Sorry for continuing the wine hijack, but just so you know, all of Canada is not a bitter winter hellscape. The climate of the Okanagan region and southern Vancouver Island is actually quite mild, and an excellent place for wine grapes. Average LOW temperatures in Victoria BC in January - February is 3 C (37.5F). Snow is rare and does not stay long. Not exactly tropical, but not bad.
Compare with eg. Nebraska with average winter 10F with 20+ inches of snow.
I’d never expect much from the wine but can I at least order my Jesus any way other than well done or raw?
I’m not arguing grapes cannot be grown in Canada. I was addressing the point that Spoons was shocked that anyone would be surprised that fine wines could be made in Canada. And I was. As much as I’d be surprised to find tobacco was grown in Wisconsin, when it is known that it likes the southern climate. But it is (or was at least, in my lifetime).
I’ll just drop this into the wine-jack.
“German wine”.
Isn’t that like just beer? 
//i\\
If that person is brown, they’ll gladly suffer TWO shots to the foot.
I suspect other factors like cost, need for quantity, adherence to religious rules regarding production, and that the congregation is only consuming a small amount per person who don’t have alternatives* during the ritual work into decision making
* I’ve noted that in recent years our community Seders in fact do offer a selection of kosher wines suitable to the occasion along with an array of non-alcoholic choices that are ritually satisfactory for the meal. Choices are increasing for even small Jewish communities in the US. Some still want the old Manischewitz, Kedem, and Mogen David for the nostalgia factor (and some people do, in fact, like them). Other folks have differing tastes. But I think there’s already a tradition in place for wine made from Concord grapes in North American Jewish communities such that some people will continue to opt for them even if outside of holidays and weekly services they choose other varieties.
Or that tobacco can be grown in Canada, too. One of my Canadian relatives had a tobacco farm in Ontario that i visited when little. Years later, recalling this, it sort of amazed me that they were growing tobacco in Canada. “But it’s too far north,” I told myself. “But it’s southern Canada.” “Yeah, but it’s still farther north than, say, New York.” I didn’t know about Wisconsin.
One of my university friends lived in tobacco country in southern Ontario. He often worked picking tobacco, and told stories about the farmer’s kids, who had enough money that they’d roll their pickup trucks in a ditch every year, and Dad would just buy them a new one.
I don’t know if it’s still true, with the decline of tobacco generally, but New England used to be known for its prized shade tobacco used as cigar wrappers. This surprises a lot of lifelong New Englanders
My altar boy days are about 55 years in the rear view mirror, but I kinda recall communion wine tasting more like Muscatel than Manischevitz.
If I were a merry brewer
That would be a grand career!
I would pick the grapes
And peel the grapes
And stomp them into beer—DAMMIT!
Western Massachusetts has farms growing broadleaf tobacco for cigar wrappers in the Connecticut River Valley. It was once a much larger crop, has decreased over time, but is still grown.
ETA: Ninja’d by OldOlds.
You’re a bit late for that:
Southwestern Ontario was known for its Virginia tobacco. For many years, they supplied the Canadian cigarette industry with tobacco. That’s why Canadian cigarettes tended to be straight Virginias, instead of blends, like in the US and elsewhere. Other tobaccos were grown too, for cigar and pipe tobaccos, but Virginia ruled in southwestern Ontario.
Connecticut Shade and Connecticut Broafleaf are great tobaccos. Shade is light-coloured, delicate, and sweet, and used as a wrapper for cigars. Broafleaf is tougher, thicker, much darker, and slightly more bitter, and also used as a cigar wrapper and binder. As noted above, both come from the Connecticut River Valley.
I used to review cigars and pipe tobacco. I know a lot about many tobaccos, where they grow, their characteristics, and so on. These days, I don’t get to show off my knowledge much. Thanks for indulging me, folks!
Aha! You were one of the altar boys who snarfed the communion wine when the priest wasn’t looking!
I was too disgustingly honest.
I liked when I went to the Newman Center services in grad school. The services were filled with twenty somethings and had hip priests who let the communicants bring in home-made communion bread* and whatever wine they chose. It was the only time I ever drank decent communion wine.
- it was approved, unleavened bread made from a recipe they handed out. But it was a good, thick, chewy unleavened bread made with whole wheat and honey, and scored for easy breaking into cubes. Almost worth eating without the ceremony.
Darn few people from outside NY state & immediate neighboring states are aware of NY’s darn good wines.
My point was that nearly anyone who drinks wine has heard of German wine from Germany. And darn near anyone who’s heard of Germany knows it’s got cold snowy miserable winters & pleasant warm not hot summers. Just like southern Canada.
So someone aware of good German wine ought not find good Canadian wine all that surprising once they think a minute.
I’ve had perfectly drinkable wines from Germany, new York, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and other cool places. But i really prefer wine from California, Australia, and other sunny dry places
I totally missed your point. I thought you had meant the opposite really.
scraps lengthy post extolling the virtues of German wine
… which are now getting TOO sunny - wine is essentially a cool climate crop and wineries are being moved to higher elevations and further from the equator accordingly.
The 2045 northern slope Alaskan Cabernet Sauvignon was an awesome vintage!!