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Watching European grape harvest is fascinating
Rising fortunes
After a few minutes a window filled with huge barrels of the famabove suddenly opened. An elderly ily’s own product. lady wearing a friendly smile stuck We asked to sample a Riesling, her head out. “Bonjour,” she said, a white wine the region is famous before asking if we were there for a for. She also brought out a bottle she tasting. We said we were. said was a rosé. I thought it tasted She promptly appeared in the more like a Cabernet Franc, light courtyard and led us into a wine in colouring but tart and dry on the BY JEFF MAGUIRE cellar which, despite being musty tongue. It was nice. The Riesling smelling, was just an incredible was fantastic. When we left we had district of southwest Germany, which place to visit. The winery build- each (both couples) purchased a botincludes the picturesque Black For- ings had clearly stood for hundreds See COLUMN page 27 est, you are left in little doubt as to of years. The dark wine cellar was the value of grape growing. We toured both areas in October and with the grape harvest in full swing it was incredible to witness the impact grapes have on both nation’s economies. Mechanical harvesting has arrived but with many of the vineyards located on steep hillsides, people power is still a big part of the anPUBLIC NOTICE nual harvest. Machines skim off the 2014 ANNUAL COUNTY BUDGET largest bunches but leave the smaller grapes. Human hands do the rest, The 2014 draft County budget will be considered by carefully clipping the stems and deCounty Council on Wednesday, November 27th, 2013 positing the grapes in baskets which are then added to larger vessels. at 7:00 pm in the Council Chambers at 99 Christie Overall, the task is huge! Lake Road, Perth. In the Alsace grape vines stretch For a copy of the draft budget or additional information, from horizon to horizon, over hill and dale, literally. The vines climb contact Kurt Greaves, Chief Administrative Officer at the hillsides. They run right into the (613) 267-4200 ext. 1101 or by email at kgreaves@ towns and villages. Every square lanarkcounty.ca. centimetre of available space is used. That’s how valuable grapes are! www.lanarkcounty.ca Touring in the Alsace we stopped in the village of Barr, Bas Rhin (Bas Rhin means “Lower Rhine”). We followed the winery signage in Barr and ended up strolling into an ancient, cobblestone courtyard. There seemed to be no one around.
Reflections
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Of course the Canadian wine industry is also on the upswing. The Niagara Region and areas of southern British Columbia, in particular, are becoming more and more prominent, especially in terms of the quality of their wines. Of course we are not among the world’s big players. Canada’s population is too small. In 2011 we were listed 31st and 42nd in the world in terms of the volume of wine produced on two websites I read before writing this week’s column. The world numbers in general are inconsistent by the way. Evidently there is some jockeying between France and Italy in terms of which country tops the annual wine production list globally. Based on what I have discovered it is between those two countries. Sometimes Italy comes out on top and other years it is France. Most recently Italy, which is responsible for making approximately one-fifth of the world’s wine supply, appears to be the leader. The Top 10 wine producing nations is consistent but the order is not. Spain, Argentina and the United States are among the leaders. Germany is ranked as high as fourth on some lists, but never lower than 10th. Also among the leaders are China, South Africa, Australia and Chile. There is a difference between the amount of grapes grown and the volume of wine produced. Obviously other products, including nonalcoholic juice, are manufactured using grapes. When you visit the Alsace region of northeast France and the Baden
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Lifestyle – Our travels this fall took us to two of the Top 10 wine producing nations in the world. For the first time in our lives we were in Europe at the height of the grape harvest. What an interesting experience it was! Before offering some details of what we saw in France and Germany in October I will write a little about how much access to wines from around the world has improved in this country. At one time in Canada, or certainly in Ontario at least, it was difficult to be a “wine connoisseur”. That’s because the availability of the world’s best wines was limited. I can remember the days when the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) had small outlets and in most communities customers had no direct access to any of the products they sold. Instead you went to the local LCBO and studied a list of the available products which was inscribed on tablets above a counter containing pads and pencils. You then had to write down the number(s) which corresponded with what you wanted to purchase (wine or spirits) and hand that to a clerk. In turn the employee would disappear into the storeroom at the back of the outlet, retrieve the items you selected and then ring them up at the cash register. There was no opportunity to pick up and study the available bottles of wine or liquor and decide what appealed to you. Talk to anyone who grew up in the 1950s, ‘60s or ‘70s and I’m sure they will laugh when you talk to them about the sequence which unfolded when we went to the liquor store. When it came to wine, for example, the majority of people had no idea what to look for and therefore it was a crap shoot, so to speak. You would buy a particular product and hope for the best. No Internet information to fall back on in those days! As a result most people didn’t have a clue about which wines were good and which were bad. Little wonder most folks’ early experience with wine in Ontario included products such as ‘Baby Duck’, ‘Baby Bear’ or some other “cuddly sounding” product. Don’t get me wrong. I am not knocking items that were once the toast of the Canadian wine industry. But at the time a lot of what was available here was fizzy, sweet tipple that I think was made in hopes of imitating Mateus, a rosé from Portugal. Mateus by the way was first manufactured in 1942 and is still available, in red and white versions. I think it’s safe to say that years ago it was difficult to have an appreciation for good wine because most of us simply weren’t exposed to the best. My, how times have changed! The LCBO is now the biggest importer of wine and spirits in the world. Yes, No. 1 on the planet! Canadians in general have unlimited access to wine and interest has never been higher. Now many Canadians are focused on vintage product which simply wasn’t available previously.
KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE TEMP!
EUCLID Clinical Research Study
Have you been diagnosed with Peripheral Arterial Disease? If so, you may be eligible to participate in a research study. In this study researchers will compare 2 different groups of patients. They want to see what differences there may be in the prevention of cardiovascular events (such as heart attack or stroke).
Group 1
Group 2
Ticagrelor 90mg and placebo* in the morning,
Clopidogrel 75 mg and placebo* in the morning,
Ticagrelor 90mg in the evening
Placebo* in the evening
*Placebo is a “look alike pill” with no active ingredient, sometimes called a “dummy pill”.
You may be eligible if you are: 1. Age 50 years of age or older 2. Have symptoms of lower extremity (legs) peripheral arterial disease. If you agree to participate in this clinical research study you will be asked to: s Take the study medication every day. s Attend initial follow-up clinic visits at 2 and 6 months. s Attend additional follow-up clinic visits (after initial visits above) every 6 months and participate in telephone follow-up calls at 3 month intervals between clinic visits for approximately 3 years. To learn more contact:
Canadian Centre for Research on Diabetes Andrea or Shelly 613-283-8582 THE EMC - 26 - Thursday, November 14, 2013
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