The SAS Blog: Stories, Wine Highlights, Events, Recipes, etc.

January 06, 2016

Winter WineFest January 15-17, 2016

Have a listen to Whitehorse now - and then enjoy them again at‪#‎WinterWineFest2016‬. They are our headliners at our Opening Night Concert on Friday, Jan. 15, 2016 on Main Street, Jordan Village. Some tickets still available: http://www.20valley.ca/site/buy-tickets

Whitehorse

January 1 at 12:33pmToronto

Thanks to CBC Radio 2's Top 20 Chart for their continued support of Leave No Bridge Unburned.

Check out their top 30 #1 hits from 2015 featuring Downtown at #1...

Whitehorse - Downtown (Official Video)

Official video for the song "Downtown" from the album Leave No Bridge Unburned, out February 17, 2015 on Six Shooter Records. Pre-Order the…

YOUTUBE.COM

December 31, 2015

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It's been a remarkable year for Fancy Farm Girl wines!
First launched in the LCBO in February 2015 the FRIVOLOUS WHITE & FLAMBOYANT RED have been very well received! Thank you one and all for purchasing and enjoying these wines...you had a hand in its success! Thank you for your patience as well. We have heard many stories of the LCBO being OUT OF STOCK over the holiday season. But...an exciting future lies ahead as they are re-released and re-launched in new LCBO programs in February 2016. More stores... more wines. So do keep tuned in for new exciting details to follow in 2016....Cheers!

December 22, 2015

Why no wine in the grocery store, premier?

ANDRE PROULX, GUEST COLUMNIST

FIRST POSTED: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 09:31 PM EST | UPDATED: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015 10:14 PM EST

On Tuesday morning I watched Premier Kathleen Wynne pat herself on the back and purchase the first six-pack of beer at a grocery store in Ontario.

I watch social media fill up with cheers and applause that we can finally — in late 2015 — get beer in a grocery store like so many civilized jurisdictions on the planet.

I do need to tip my hat to the province for allocating 50% of the shelf space to craft beers.

But I am still scratching my head figuring out how craft beer leapfrogged over our local wine producers to be put on such a pedestal.

It would appear that the provincial government is still in the process of giving the middle finger to small local producers of wine.

Don’t get me wrong I’m a huge fan of craft beer.

But it strikes me as odd that as a craft beer producer I could set up in any city or town in the province and have a shop within the city limits.

I can use ingredients that could largely be sourced from outside the province and produce it in the city.

Meanwhile, we are forcing our wineries to sell wine out of their cellar doors, largely located an hour or two outside of major urban centres.

If I don’t make enough wine I don’t even have access to the LCBO’s shelves and have to rely on word of mouth and people making the trek to my winery to taste my product.

Not to mention that VQA wines are made using 100% locally grown grapes while your favourite craft beer may well be sourcing their hops from outside the province.

As a producer of local wines, I am being denied access to the largest markets in the province.

What about Wine Rack and Wine Shop stores?

Both of these publicly-traded companies have grandfathered licences from pre-NAFTA times allowing them to carry wines from a handful of wineries.

Much of the wine sold in the Wine Rack is bulk wine made mostly from imported grapes, with some Canadian grapes.

In terms of the quality, I don’t feel they are a fair representation of wines produced in Ontario.

There are dozens of world-class wineries that don’t have access to the market solely because they aren’t producing enough wine to be listed at the LCBO.

When the Ontario government is asked why it’s taking so long to make the shift to selling wine in grocery stores the answer is invariably, “it’s complicated”.

I have a hard time taking that at face value given that in B.C. there are already a large number of private stores and even government-run ones that sell B.C. wines exclusively.

There is no excuse for Ontario to be so far behind.

There is no way that B.C. is so different from Ontario that it can serve as an excuse for hindering progress.

I’m looking forward to buying my first six-pack of beer from a grocery store. It’s a step in the right direction.

But don’t think for one minute I am going to raise my pint while thinking this is good enough.

It’s been 90 years since the end of prohibition and I’m sorry, Premier Wynne, but this is not good enough.

The fact it has taken 90 years to make this small change is not something to be celebrated. It’s a reminder of how our government continues to fail us.

— Proulx is a wine writer and has appeared on Global and CTV

http://www.torontosun.com/2015/12/15/why-no-wine-in-the-grocery-store-premier

December 08, 2015

SHORTBREAD SHOWDOWN/GENERATION THROWDOWN RESULTS!

MEDIA RELEASE

December 8, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TRADITIONAL TRUMPS THE SPICE

The inaugural “Shortbread Showdown” at Sue-Ann Staff Estate Winery held December 5^th and 6^th , 2015 saw the daring deed of pitting Grandma against Grandma. In this “Generational Throwdown” shortbreads from each of Sue-Ann’s Grandmothers were tasted with discerning customers, neighbours, family and bloggers.

Of course, in any family debate, there can be no winners. However, a slim majority (60% of the votes) favoured the “Traditional Blue” recipe of Lu Staff, Sue-Ann’s paternal grandmother. The award? Bragging rights only.

Obviously, admires of Edith Burrows’ (Sue-Ann’s maternal grandmother) Savoury Cocktail Shortbread are devastated in their defeat. Their originality in flavour, ingredients and texture cannot be discounted.

Voting may have been rigged due to the popularity of the 2014 Riesling Loved By Lu. Brix was not present for the vote count hence the results are not “Brix Approved”. In point of fact, Brix is immensely dismayed that he wasn’t even given a sample of either shortbreads nor wine pairings.

Mark December 3 & 4, 2016 for an expanded “Shortbread Showdown” at Sue-Ann Staff Estate Winery. The winery hopes to include entries from local bakeries, shortbread aficionados and local home bakers.

Sue-Ann Staff Estate Winery, also home of the “Fancy Farm Girl”, is a premium winery in Jordan, ON, Canada on the brow of the Niagara Escarpment. It is the ultimate assemblage blending over 100 years of family grape growing experience with Sue-Ann’s international winemaking acclaim. Clay soil with limestone rock beneath provides wine with intensity, minerality and longevity. The onsite retail store is open daily on the 200 year old family estate.