Raging Against Organic Wine
September 02nd 2009The cover story on our autumn issue is about Frogpond Farm as an organic winery, with a photo of the husband and wife team in their vineyard. I didn’t expect this to be an offensive subject. Yet it has wildly enraged one of our readers, who left an anonymous voicemail on Mike’s telephone, objecting to the article. If anyone was offended, it was us, because the message was rude in the extreme, full of swearing. It is so unusual that I transcribed it and am posting it here:
“Davis, Mike Davis…You print this magazine on here with this organic s*** in front of it. You want to go take a look at that farm right now. You have pictures organic and people all together. It’s a bunch of bulls***. And go take a look at the farmer that has a farm beside this s***. Go take a look at the spray on it right now. It’s all a bunch of bulls*** and you put it on the front page of your magazine? Well guess what my daughter won’t advertise in your magazine. It ain’t happening. You can take your magazine and shove it up you’re a**.”
Can you believe this? One thing this person is not, is a good communicator! If he has a legitimate complaint of some kind, it is not clearly expressed in any way that we can publish in the magazine. He comes across as a complete madman. We don’t know who his daughter is, or why she might or might not advertise with us. This is a complete mystery. The level of rudeness is so high that I’m keeping track in case it worsens to the point of needing to call the police. I won’t let anyone on my team be abused.
Any idea why someone would be enraged by an article on an organic winery? And any idea of how I should handle this situation?
Summertime at Andrews’ Scenic Acres
June 25th 2009Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce held a Business After 5 event at Andrews’ Scenic Acres, which is a beautiful farm located in view of the Niagara Escarpment which rims almost half the horizon at this point.
It’s a pick-your-own farm with a shop and a winery. Strawberries are beginning to ripen and later in the season you’ll be able to pick raspberries, cherries, currants, gooseberries, blueberries, corn, pumpkins and cut flowers.
Andrews have won many awards for their Scotch Block Winery wines. They also had their Oak Aged Black Currant wine chosen as one of three fruit wines to be served at Queen’s Park for 2008 to 2009. Black Currant, Black Raspberry and Raspberry Rhapsody were some of the wines being offered at the Chamber event, as well as a delightful strawberry lemonade.
In addition to the standard cheese and crackers, the food treats were fresh strawberries and whipped cream, strawberry frozen yogurt and chocolate-covered strawberries, all enjoyed despite the heat wafting through the tent and the tree-shaded picnic table area. You don’t get more of a summer experience than this.
The farm, shop and winery are for sale, so if you know someone wanting an established rural retail operation, send them down the 10th Sideroad for a look.
What’s your favourite pick-your-own farm?
Time for Farmers’ Markets
June 15th 2009It’s the time of year when farmers’ markets ramp up. While their peak season is likely the traditional harvest time of August through September, it’s fun to get out for a stroll in the open air and check out what’s on offer early in the year. Seedlings and potted herbs and flowers are available, as is maple syrup from the spring harvest, fresh baked goods, rhubarb, and green, but not white, asparagus. Mike even bought some early and expensive strawberries from the Niagara Region. But they were big, sweet and ripe, not the hard, sour half-white berries you might find in big grocery stores. Local products often have superior flavour.
Another pleasure of farmers’ markets is the socialization. While we barely nod at acquaintances in supermarkets, we stop and chat even with strangers at outdoor markets, especially if there’s a dog involved. There’s definitely something special about markets.
Three markets we’ve attended recently are Ottawa Street Farmers’ Market, open year-round in Hamilton, Downtown Georgetown Farmer’s Market, which opened just this past weekend, and Milton Farmer’s Market which opened on May 16.
There was a busy Milton Street Festival on June 6. Downtown Georgetown will hold Festival on Main this Sat. June 20. We hope to be there as well.
There is a lot going on in our communities in the warm seasons. Which farmers’ markets do you enjoy, and why?
Eat Local Caledon Spring Festival
May 25th 2009 Saturday was a lovely day for the first Eat Local Caledon Spring Festival. Held on the large lawn beside the Inglewood General Store, it consisted of a few tables of people who are passionate about locally grown, seasonal food. A musically gifted minister played a variety of stringed instruments and sang cheerful songs in a shady spot not far from the store’s barbecue where hot dogs were for sale. Leashed dogs and puppies met each other and drew attention to their owners.
Fresh bread, maple syrup, garlic, rhubarb and asparagus soup was on offer, as well as potted herbs and heritage tomato seedlings.
