The NEST eats: Ottawa Farmers' Market, part I

The Ottawa Farmers' Market ROCKS.

Ottawa is a lucky city: we are surrounded and saturated with fantastic farms, apiaries, sugar bushes, and countless culinary artisans. It's the kind of city where you could conceivably eat year-round without ever heading to a traditional grocery store, and that's pretty impressive. Brian and I try to support local as much as possible, but it's a learning process: you've gotta get out there and discover what's available right in your own back yard! So when the Ottawa Farmers' Market showed up with a basket of goodies for us to try out, we were thrilled to participate. This is part I of a two-part post about the goodies we tried from the Ottawa Famers' Market.

What is the Ottawa Farmers' Market?

The Ottawa Farmers’ Market has grown to over 100 vendors of the best locally-grown and locally-made food, farm products, arts and crafts within 100 kilometres of Ottawa. Now in Westboro, Brewer Park and Orléans, the markets boast some of the City’s favourite artisans – Pascale’s Ice Cream, Art-Is-In Bakery, Flatbread Pizza and the Hot Potato Company, not to mention more Savour Ottawa certified growers than any market. 

Ottawa Farmers’ Markets promote healthy eating and the local farmers who feed us.  The markets support the local economy – farmers, chefs, crafts people and entertainers – while providing the public with an opportunity to get outside, learn about local food and culture, and to buy the freshest, local products the season has to offer direct from the people who produce it. 

Head to their website to find out locations and times, including their Brewer Park and Westboro spots!

EASY DINNER: CHEESE AND MEAT

When we opened up the package, our noses were assailed by a rather intense burst of stinky feet smell. We were delighted to discover this was emanating from two varieties of gorgeous cheese, made by Glengarry Fine Cheeses. The first one we grabbed was the beautiful blue cheese; it turned out to be a wonderful treat, very flavourful but not overpowering. I threw it into a whole-wheat penne dish with olive oil, seared kale, and roasted sunflower seeds--now posted, and titled Penne From Heaven. The cheese was the star of the show; I didn't even have to add any spices for this dish to have major flavour impact. Mmmmmm!

At the last minute, I also ran out and grabbed the Bearbrook Farms Kolbassa that the Farmers' Market had sent us. This stuff is amazing, people. Its flavour was a cross between salami and ham, and the piquant spicy flavours made me think of a late summer harvest. We tossed some cubes of this into the pasta as well, and found ourselves rolling our eyes in delightful pleasure as we chewed.

SWEETS AND SAVOURIES 

For dessert, we basically ate jam off of spoons. I kid you not. How could we resist, with four Michaelsdolce jams sent to us? We hadn't actually had Michaelsdolce before, though we'd heard a lot about it, so as a jam fanatic I was excited. Every flavour lived up to Michaelsdolce's reputation for being clever, complex, and delightful. Here's a quick rundown:

Kiwi-lime: 

This beautiful apple-green jam is sweet with a serious citrus kick. The tart bite at the end reminded me of genuine key lime pie that I've had in Key West. The jam was dessert-y, but also palette-cleansing. It reminded us of a mojito, and if you ask nicely, we can provide you a recipe for one using this jam. 

Blueberry & lavender:

One of my favourite things is lavender in food, and this jam wowed me. Made with real Nova Scotian blueberries, this jam was so sweet, you can literally taste the blue. The lavender flavour was subtle but created an almost smokey taste, a bit like eukalyptus or rosemary. This jam is light on the palette and calls for fresh scones. 

Strawberry & Balsamic:

What a jam! The balsamic is primarily evident in the aroma--and if you're not take a good sniff before eating each of these jams, you're missing half the show. The vinegar pairs with the strawberries to create an almost rhubarb-like flavour. Brian suggested it would go well with pork, so on a lark we tossed some on a slice of the Bearbrook Kolbassa, and sure enough it was fantastic. I also think, though, that it'd spruce up a bowl of vanilla bean ice cream in a very special way.

Citrus Ginger Marmalade:

I LOVE marmalade, and this one is definitely my new favourite. The simple citrus aroma does nothing to prepare you for the bitter, kicky flavours of orange pith, and the warm heat of the ginger. Brian said it called for a bagel with cream cheese, but personally I'd eat it on a thin, crispy slice of light rye bread.

Glengarry's blue cheese.

