It has been a couple of weeks since the 6^th annual Summerfest held at Bremner Farms in Delta BC but it is still fresh in my mind, the fresh ocean breeze, warm summer sun and acres and acres of huge fresh blueberries! I was invited by owner Terry Bremner to come pour Meadow Vista Honey Wines along with other local vendors at a wonderfully traditional summer festival.

After setting up my booth, I only had a short period of time to visit the many vintage cars (my favorite being the 1970 Citroen), beautiful quilts and miniature train set up. Everyone was very detail oriented in their craft.

In addition to the blueberry pie eating contest, COBS Bread sponsored a Blueberry Bake off. I have never entered a baking contest, but I couldn’t resist the opportunity…look where I was! I got up early that morning to pick fresh blueberries and whip up a little blueberry galette. The tiny kitchen didn’t have a rolling pin so I used a bottle of Libra!

Well, it must have been beginners luck, because I won! I actually had no clue what Terry was talking about when he came to my booth (which had a line up for the whole day) and said come with me… I’m like, huh? I’m busy! But he was able to drag me away and receive my prize. An unforgettable way to end and unforgettable day!

Can’t wait till next years Summerfest!

Check out this cool video with highlights of event…

http://www.bclocalnews.com/community/99027704.html

Our friends websites…

www.westhamislandherb.ca

www.bremnerfoods.com

www.wellbrookwinery.com

Expo was amazing! The grounds were huge and the line ups quite long, so I could only visit a few pavilions. The air quality is poor here so some of my pictures are not very clear. My favorite countries of the ones I was able to visit were Chili and Africa. Russia was wild on the inside and beautiful on the outside.

Meadow Vista is being received well. The Canadian Food and Trade Commissioners have had a challenge filling our time with useful information and experiences. Our work days are only 3-4 hours long and in that time you may not have anyone that is interested in wine, or Canadian products… just a little frustrating. Knowing what questions to ask is so key. I am trying to expose myself to as many companies doing business in China and what the markets look like in the different cities. I am learning a ton about how to do business in foreign markets, product infringement, foreign quality and pricing (taxes, tariffs, etc). I am in Guangzhou right now, having “finished” the day viewing two markets that sell foreign wine (nothing from Canada…yet). Other delegates from Canada have been insightful in how the system works as they seem to have more experience exporting. Tomorrow I will have an opportunity to pour my wine and present to individuals invited to our delegation. Don’t think I will be coming home with any orders but have started building relationships, which is how it is done here…

It was an honor to have the opportunity to introduce Kelowna’s newest chef, Michael Lyon, of the Eldorado Hotel to the bounty of our City. I put together an ecco-foodie fam tour that took us to the birth place and purveyors of wonderful artisan bread and cheeses, produce and sea food.

Our first stop, what I thought was bright and early start, (low and behold Michael had already been carving up the lake with those die hard water skiers) was Carmelis Goat Cheese Artisan. One of my favorite stops when touring Culinary Kelowna, Ofri gave us an up close tour of cheese making. The goats were lazily soaking up the morning sun while we deliberated over the huge array of goat cheese styles. It was a tough decision, but we chose the feta, with bay leaves and pepper corns and a the soft brie style Blue Velvet.

After a sample of goat gelato, it was off to Urban Harvest Organic Delivery for the latest in local organic and in-season veggies. Lisa and her daughter, Neko Rose showed us their large cooler rooms and sorting area where the weekly fruit and veggie bins are loaded and made ready for delivery. Lisa packed us with a box of vegetables that led me to day dreaming for the rest of the day… what will we make with all of this!?

The creative juices were flowing when there was a moment of horror when Michael discovered that I did not own a mandolin… can’t you just use a sharp knife? Lol So we zipped over to the Oriental Market before our next stop to pick up everything but a mandolin! They didn’t have one (and still neither do I)

Next, the Guisachan Village is probably the most complete “market place” in Kelowna. We picked up salmon, line-caught the previous day and delectable little Kushi oysters from Cod Father’s and had a bowl of spicy Manhattan chowder with Barbara from Spirit Truffles. She brought samples of her chocolates made with Meadow Vista Honey Wines. It was neat to taste Mabon and Libra in the centers of her decadent creations. Next door, the sweet smells of fresh bread were somehow different than your average bakery. There was a richness that came from the quality of the flour and the added ingredients like honey, Callebaut chocolate and apples. The Okanagan Grocery Artisan Bakery has a fresh, modern take with other tasty treats on their shelves like olive oil with fresh pressed lemons… yum!

