Wine View: Year about to end was one in which to connect locally in numerous ways

By JACQUELINE CORRIGAN

How I love words! Especially words that have a double meaning.

I must admit to being a little worried about what to write this time of year. In late December of 2019, I wrote about going off the beaten path and trying new things this year.

Iʼm sure we all agree that we have indeed, most certainly, done that!

We all want to keep our economy going while staying safe. All businesses need our support and especially our local shops.

Therefore I am not going to recommend a particular brand name of Canadian wine, spirit or beer over another. Rather I am going to suggest that when you make a purchase of beverage alcohol make sure to include at least one local Canadian product. We have a lot to choose from in every aspect of the beverage alcohol industry. Home grown gins, vodka, whiskies, wines, beer, ciders.

If we all purchase at least one product each time we make our regular buys then as a whole you can see how this has a knock on effect. Big or small it all contributes to the bigger economic picture for Ontario. Donʼt forget, you can order on line for pick up!

My goal this year was/is to use this column as a teaching tool. So for instance the terms “the angels share” the liquid that evaporates from the barrels into the “Heavens” or “uisge beatha, eau de vie, akvavit, acqua vitae” meaning “Water of Life” seem appropriate terms for this column.

When the “you know what hit the fan” I personally chose not to inundate myself with what for me became a cacophony of noise. This was a very personal choice. The Beach Metro News kept me abreast of what I needed to know. It let me know about wonderful local people. It was also the big connector to great things.

It was through the Beach Metro News that I found out about the need for masks at Michael Garron Hospital in East York. Immediately I jumped on board.

In September I read about the Sandwich Sisters. Again, immediately Iʼm all in! Through the Sandwich Sisters I found out about Weldon Green a.k.a the Bread Man and am now helping in keeping his legacy alive.

I have also done a lot of reading. I revisited some books, The Deptford Trilogy by Canadian author Robertson Davies https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Deptford-Trilogy , and A Year in Provence https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40189.A_Year_in_Provence.

I also read new ones such as Braided in Fire www.braidedinfire.com which was particularly poignant as we learned about Black business owners in the Beach and their lived experiences in the Black Lives Here column in Beach Metro News.

I also read three books about wine: The Lost Vintage https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36260431-the-lost-vintage ; The Soul of Wine and The Spirituality of Wine https://www.giselakreglinger.com

All of these books, with wine in hand, took me to places in my mindʼs eye that were wonderful, imaginative and also to places visited and yet to visit.

So, get outside as much as possible, walk the dog or the cat!

Dig out the old wine skin or buy a new one. Remember that young wine goes in a new wine skin and older wine in the relic from the past! Or else Houston we have a problem!

Thank you Beach Metro News and Happy New Year to one and all!

Jacqueline Corrigan is a Certified Sommelier (graduate George Brown College Sommelier Program); a Member of the International Sommelier Guild; and a graduate WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust – Britain).

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