MORE CHEESE, AND HONEY

We finished up our evening of fine home dining by devouring the Glengarry Fine Cheeses goat cheese and the honeycomb provided by Halsall's Honey at the Ottawa Farmers' Market. Much to my surprise, the goat cheese was actually the stinkier cheese of the two we tried, but the flavour was quite lovely. It is a hard, more crumbly cheese with a mild but bitter flavour, short on the palette but lots of flavour. At the suggestion of Tara from the Market, we popped pieces of cheese into our mouths while gnoshing on chunks of the incredible honeycomb, and the pairing was superb.

Let me talk about that Halsall's honeycomb for a minute: I am still carefully, lovingly, rationing it out. If you've never eaten honey straight from the comb, I heartily recommend you try it, because it's always an amazing taste sensation; but this particular honeycomb was really very excellent. I shared some at work, and the response (from honeycomb virgins, no less) was always the same: this is the freshest-tasting honey they've ever tasted. 

Brian suggested that a lovely picnic snack could be made of a fresh french bread, a hunk of that goat cheese, and this fine honeycomb, paired very nicely with an Indian Pale Ale or a Belgian Wit beer. 

Maybe the most stunning item in the basket of goodies we are reviewing is the cutting board, by Joseph Henri. This beautiful piece of workmanship is what I used to create my Penne From Heaven meal, and we're leaving it on display in our kitchen. I love the idea of picking up one of these for a wedding gift or Christmas present for someone who takes pride in their cooking. 

Part II is soon to follow, and includes some lovely personal care products, as well as dulce de leche, pickles, and grapes. Sounds like a perfect night in by myself, watching Pride & Prejudice and painting my toes. Stay tuned for more local awesomeness. Because nothing rocks more than our local artisans and farmers.

Penne From Heaven: Dead-Easy Ottawa Farmer's Market Recipe

We've been doing some exploring with the Ottawa Farmers' Market, and I invented a new recipe with one of the lovely cheeses from Glengarry Fine Cheese they gave to us. I wasn't strictly requested to make up a recipe, but I had an idea and ran with it; the end result is something incredibly easy but pretty impressive. Since I only started learning to cook about a year ago, I have to say I'm pretty proud of this one. Give it a try.

BLUE CHEESE PENNE WITH KALE AND SUNFLOWER SEEDS

 

 

YOU WILL NEED:

Blue cheese--we had this lovely hunk from Glengarry Fine Cheese at the Farmers' Market.

Kale--a bunch. I have no idea how to measure kale. I suggest it be totally dry. Ours was fresh from our garden!

Sunflower seeds--a big handful, maybe two. Hulled, unroasted, unsalted.

Penne--we went with whole wheat because, well, that's what I had.

Olive oil

Look at that blue cheese!

1. Boil water and throw in your penne when it's ready to go.

2. While the penne is boiling away, heat a non-stick pan to medium heat. Toss in your sunflower seeds and swoosh 'em around with a spatula for a very brief time. When they start to go toasty-coloured, decide if you like the look of them, then immediately get them out of the pan before they burn. I had to do this step twice because I waited too long and burned the poor darlings.

3. The pan now has a little oil from the sunflower seeds in it, so that's perfect for the kale: I tore the kale up with my hands into bite-size pieces, and just threw it in a big mess into the pan, still on medium heat. Regular flipping and stirring is important. The kale will wilt and crisp a little. When you think it looks tasty, pour it out onto the plate beside the sunflower seeds.

4. Crumble up your blue cheese. I only used about a half-cup, but I bet more would be even tastier. 

5. When the penne is done, drain it and quickly throw it back into the pot. Then quick as a flash, throw the seeds, the kale, and the cheese into the pot, too. The cheese melts and sticks to everything, and the kale and sunflowers get all mixed in. Add a tablespoon (or more, if you want) to the mix to help things be tasty.

OPTIONAL: You can add spices. Since we were exploring the flavour of the blue cheese, we decided not to. But I'm sure some rosemary and maybe some lemon zest would have been fantastic.

OPTION 2: You can toss in some meat if you like, though it's not required. We did add a bit of a Bearbrook Farms kolbassa just to try it out, and it was delicious. (The kolbassa is not to be missed and can also be grabbed at the Ottawa Farmers' Market.)

Serve and enjoy! Because the recipe is so simple, it's easy to make just enough: measure your pasta as you always do, then just put in a serving's worth, per person, of each other ingredient. Simple!

 

 

This was so good that I took some to work and fed my vegetarian friend. We both smelled like blue cheese all day and I couldn't have been happier.

Friday's with Bri - Ford Focus Review

 The car we named Sharona (m-m-my Sharona!)

