Stay Safe, Stay Inside and Stay Supportive of Local Business
Stay Safe, Stay Inside and Stay Supportive of Local Business
To begin, we at InSpiirit hope that everyone is staying safe and is following the advice of our health and government officials about protecting themselves and others during this pandemic. We were planning our March blog to be an ode to St. Patrick’s Day. We wanted to provide information about the history and differences between porters and stouts. More importantly we were going to explain why (after you enjoyed a pint of the black stuff from Dublin, Ireland) you should try one of the many delicious local craft stouts or porters which we find to be more interesting and complex than the mass produced ones. A good example would be our own Foreign Exchange Stout from the Exchange Brewery (https://exchangebrewery.com/beer-list/). However, with restaurants and bars now mostly closed, and mass gatherings like St. Patrick’s celebrations shut down, we let the day pass by without comment. Hopefully, we will be able to write more about this festive event next year.
We think the focus this month should be about the need to support local. If you enjoy craft beer, cider, and small batch wine they have never needed your support more than now. Did you know that settlers in the early 17th century first planted vines in Ontario? The Niagara Region really started to gain popularity in the early 1900’s and now higher valued viniferas have replaced many of the earlier vines that were planted. There are now approximately one hundred wineries and a dozen or so breweries and cider houses all producing artisanal brews. The grape and wine industry has an enormous impact on the economy of Ontario and employs thousands of employees. Jobs in this industry include Viticulturist, “Wine Geeks,” harvest and irrigation specialists, warehouse and fulfillment, as well as the more traditional accounting, marketing and operations positions. Grapes are now the most valuable fruit in Ontario in terms of farm gate value and one of the few growth industries.
Craft breweries and cider houses have exploded in the region over the last 10 years. It’s a harmonious industry, where each view themselves as craftsman who are all striving to produce unique, high quality products. There’s even some cross over whereby some brewers are following in the footsteps of their European ancestors and aging their beer and cider in previously used wine barrels.
As a result of the many wineries and breweries now closed, staff have largely been laid off except those involved in ongoing production and the industry needs your help. So either head out to the LCBO, Beer, and/or grocery stores (which have all been deemed essential services and will remain open) and pick up some Ontario products or stay home and let them deliver it to you directly. The more you can stay home the better. InSpiirit can also coordinate the delivery of wine, beer, and cider to your front door, if you are interested please contact us at troberts@inspiirit.ca and we’ll add you to our subscriber list.
Finally, we are making this time at home a way to experience new things as we’re sure you are too. For us, each Friday or Saturday we are going to order food from a local restaurant we have not been to, try a new Ontario beverage, and watch one of the best 100 movies of all time. The Godfather down, 99 more to go!
Again, please stay home, stay safe, and stay supportive! Feel free to contact us for new beer, wine, and cider ideas and we look forward to continuing to serve your beverage needs during this long period of social distancing!