| I’ve been singing “Shine On, Harvest Moon” for most of the morning. Not sure why… the berries, for the most part, were on early this year, so we’ve been finished for some time already. I guess the seasons are ingrained in a farmer’s soul, even in years when seasonal rituals are not so evident. We are happy to say, however, that we have acquired lots of fruit for winemaking this winter. The Harvest Moon was good to many Alberta fruit farmers this year, giving us excellent summer and fall berry crops. We are ready and set.
It is definitely harvest season. So many indicators. Nippier air, falling leaves, the sun leaving us earlier in the evening. Summer seasonal markets at an end. The summer has flown by and we are, for the most part, finished with our summer-only markets. Before we go any further, we want to say a big “thank you” to everyone who visited us at one of the many seasonals we were a part of this summer. It was great to meet you all, in all parts of the province. I always think that one of the best things about fall is planning for Thanksgiving: all those wonderful flavours coming together in one place and time. Here at Field Stone, we like to feel that we are continuing the ancient practice of using wild native berries at the Thanksgiving feast. Now those berries come in a bottle… berry wines are the new black! And on that note, we have great news! This week, our Black Currant Fruit Wine and our Bumbleberry Fruit Wine went back in the bottle. We have been sold out of these popular two varieties for some time now, but our newest batch is now on the shelf and ready to share your THANKSGIVING DINNER! If you haven’t tried one of these with your turkey dinner yet, this is your year! One of our drier wines, the Black Currant is a lovely, rose-like choice for pairing, slightly tart and delicious. If you like a slightly-sweeter pairing, the Bumbleberry’s subtle berry flavours perfectly complement the mild flavour and texture of turkey, without overpowering it. As always, our Cherry Fruit Wine is great accompaniment if you prefer ham for your Thanksgiving feast. You won’t be disappointed with any of these choices. And one more turkey feast recommendation: Saskatoon Berry Dessert Wine served with your pumpkin pie. This is a pairing we love – as these two flavours have “harvest” written all over them. Sometimes in our haste to mix dessert wines into cocktails, especially in the summer, we forget that all alone, dessert wines are always the perfect ending to a perfect meal. Perhaps you are having guests for Thanksgiving Dinner and are looking for something to serve when they arrive? We love to have our Cherry Cider Sangria ready in large pitchers for company’s arrival. The lovely ginger flavour of the beer combined with harvest-favourite apple cider, and melded with Alberta sour cherries is perfect for October. Give it a try this year… Cherry Cider Sangria 1 bottle Field Stone Cherry Fruit Wine 500 ml. apple cider 2 – 250 ml. bottles ginger beer (alcoholic, or non-alcoholic) Red and green apple slices Orange/lemon zest (optional) Mix ingredients together in a large pitcher. Chill for one hour to let flavours mingle. Delish! Not cooking this year but invited out? Take our Turkey Dinner Pack (one Fruit Wine and one Dessert Wine for $40) along with you for a hostess gift. (Well-chilled, that is). Whatever your plans may be, we hope you invite Field Stone to be a part of your Thanksgiving next weekend. A bit more news from the winery this month includes the conclusion of our summer draw, and Heather Crook is our lucky winner! Congratulations Heather and again, thanks to everyone who visited the winery and entered the draw this summer. And finally… believe it or not… we are travelling around the province to some great CHRISTMAS shows this month! Yes, it begins…. Friday, October 14th finds us at Medicine Hat’s Fall Into Christmas Handmade Market. For three full days we will be set up at the Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede with many other artists, artisans, makers, and designers who have come from coast-to-coast. Fall Into Christmas is a uniquely Canadian handmade marketplace featuring only Canadian handmade works. For all the details, including hours, visit www.signatures.ca. The same weekend, October 14-16, we are thrilled to be back at the Edmonton MAKE IT show, this year part of the Edmonton Home Show. If you’ve never attended a Make It event, here’s your chance. Make It proudly connects conscious shoppers with local crafters, makers, and artists and is very excited to be partnering with the Home Show this year. At the Edmonton Expo Centre, you’ll find all details here: www.edmontonfallhomeshow.com. The following weekend finds us at Red Deer’s Our Best to You Handmade Market. Since 1991, this show has been an annual holiday tradition where visitors can meet individual artists and crafters in person, hear their stories, and enjoy the variety of Canadian products. Join us at Westerner Park from October 21-23 for a great shopping experience. For all the details, visit www.signatures.ca. So for all of you who like to a get a real jump on your holiday shopping, October is your month! Of course our Christmas Markets continue every weekend in November and December, and we will have more about them in next month’s newsletter. In addition, many more fall and Christmas events will be taking place at our five indoor market locations over the next while, so be sure to follow us on social media to keep abreast of events. We welcome you each weekend at Calgary Farmers Market South, Crossroads Market (Calgary), Gasoline Alley Market (Red Deer) and Bountiful Market (Edmonton), as well as our brand new location: Calgary Farmers Market West (25 Greenbriar Dr NW). Come check out the new market if you haven’t already. Let the fun begin! And that’s all we have for this month. Until next time, we hope your “Harvest moon will smile, and shine on all the while…” Happy October, everyone.
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