 2012 FORD FOCUS:  BRIAN'S REVIEW

This trip to Nova Scotia which you have all heard a lot about was incredible and I have to say that Ford made it an easy trip. They lent us a Focus for the trip and I am super impressed. we even named it Sharona.

 

Here is a quick video review of the 2012 Ford Focus.

PS. A huge Thank you to Jordan for holding the camera while I drove. It made it nice that I could pay attention to the drive and give a proper review of the car.

This Focus got us to some amazing places, pretty much eveywhere east of Ottawa! We saw the world's longest covered bridge, the oldest light house in PEI, the Jost Winery, Hopewell Rocks, and 4 provinces. It helped us create some great memories in the process; Thank you, Ford Canada, for the gracious loan of the car for our trip; it made the whole journey a lot more fun...especially showing off the Active Park Assist! Sharona drove us the full 3000km for the trip and we were able to pack our entire trip with ease. 

The car got great mileage; we spent well under our alloted budget of 500.00 on gas for the entire trip. It's a very peppy car, which took Jordan a while to get used to, since our current car is lightyears less responsive. The built-in navigational system was fanastic, and it's the only reason why all six of us survived the trip without driving into a lake or murdering each other; we actually used the Focus's GPS to get us around Nova Scotia and guide the other cars in our convoy because people's cell phone navigation systems kept losing their signals.

Dual climate control made Jordan's trip perfect. She is always cold, and I am always hot, so this feature helped bring peace and happiness to the drive. There wasn't a single argument over the A/C settings on either 14-hour drive, nor any of the drives we took during the week. Amazing!

The Focus offered great fuel economy, comfortable handling, and helpful features like GPS and an alarm to tell you if you've left the parking break on. When we got home and piled into our own ancient clunker, both of us really missed Sharona pretty badly.

Oh, and space! The Focus managed to surprise everyone with how it handled the insane over-packing that Jordan threw at it:

We fit: 

4 Suit cases of different sizes

2 Acoustic guitars

1 Semi-hollow-body jazz guitar

1 cooler 

5 fabric shopping bags

1 set of juggling clubs

1 remote controlled miniature helicopter

1 back pack

2 purses

2 driftwood sticks

4 grape vine seedlings
3 yoga mats
1 car safety kit
1 case of water
1 coffee mug
2 water bottles
and

2 people

 My amazing driving partner

At the Jost winery

Now some great pictures of the memories the car had:

Chase's Lobster pound

Parked in front of Murphy's fish and chips

Oldest light house in PEI

The NEST in NS: Hopewell Rocks, NB

HOPEWELL ROCKS ROCKED.

Technically, this post is about New Brunswick; but we first got the idea to visit Hopewell Rocks when Brian and I were watching a show called Departures; two young Canadian guys started a world tour, and began at this incredible place. When we saw the show, we  knew we had to see it ourselves.

Hopewell Rocks is a place along the Bay of Fundy where the tides are the highest in all the world. Apparently, they're also pretty violent, because they've been wearing away at the rocks there, creating stunning, gravity-defying rock formations that have been the subject of the area's Aboriginal lore for generations.

The drive to get to the rocks was three hours long. It was worth every minute. I don't actually know what else I can say...I think I'll let the photos do the talking. (Many of these were taken by my dad, Bill Kent--always wise to bring a professional photographer on any trip!)

Baby falcon!

Brian and Mike

Jordan and brother Mike.

The original Kents.

The NEST in NS: Prince Edward Island Hijinx

PEI STANDS FOR 'POTATOES ON AN ENDLESS ISLAND' 

Wednesday morning found us heading out crackin' early to hit Prince Edward Island. My mom had spent her summers there as a child and wanted us to see the island. My brother-in-law, Jed, was hopeful to see some nautical tourist sites, and I wanted a white sand beach so I could pretend we'd actually gone somewhere tropical for vacation. Luckily, PEI promised both things. Funny how things can look so optimistic at the start...

The ferry over to the island was pretty neat; this large white ship pulled up to the pier, and the nose of the ship lifted open like the mouth of a shark. We drove in, parked, and headed above deck to see the sea. Brian had a full farmer's breakfast in the on-board cafeteria while I whale watched with my brother--and we actually saw a whale! 

NOTHING BUT FIELDS...

We got off the ferry and began our drive; our first stop was supposed to be a small town renown for its artisans. When we couldn't find the town, we pulled over and asked for directions, only to discover we were in the small town. Unable to figure out where these artisans were supposed to be hiding (unless they were in the gas station where we'd asked for directions), we gave up and headed instead for PEI's oldest lighthouse.