After I bought the most wonderful Crabtree & Evelyn gardener’s hand scrub from the store’s gift room, Mike & I took a seat at a patio table that the store makes available outside the back door. Then magically, a train hooted and its engine and two cars slowly moved past us within 50 metres. I waved at the engineer, he waved back. I continued waving as the passenger cars rolled by; some of the passengers waved back. Who was having the most fun? Did they envy us our little festival on the lawn? No matter. Everyone was having a good time.
Local food, sensible transport — both are signs of a good civilization.
Meeting Michael Stadtländer & Other Talented People
January 26th 2009What a busy weekend it’s been! Escarpment Views was a media partner with the Guelph Organic Conference, so Mike Davis and I spent the last three days at the expo/tasting fair at Guelph University. The crowds of visitors were good, with free copies of our current and back issues snapped up by so many people that we ran out of some of them. We always look around the building after we’ve given out copies to see if any have been thrown out or dropped as litter, and we’re pleased that we never find any. People hang onto our issues! That must be why our advertisers get results long after new issues have been published.
We were happy to meet Jens Gemmrich and Heike Koch, owners of Frogpond Farm, Ontario’s only organic winery. They had provided wine for one of the receptions, and donated a gift of wine bottles as a door prize at the main dinner. Mike and I must take a tour of their Niagara-on-the-Lake farm this summer.
One visitor to our table, who said he liked what we’re doing with the magazine, was Michael Stadtländer, a celebrity chef with his own property near the Escarpment, called Eigensinn Farm. Michael is also president of the Canadian Chefs’ Congress, which “connects chefs to our land in solidarity with farmers, fishers, gardeners, foragers and all artisanal food producers.” We hope to work with Michael soon.
This weekend we also squeezed in a visit to The Dam Pub in Thornbury, where Jamie Robinson and friends are forming The Grey Bruce Arts Collective to perform local plays and productions. Last night was Robbie Burns’ 250th birthday celebration at the packed pub, where Jamie and other theatre professionals in period costume read poetry, sang, fought with swords and of course addressed the haggis, which Mike actually ate and enjoyed, because this version was made of nothing worse than lamb, oatmeal and spices.
Paul Amos, Roger Shank, Jamie Robinson and Trish Williams gave the dramatic performances. Young Connor Ritchie played bagpipe beautifully and Jessica Nicol demonstrated her championship highland dance skills. Funds raised from this evening go toward Thornbury’s new medical centre.
Keep an eye peeled for more from The Grey Bruce Arts Collective. It promises to be an exciting new theatre centre.
Escarpment Views at Guelph Organic Conference 2009
January 05th 2009Mark your calendars for the Guelph Organic Conference and Organic Expo Canada Tasting Fair from Jan. 22 to 25. This is the 28th annual conference, making it Canada’s longest running organic marketing show. It promises to be of interest to consumers, gardeners, researchers, farmers and students.
Escarpment Views will be giving out our current and back issues, taking subscriptions and unveiling a great new product there. Come and visit us at the Expo on Jan. 24 & 25. Admission is free.
There will also be four days of workshops from Jan. 22 to 25 about organic vegetable production, land trusts, ecovillages, careers in organics and more. Get all the info about them here. Please drop by to see us! I think we’ll be in the central auditorium.
Catch-up of Mentions of Escarpment Views
October 27th 2008If this bog had been active earlier, I would have pointed readers to a couple or three interesting mentions of Escarpment Views. One is on the blog of writer Jennifer Smith who lives in Milton (or Sprawlville as she calls it?). Last spring she wrote of “something wonderful” that she first read about in Trudi Down’s article for us: the Halton Fresh Food Box Program. Thanks for the mention, Jennifer!
Another item is the Sydenham Bruce Trail club’s report in their fall newsletter, about Ken Haigh’s article and great photos about the trail’s new Bayview Escarpment reroute east of Owen Sound. You can read the whole article in Selected Articles on our site. Ross McLean’s report in the club’s newsletter notes “It is feedback such as this that gives trail builders their satisfaction.” We here at EscarpmentViews appreciate the Bruce Trail Conservancy and are happy to celebrate its achievements.
We’re also pleased to have been interviewed by Masthead Magazine about our launch of Escarpment Views. They published their report in both the print issue and online. We thank them for giving us this honour.
Do you have information about local fresh food programs in your area? What’s your favourite stretch of the Bruce Trail?