For reservations call Rhoda at (902) 535-2200 and for more information visit www.brasdorlakesinn.com. Menu -Cold puree of avocado withlime juice/zest, spinach, fresh herbs, and a chili salsa paired with Gaspereau Vineyards L'Acadie Blanc. Seafood appetizer of hickory-smoked shrimp on a curry blini with charred corn salsa, dressed frisee and radicchio greens, with a pita crisp paired with Jost Vineyards Habitant Blanc. Palate cleanser of Mango Sherbet. The Grand Entree is marinated whole quail filled with a savoury forcemeat of venison, pork and pine nuts, wrapped in smoked bacon, with a veal demi-glaze, served on a bed of wild rice pilaf; garnished with sauteed oysters and shitake mushrooms, with grilled white and green asparagus and paired with Gaspereau Vineyards 2007 Pinot Noir. Salad of arugula with fennel, granished with strawberry, toasted almonds and orange segments, dressed in a maple vinagrette paired with Jost Vineyards L'Acadie Pinot Grigio. Cheese Trio and then dessert chocolate parfait with cashew praline, carmelized Bosc pear flambeed with Grand Marnier and raspberry coulis, topped with whipped cream and paired with Jost Vineyards Framboise. Reserve your seats early for this event, you are not going to want to miss it!
Catch the NS Seafood Festival
July 27-28 at the Cunard Centre, Halifax
CATCH: The Nova Scotia Seafood Festival
www.novascotiaseafoodfestival.com
Come visit all the wineries of Nova Scotia (including Gaspereau Vineyards!) and sample the best that the ocean has to offer.
Mark your calendars, and we'll see you there!
CATCH: The Nova Scotia Seafood Festival
www.novascotiaseafoodfestival.com
Come visit all the wineries of Nova Scotia (including Gaspereau Vineyards!) and sample the best that the ocean has to offer.
Mark your calendars, and we'll see you there!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Rosé blending ban in Europe
The wine news from Europe this week has been focused around new legislation about Rosé. The result, to the relief of many winemakers, is a ban on blending whites and reds to produce a blush wine that is pink in colour and named Rosé.
For more information, please read: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/5479311/EU-agrees-to-keep-ros-wine-blending-ban-in-victory-of-old-world-over-new.html
The recent ban means that Rosés need to instead be produced in the traditional manner. Red wines are typically made by leaving the skins, seeds, and juices to ferment together before being pressed. Rosé wine is accomplished by removing the skins and seeds from the fermenting grape juice before too much colour, flavour, or tannin is added to the juice. As a result, this leaves the juice a light pink colour.
Gaspereau Vineyards is pleased to hear about the support for the traditional method! Here, we make our Rosé the same way; ours is the free-run juice from one of our dark grape varieties, Lucie Kuhlmann. We take away the skins so the juice doesn't end up as dark as our red wines, but it leaves a bit of beautiful pigmentation behind.
The bottom line from this news story out of Europe, though, is that the law makers were careful to pay attention to the interests of the vintners. Complaints were heard loud and clear, and it's an excellent precedent to set by favouring the wishes of the ones actually making the wine.
We wonder, what will come of future wine-making laws? Who will get to decide?
For more information, please read: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/5479311/EU-agrees-to-keep-ros-wine-blending-ban-in-victory-of-old-world-over-new.html
The recent ban means that Rosés need to instead be produced in the traditional manner. Red wines are typically made by leaving the skins, seeds, and juices to ferment together before being pressed. Rosé wine is accomplished by removing the skins and seeds from the fermenting grape juice before too much colour, flavour, or tannin is added to the juice. As a result, this leaves the juice a light pink colour.
Gaspereau Vineyards is pleased to hear about the support for the traditional method! Here, we make our Rosé the same way; ours is the free-run juice from one of our dark grape varieties, Lucie Kuhlmann. We take away the skins so the juice doesn't end up as dark as our red wines, but it leaves a bit of beautiful pigmentation behind.
The bottom line from this news story out of Europe, though, is that the law makers were careful to pay attention to the interests of the vintners. Complaints were heard loud and clear, and it's an excellent precedent to set by favouring the wishes of the ones actually making the wine.
We wonder, what will come of future wine-making laws? Who will get to decide?
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
News from Week of June 8
The weather is warming up here in the Valley! Tours are bustling and the vineyard is starting to look leafy and green!
We're looking forward to attending all the Annapolis Valley farmer's markets this coming week. Please join us at Kentville on Wednesday, Berwick on Thursday, Middleton on Friday, and in Wolfville on Saturday. We'll be offering samples at all locations.
And of course, this coming weekend we'll be featuring a food and wine pairing - this week, come try a taste of curry shrimp with our Gold Medal winning 2008 L'Acadie Blanc.
