Last year there was no cider season for me. I got back from New Brunswick filming for Slow Food Canada [as an aside, both films will be in DEVOUR film fest this coming November!!] and as apples ripened, I finished up the season with Lactuca, was in the field solid filming for the university and the beef industry, slamming out episodes … Read More
Merridale Cider
Oh cider. Like wine, I once disliked cider. Silly old me. I guess we’re all 5 once. Kidding. My increasing verve for cider over the years made me long for having an actual scene in Alberta, which I suspect is in its fertile cesspool infancy. There are folks passionate about the stuff. There are folks learning and making the stuff. … Read More
The Cider Cellar
Once upon a time, I built a wine cellar. In order to make decent wine from the grape vines in my back yard, I was advised to practice on other fruit. I practiced on apples. Now my wine cellar’s really a cider cellar. Perhaps cider/charcuterie cellar would be most appropriate. If I call it a wine cellar, it’s only because … Read More
Episode 58 – Veg Glean
This one was a year in the works. Way back when, while shooting Episode 23 at Riverbend Gardens, I was enlightened to the situation that is common at vegetable farms in the fall: harvests fill up storage capacity, labour is relieved for the season, and anything left in the ground becomes compost-in-place. Sensible, really. Wouldn’t make sense to try to … Read More
Episode 55 – Cider
So I built a big cider press. Or rather, I had one built. A metal fabricator built the steel frame, and @landonschedler crafted the oak tray. It didn’t take long in test-phase to be in awe at the faucet flow of fresh juice pouring out of it. It works well. Cider season, having happened the first part of September, feels … Read More
Pears. Edmonton Pears.
Pears rank in my top 3 favorite fruits, for sure. Like with wines, I’m a sucker for the floral, high-toned aromatics. Problem is, until this year my only real source of pears was from the Okanagan. I knew there were pears around here, I just hadn’t seen or tasted any that made me think a realistic replacement to the Okanagan … Read More
Merridale Cidery
I dearly wish I could show you via video rather than photos and writing, as I had lined up a video episode for this wonderful place, and realized I forgot my DSLR setup on the lower mainland as we left the dock on the ferry towards Victoria. I don’t think I’ve ever claimed to be smart. I’ve known about Merridale … Read More
Saskatoon Glean 2012
Long, long ago, in a former saskatoon u-pick that is now more lawn than bush, a friend and I harvested saskatoons by the 5 gal pail and I made wine. Not your usual cooler-esque cheery saskatoon wine, but a heavy, dense, rich, viscous wine, aged with american white oak. That was way back in 2009. That vintage is now 3 … Read More
Episode 44 – Backyard Bees
As you may know already, I like to eat food. I therefore appreciate the work pollinators do. They are a highly necessary piece of the food supply puzzle, without which humans would be in some trouble. And they’re illegal where I live. Not that bees are illegal. They’re everywhere, doing their thing, buzzing about the city. But if you intentionally … Read More
Episode 29 – Applejack
Applejack is a hard liquor of 20-30% abv that can only be made when it’s extremely cold out. For that, it is special to me. Its flavours and smells cannot be created in warmer climates – perhaps why the Normands don’t do applejack despite their apple-booze culture…they simply can’t. It’s extra special due to the fact that distilling booze to make spirits is … Read More