We grabbed a Village Loaf and headed off to the Suncatcher Organic Farm, where it didn’t get any closer to the earth. Nancy was gracious as Michael and I waited on the back deck for Tony to finish plowing a row on his tractor on their 6 acre piece of Okanagan history. What was one of the original farm’s in Kelowna, not far from father Pandosy’s mission, was the farmstead of Eli Lequime. The land, traditionally a flood plan for the Mission creek, is rich in nutrients. Today, we walked the whole perimeter with Tony as he explained why he chose to grow his crops and who his customers were. The beautiful little seedlings were destined for greatness! Tenderly cared for kohlrabi, potatoes and fava beans would eventually be savored by the guests of Mission Hill Family Estate Winery and RauDZ.

Saving the best for last, (and because I was driving!) we drove across the lake to Rollingdale Winery where I am keeping my first hive. We had a good laugh with Steve, Allison and Joe as we tasted their wines and talked about the politics of the wine industry. The weather was turning nasty so we dawned beekeeper veils and walked through the vineyard to the backfield to check on “the girls”. Queen Victoria had emerged from the queen excluder and you could see her busily laying eggs. It was neat to feel the heat that the hive put out on the cool afternoon. With the temptation to taste the honey, we made one more quick stop at Meadow Vista Honey Wines winery. I was proud to show off my little operation. Tanks of Joy, Cloud Horse and Libra were fermenting away. Alan had left the left over apricots from fermentation in a tub for me to bring back to the house for composting and we cracked open a barrel of honey for a little taste of yummy.

Back at the house, unloading our days’ accumulation of amazing food, the real fun began. Cooking with a real chef was a blast! His creativity and humor added the secret element to good food: good energy. I will show you what we made, but save the recipes for The Buzz e-newsletter. Thanks Michael for the great day!

Also, a big thank you to everyone who took time from their super busy day to show us their passion and businesses. You know, everyone looked so fit and healthy, it was an inspiration to connect with the souls of where our food comes.

The Mazer Cup announced the winners via Twitter this week, awarding Cloud Horse with a GOLD medal and Joy with a BRONZE medal in the Varietal Dry category.

The 2010 Mazer Cup International Commercial and Home Mead Competition was held March 26 & 27, 2010 in Boulder Colorado. The Mazer Cup has quickly become the de-facto standard for mead competitions in North America and has set the standard for all of the mead-only competitions that have followed.

We have been anxiously awaiting the results of this competition in which we entered for the first time this year. With all new things, this was a learning experience in itself. Still dealing with what feels like laws that date back to prohibition, we had lots of fun with the US FDA and Border Services as we attempted to courier our wines across the border. A few hours of paperwork later and our four honey wines were on their way to be judged alongside 171 other meads from around the world.

We now excitedly await the arrival of our gold and bronze medals along with the judges notes… stayed tuned for pictures : )

Happy March Everyone!

Welcome to the many new subscribers from Alberta! The Buzz, Meadow Vista Honey Wines e-newsletter… our way of keeping in touch with you and sharing our latest recipes and goings-on. If you are not already receiving The Buzz to your inbox each month click here to sign up!

A big Thank You Alberta for voting Meadow Vista Honey Wines the BEST WINERY at both Winefest Calgary and Winefest Edmonton! (Check out the line up of wines poured at www.celebratewinefest.com) We had so much fun meeting the organizers, suppliers and enthusiastic people; thanks for having us!

It has been an incredible few weeks introducing Meadow Vista Honey Wines into the Alberta market, we met some great people and had some good laughs (talking ourselves out of a speeding ticket in Calgary after we found ourselves completely lost and crossing the city limits was definitely a gooder lol)

We are so excited about the overwhelming response to our wines, Cloud Horse was a real show stopper at both Winefests, it was actually the runner up for

Best White at Winefest Edmonton! Stay tuned as we update our web site listing under “shop” for the latest restaurants and retailers to carry Meadow Vista Honey Wines.

After getting an opportunity to chat with the guys at Zyn in Calgary we are happy to say that our wines are now available for purchase online and can be delivered right to your door… how cool is that! Be sure to check out our products on their website zyn.ca

While in Edmonton I had the pleasure of meeting Pastry Chef Scott Parker of the

Crown Plaza Hotel / Chateau Lacombe who was excited to create a dessert using our products. He wowed us with this yummy recipe he whipped up using Libra and our organic honey.