Other fun news from around the world:
Boxed wine appears to lower levels of a chemical that produces a bitterness in wine. Scientists are recommending boxed wine over the traditional corking and bottling methods. Read more at: http://www.digitalcity.com/2009/06/08/boxed-wine-tastes-better-says-science/
We're looking forward to attending all the Annapolis Valley farmer's markets this coming week. Please join us at Kentville on Wednesday, Berwick on Thursday, Middleton on Friday, and in Wolfville on Saturday. We'll be offering samples at all locations.
And of course, this coming weekend we'll be featuring a food and wine pairing - this week, come try a taste of curry shrimp with our Gold Medal winning 2008 L'Acadie Blanc.
Other fun news from around the world:
Boxed wine appears to lower levels of a chemical that produces a bitterness in wine. Scientists are recommending boxed wine over the traditional corking and bottling methods. Read more at: http://www.digitalcity.com/2009/06/08/boxed-wine-tastes-better-says-science/
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Food Security
Still thinking about organic food and related issues? Suggested further reading: "Band-aid solutions ineffective against problem of food security" http://tinyurl.com/qlwwwt
There's a lot that goes into what we eat - from the soil our food grows in, to the food itself, to chemicals that preserve it, to the whole production of shipments and sales. Our message can be boiled down to this: read your labels, make responsible decisions, and opt for local and healthy foods where possible.
Any thoughts? Other suggested reading?
There's a lot that goes into what we eat - from the soil our food grows in, to the food itself, to chemicals that preserve it, to the whole production of shipments and sales. Our message can be boiled down to this: read your labels, make responsible decisions, and opt for local and healthy foods where possible.
Any thoughts? Other suggested reading?
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
ORGANIC OR NOT?!?!!
The word "organic" has proven to be one of the most powerful words in today's market. But what does "organic" mean? Here at Gaspereau Vineyards, we meet people at the tasting bar on a daily basis who ask if our wines are organic. I always reply to them that "No, we are not producing organic wines, however, we are very conscious of the environment and we keep it as balanced as we can."
We participate in many farm markets in the Annapolis Valley and there are many organic farmers who participate as well. Organic food/wine is perceived as safer, more nutritious, fewer "harmful" residual chemicals because of less/different sprays, more "friendly" means of raising livestock, and more "sustainable" agricultural practises. In Ontario, they introduced ladybugs to help eliminate aphids in the vineyards but it unbalanced the equilibrium of nature and tainted the wines as well.
Our practises at Gaspereau Vineyards are designed to be as environmentally friendly as possible; we spray when necessary, only when necessary, and we only add nutrients into the soil that will restore the balance of nature, with the goal of keeping the soil sustainable instead of enhancing growth chemically.
All of us enjoy organic products and strongly believe in the practises of some farmers over others; however, I always read the label to ensure what I am purchasing, where it is from, and whether the product is organic or certified organic. I am also conscious of the fact that many of us must source produce from farms other than our own, some of which may not be organic or certified organic but do share the same sustainability beliefs that we do. Read your product labels, understand agricultural practises, understand where, how and why the products were sourced.
Organic is more a philosophy, not to be dismissed. However, being environmentally conscious is very important too! Check out http://www.foodincanada.com/ and http://www.financialpost.com:80/small-business/story.html?id=1650127 . Basically, we need to be conscious of our surroundings, the environment around us and the products we purchase but we should also be balanced, practise sustainability and choose locally, responsibly produced products.
We participate in many farm markets in the Annapolis Valley and there are many organic farmers who participate as well. Organic food/wine is perceived as safer, more nutritious, fewer "harmful" residual chemicals because of less/different sprays, more "friendly" means of raising livestock, and more "sustainable" agricultural practises. In Ontario, they introduced ladybugs to help eliminate aphids in the vineyards but it unbalanced the equilibrium of nature and tainted the wines as well.
Our practises at Gaspereau Vineyards are designed to be as environmentally friendly as possible; we spray when necessary, only when necessary, and we only add nutrients into the soil that will restore the balance of nature, with the goal of keeping the soil sustainable instead of enhancing growth chemically.
All of us enjoy organic products and strongly believe in the practises of some farmers over others; however, I always read the label to ensure what I am purchasing, where it is from, and whether the product is organic or certified organic. I am also conscious of the fact that many of us must source produce from farms other than our own, some of which may not be organic or certified organic but do share the same sustainability beliefs that we do. Read your product labels, understand agricultural practises, understand where, how and why the products were sourced.
Organic is more a philosophy, not to be dismissed. However, being environmentally conscious is very important too! Check out http://www.foodincanada.com/ and http://www.financialpost.com:80/small-business/story.html?id=1650127 . Basically, we need to be conscious of our surroundings, the environment around us and the products we purchase but we should also be balanced, practise sustainability and choose locally, responsibly produced products.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
