A few days
ago I had the pleasure of going down to Southbrook winery where our class got
the full tour, including the farm. We got
to meet Niagara food specialist Mario Pingue and the owner of Niagara Try Dry.
Southbrook
is the first biodynamic winery, they produce most Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet
Franc, Bordeaux blend and Chardonnays. I
found it very interesting how they grow their grapes. To start, they have their
farm and on the farm they have sheep and pigs.
They use the sheep and pigs to keep the vineyard fields clean and for adding
nutrience back into the soil. Over the years it has not been easy for them to
grow grapes. They stay true to their
word about being biodynamic and organic, they have lost many vines because of different
bugs and illnesses to the plants but they have managed to overcome everything
by continuing with their methods. As a
result, their plants are growing stronger and stronger every year and they are getting
better yields out of the plants as time goes on.
I got to
try their wine and had a wonderful meal that was prepared by their chef. It was a nice, rich and hardy stew, very seasonal
for this time of year. They also sell the lamb and the pork to the public and to
the local restaurants in the area.
Niagara Try
Dry caught my attention right away as he started to speak to us, they farm and
crop 26 different products from apples, plums, cherry’s, pears and much, much
more. No added sugar and oils, they have 4 industrial dehydrators that are
running constantly to keep up with how much they have to dehydrate. Around this
time a year they will start to run out of products because they follow the
seasons for fruit. Their farm is in Beamsville, ON where they have their
orchards and most of their fruits. It was interesting that they dehydrate tomatoes
and that the best tomatoe to dehydrate comes from Canadian Tire, they found
this out after losing a crop and having to improvise (funny how you can stumble
upon things).
Meeting
Mario Pingue from Niagara Food Specialties was cool, he did a bunch of homework
before coming to talk to us about his product and why it is cheaper in the long
run to buy his product vs packaged products from the store. He referenced a
pack of hotdogs from Walmart and explained how you’re really paying more for
the hotdogs than you would for his meat. The concept behind him is all about
how the pigs are raised. He believes
that the pigs should live a happy life, right from what they eat to all the way
to the abattoir. They have worked very hard to source out what is best for their
product. The pigs that are going to the abattoir
will be loaded up and shipped which means the pigs are going to be stressed once
they reach the abattoir. Once at their
destination, the pigs are feed with food, given water and put into a stall with
sand, where they can relax and destress from their long journey, they will be comfortable
and happy. When it comes time to make their charcuterie, they import natural
salt from Sicily, the same salt we used at Anitca Corta Pallavichina.
Over all my
experience at Southbrook was a great one.
We got to try some amazing wine, eat some amazing food and meet some
great suppliers out of Niagara who work extremely hard to keep with being Good,
Clean and Fair and I will support what they’re doing 100%. As a growing cook, I
can’t wait to start using these products in my future.