THE PRIM POINT LIGHTHOUSE

The Prim Point lighthouse was really very cool. For those of us who watched Road to Avonlea and remember Gus Pike, hotty that he was, living in the lighthouse, this was quite a thrill. I enjoyed the tour and everything about the stop, but I've learned a valuable lesson: never wear a tight skirt to a lighthouse. The entire four storeys were only reachable via a steep ladder-like staircase, and I basically had to give up all propriety and just hike my skirt up to my groin so I could manage the steps. 

We then drove to Cavendish Beach, on the north side of the island. Seeing as we entered from the south, this was a very, very long drive for a day trip. PEI is beautiful, but I must admit: after the first half-hour of well-manicured potato farms, everyone in the car except Brian fell asleep--because he was driving. But hey, if you are into long drives through vast beautiful expanses of farmland, PEI is THE place to go. For us, it was with a giant sigh of relief that we finally reached Cavendish.

THE BEACH

There was a bit of a ruckus when we first arrived and were sent to the wrong entrance of the national park where the beach is. Empty stomachs and low blood sugar meant that everyone was snippy, so as we stopped for better directions I fed everyone handfuls of trail mix until they all calmed down. A good thing, too, as we managed to get lost a second time--this time, by accidentally driving down a bike path in the middle of the woods--but everyone was able to laugh it off. Thank heavens we had the GPS on the Focus, because I'm certain we would have run out of gas in the middle of nowhere and been forced to eat each other. We arrived at Cavendish Beach at last, with nobody cannibalized, ready for a swim in the Atlantic ocean.

Brian got this shot of a jellyfish.

Several times on our way across PEI, I thought that some of the little glitches happening were almost too coincidental; I had started to wonder if perhaps Fate was trying to keep us away from the beach this day, though I couldn't imagine why. But it was as we stood on the white sandy beach, staring out at a sea literally teeming with red stinging jellyfish, that I knew we were not meant to swim today. The waves were spotted with the personal-pizza-sized devils. Kids were picking up the dead ones and rapidly dropping the occasional live one as it stung their hands. Bravely, my brother attempted a quick swim and ended up with a sting across his foot for the effort.

Brian and I lay on the beach rather than plunge in with the jellyfish. I found myself wondering if this was my new 'thing'; you see, when we were last in the Caribbean, a school of white jellyfish had ambushed my snorkeling group. Perhaps these are my oceanic foe, as the crocodile was to Captain Hook. I shook my head in frustration, but nothing was going to entice me into those waters. 

THE AMAZING RACE BEGINS

We had plans to travel to several other places around the island, including a number of craft shops; but with all the long-distance driving and getting lost, we pretty much ran out of time. We'd book ourselves for a return ferry trip at 6pm, and at 4pm we realized we had a long drive back to the pier. The next two hours were like The Amazing Race, complete with detours, speeding, and a total breakdown of previously healthy relationships. It's a blur of driving, yelling, and sweating; and as the family borke down into savage chaos, with yelling and cursing over the walkie talkies, Frank Sinatra came onto the radio and sang a dissonant tune about the joys of travelling.It was a surreal moment.

We would have made it back to the ferry in time, had it not been for the car accident just off the bridge by Charlottetown. A 45 minute traffic jam meant that, according to our GPS, we were going to miss the ferry by 20 minutes. Eager to get back to Nova Scotia, I confess to you now: we all drove at high speed to get there. The once-quaint fields of perfect potato crops were now a nightmare of endless green, mocking us as we raced to beat the clock. 

Dad, with his babies.

About 5:50pm, my mother radioed us from the other car and said she was changing the ferry reservation to 8pm. We all sighed in resignation; this solution meant no lobster from the pound tonight. Most of us thought we'd slow down our pace at this point, and maybe find a dinner stop on the way, but Brian continued to take us on a high-speed race back to the pier. With clever driving and a great deal of alacrity, we drove the width of PEI...and managed to miss the ferry by 7 minutes. 