Enjoy…

Cinnamon and Honey Chiboust Tart with Sautéed Apples

(Bee Healthy… use local, free range and organic ingredients whenever possible in your recipes)

Sweet Pastry

2 cups flour

½ cup plus 1 tbsp butter

2/3 cup icing sugar

¼ cup ground almonds

2 tsp salt

1 egg

1 yolk

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle, mix butter and flour until you get a sandy mass. Add all the other ingredients and knead only until incorporated. Never over work the dough; stop just as it comes together. Store for at least 24 hours before rolling out.

Chiboust Cream

(Chiboust is a pastry cream lightened with whipped cream or stiffly beaten egg whites. It can be sweetened with vanilla, orange zest or liquors)

1 cup milk

3 cinnamon sticks

1/3 cup Meadow Vista Organic Honey

6 egg yolks

3 tbsp cornstarch

7 gelatin leaves

7 egg whites

2/3 cup Meadow Vista Organic Honey

1 vanilla bean

Sautéed Apples

5 cooking apples (such as Granny Smith) peeled, cored and cut into 1cm thick slices

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup Meadow Vista Organic Honey

1/3 cup Meadow Vista Honey Wines Libra

Bring the milk and broken cinnamon sticks with the scraped vanilla bean to a boil and allow infuse about 30 minutes. Take out cinnamon sticks and vanilla bean. Cream together cornstarch, yolks and honey in separate bowl, then temper with milk. Pour back into pot and return to stove. Cook on medium high heat while stirring until boiling and very thick. Transfer to a bowl and cover directly on top with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Soak gelatin in cold water, while making meringue (beating egg whites until stiff). Place the honey in a pot and bring to boil, cooking until 120C on a candy thermometer, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile whisk whites in a stand mixer until stiff peaks form, and then slowly pour in the cooked honey. Continue whisking until cool. Unwrap the custard and whisk in the soft gelatin, then gently fold in the meringue until combined. Take a 8” round cake pan and line with plastic wrap, pour Chiboust Cream into pan and level off at 2-3 cm high, place in freezer.

Roll out dough to 1/2cm thick and form in a 10” to 11” round tart ring. Place in fridge for ½ hr then blind bake until golden brown.

For the apples, melt butter in a frying pan and add apples, honey and Libra. Toss fry until cooked to your preference.

To assemble: spread a thin layer of apricot jam on base of tart shell. Line the base with the cooked apples (reserving some for the sides) then place the frozen Chiboust disk on top. Caramelize the top with a blowtorch, first with granulated sugar and then with icing sugar if desired (this step can be skipped) Place more of the apples around the perimeter of the tart.

Serve at room temperature with a drizzle of warm honey and toasted almonds and a chilled glass of Libra.

This Christmas Santa was very good to me! I enjoyed a visit back home to spend the week with my family and friends in a winter wonderland called Edmonton. Picturesque frosted trees, bright blue skies and snow covered lawns… it was a beautiful sight! Nothing better than celebrating a white Christmas with the ones you love.

My favorite present this year was from my Uncle Charlie. He told me that when he heard that I was working for MVHW that he just couldn’t wait to dig out this ‘ancient’ bottle of mead from his collection. He purchased it decades ago when he was working for the Alberta Liquor Control Board… it even has it’s original A.L.C.B price tag… $3.75!

Hoping everyone is enjoying this holiday season and wishing a very Happy 2010 to all!

bee joyful…

~Sarah

Worker Bee

What a year! As 2009 comes to an end there is a buzz around the office here with anticipation for what 2010 will bring. Judie Steeves couldn’t have said it better when she wrote ’stung but not stopped by bee rules’. There have been many bumps in the road this year for us at Meadow Vista but no matter what came our way there was always confidence that everything would work out exactly as it was suppose to.

With the publication of this fabulous article in BC Fruit Growers Magazine we are reminded how passion and a positive attitude can encourage us to continue looking forward to the end goal and remain smiling when things don’t turn out as planned. Unfortunately the land referred to in this article just wasn’t the right fit for us. And so we continue the forward motion, full speed ahead with our newest vision… Downtown Kelowna… Urban… Organic… Fresh… stay tuned…

It’s that time of year… sniffly noses, sore throats and irritating coughs… but before you reach to your medicine cabinet though check out this months Buzz titled Healing With Honey