ADMITTING DEFEAT, SEEKING FOOD

Dejectedly, frustrated now with our entire PEI adventure, we headed over to an information centre, where we were informed that the closest restaurant would have us too far away to catch the next ferry; but, the girl said, there was a lovely little diner right here on the info centre's property. Fancy that. We walked over to the diner, afraid of what we'd find, but we were utterly surprised and delighted in the end. The staff were incredibly friendly, the food was homemade and delicious, and even the mayo in my chicken salad sandwich was from scratch. In fact, the next day while eating at a restaurant three times as pricey, we found ourselves wistfully reminiscing about the diner at the info centre. I have no idea what this place was called, but if you find yourself near the ferry pier at Woods Islands on the PEI side, go and get yourself a bowl of homemade soup, a lobster roll, or a chicken sandwich. You won't regret it.

PEI, IN A NUTSHELL

Sunset on the ferry.

So our trip to PEI involved a panicked drive, way too many miles of nothingness, a lack of crafty towns, and a jellyfish invasion. But it also contained one whale sighting, one cool lighthouse, and one kick-ass diner. Oh, and just before getting stuck in the traffic jam by Charlottetown, we did indeed stop at a potter's shop, where we bought some pottery and, at her urging, pet her angora rabbits. My only real regret: I didn't get a Cows waffle cone on the morning ferry, and there was none available on the evening ferry. I made up for it with butterscotch pie, but it just wasn't quite the same.

PEI: a beautiful place, and highly recommended for people who like to drive through farmland. Maybe I'll appreciate it more when I'm older.

The NEST in NS: Pictou, Nova Scotia and Fish n' Chips!

Brian pulling in at Murphy's

PICTOU: HISTORICAL AND DELICIOUS

Tuesday found us in Pictou, Nova Scotia's first settlement of Scotsman. 

MURPHY'S FISH & CHIPS

Tuesday found us in Pictou, with a checklist of sites to see. We started off by immediately heading into Murphy's Fish & Chips: a restaurant internationally acclaimed for having the best fish n' chips in the world. Friends, let me tell ya: it did not disappoint.

Gerard, owner of Murphy's, keeps his fish batter recipe to himself, and that's a very good idea. His fish, served in huge filets with a crisp, flavourful batter crust, was far and away the finest any of us had ever had. With crispy fries to complement the haddock, and salad for those with a desire for greens, every platter was licked clean. Whole fried clams were passed around the table; these babies were tender and delicious. 

We took home one of Murphy's other secret recipes: a butterscotch pie, piled high with real whipped cream. The pie was fantastic, with a delicate butterscotch flavour, a perfectly-baked crust, and all that rich whipped cream. I'm salivating right now, knowing there's one slice left in the fridge...

The Hector, a replica tall ship.

If you're in Pictou, friends, Murphy's is a must. When back this way, we'll be back there again, I am absolutely certain.

SHOPPING AROUND TOWN

My dad's big goal for this particular town was to get himself down to the Grohman knife factory and get himself a good chef's knife. Grohman knives are reknown the world over, and Dad had a field day choosing one for himself. 

Meanwhile, Mom and I headed down the street to find some locally made goodies. Pictou has a high number of gift shops, but the nice thing is that a huge majority of their wares are locally made. I picked up a couple things, including a really cool gift for my BFF. Brian got himself a tie pin with the MacGregor clan's crest on it--his mom's family crest.

While we shopped, my brother's partner and exchange student went to the Hector, a replica tall ship and museum, which they also really enjoyed.

Brian considers a locally-made hat.
The pipe, naturally, is already his.

PIZZA PARTY, SCRABBLE BATTLE

The evening ended with us heading back to the cottage and making personal pizzas on the BBQ using greek pitas. Then we brought out the Scrabble board. Turns out my brother Mike has never played before (I do not know how this is possible), so we taught him how. Then basically, Mike and I were just token players while the real battle raged between Mom and Brian. Their weeks-long Words With Friends fight was now an in-person war. By the end of the game, both warriors had hundreds of points, with Mike and I claiming maybe 150 between us. Mom won, but it could have gone either way.

The evening ended with a thousand mosquitos scaring us back into the house, and an early bedtime in preparation for the next day's adventures. I expect there to be a rematch of the Scrabble game, though; maybe this time I'll just watch. Safer that way.

The family at Murphy's

The NEST in NS: Jost Winery Tour!

FRUITS OF NOVA SCOTIA: JOST WINERY

Monday morning found us heading down the road towards a town called Tatamagouche, then beyond to Malagash and the Jost Winery.

We pulled into an emerald green haven, row upon row of grapevines in the fields surrounding the gift shop and winery buildings. We’d let them know we’d be visiting on this trip, so the owner—Hans Christian Jost, pronounced ‘Yohst’—greeted us himself and took us on a tour of the facilities.

Hans Christian is a tanned, smiling, honorary Bluenoser, just hitting his fiftieth birthday this week. He set the whole group at ease with his friendly, down-to-earth style. My brother remarked at how he made wine seem approachable, not pretentious—this metaphorically describes the Jost wines, as well.

The Jost family came to Nova Scotia from Germany, where they’d been winemakers since the 1700’s. They’d planned (a little ironically now) to get away from the wine industry back home, when they made the move to Canada in the 1970’s. Eventually, however, a few vines they’d planted to supply the home became the main industry of the farm, and the Jost winery was officially opened in the 1980’s.

Hans Christian has a background in Agriculture Economics, and it shows in his approach: the vineyard makes wine based on German ideals, and Jost in particular takes pride in a ‘waste not, want not’ philosophy: they’re always looking for innovative ways to make a cleaner, fresher finished product. It’s a fascinating combination of modern technology and simple old-school techniques: using natural clay to pull the protein out of the wine, for example, but then using modern research to find new water conservation methods.

The vineyard in Malagash supports sixty acres of gorgeous vines, though they have more in other parts of Nova Scotia. All their grape harvesting is done over 22 days in the fall—that means all the raw material for their year’s production is gathered in less than a month.

Parts of the shop are made from reclaimed wine keg wood.

Hans Christian did a tasting with us, sitting under the vine-laden arbour beside the beautiful green fields. The seven of us sat and sampled a selection of wines, learning new tips on sniffing the bouquet and proper wine etiquette. Jost manages to produce wines with bright, crisp flavours; Hans Christian explained that a wine doesn’t have to be big and bold to be beautiful. By the end of the tasting, we all agreed wholeheartedly.

Jost wines are not currently available very often outside of Nova Scotia; according to Hans Christian, the province drinks most of what they can produce. This means, of course, that my family stocked up for the vacation, with plans to revisit the vineyard before we leave next weekend.

Here are the wines we tried, with tasting notes by Brian—who, by the way, was in Sommelier heaven.

Hans Christian teaches an intrigued audience.

BEAR RIVER PINOT GRIS 2010 (WHITE)

This wine blew away everyone in our party; a white that doesn’t burn your chest the whole way down is, apparently, possible! By far, Jordan’s favourite wine of the trip; even Jordan’s dad drank this down.

Brian: “Fresh! Definitely tons of green apple and peach. Medium acidity, light body, short length—this wine quickly delights, then disappears. A bright bouquet; this wine showcases the Jost filtering process because of its freshness and smoothness. This is the perfect summer party or housewarming gift.” (Is that a hint, Brian?)

TIDAL BAY 2011 (WHITE)

A special signature Nova Scotia wine.

Brian: “It’s made in the same fashion as wines from Chianti. It has a smooth, medium flavour with slight spiciness to it on the finish. Holds up well with seafood—as any Nova Scotian wine should. When you visit the province, grab a bottle of this to go with your fresh lobster.”

EAGLE TREE MUSCAT 2011 (WHITE)

A dry wine with a fruity bouquet; multiple personalities in all the right ways.

Brian: “This grape variety was developed in Ontario, but is grown primarily in Nova Scotia. This is the white wine for red wine drinkers. The bouquet surprised everyone, with strong notes of lychee, grapefruit skins, and the entire citrus family. The wine was full-bodied, but finished quickly, leaving the palette cleansed—another characteristic of Jost’s crisp wine style. This is the perfect after-dinner wine; it will pair very nicely with vanilla icecream and angel food cake.”

FOUR SKINS (RED)

Hans Christian Jost, Jordan, Brian.

A blend of four grapes, this red wine is popular as a crowd-pleaser.

Brian: “The aroma has a mushroomy, almost dill-scented bouquet. It’s got a short length, medium body, and is very simple. The Nova Scotian soil has imbued this with a saltiness. Good pairing for well-done steak.”

JOST PORT

The term ‘port’ will soon be verboten to any vineyard not actually in Portugal, so you may find this fantastic, beginner-friendly concoction under a different name. But a bouquet this fine, by any other name, will be as sweet.

Brian: “The ultimate beginner port. The low alcohol content means that it doesn’t get too hot in your throat. The aroma has a plum richness, as any port should; but as soon as it hits the palette, it has a sweet, candy-like flavour. This port will be appreciated by the advanced port lovers, but is definitely approachable for the beginners venturing out into the world of port.”

Visit the Jost Winery on your own visit to Nova Scotia, or look them up online at http://www.jostwine.com