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The world renowned wineries of the Niagara Region in Southern Ontario have made quite a name for the grape
that bears its name. With more than 90 plantations and vineyards – many of which predate Confederation – it’s under- standable that visitors and even residents are shocked when they hear that a handful of Canadian distillers are making a name for spirits in the land of Jackson-Triggs. But did you know that it isn’t all about the grape in Ontario? When Adam and Patricia Szymkow, the owners of Polonée Distillery in St. Catharines, Ontario spoke with Spotlight on Business in August, I left with grain on the brain. “It’s a $9 billion industry in this province,” Adam said. “People always assume that all Canadian grains come from the Prairie Provinces, but that isn’t so. We ferment and distill off Ontario-grown grain using our state-of- the-art GENIO still and, along with our Director of Creativity Arkadiusz Andrzejewski, fill and seal each bottle of Kannuk vodka by hand.”
There are more breweries per capita in Canada’s Ocean Playground than in any other province – 42 in total. That amounts to more than 3 million litres of beer per year being brewed from Cape Breton to Yarmouth. In late August, Spotlight on Business spoke with two of the three owners of one of the newest tributaries of Nova Scotia’s growing river of craft beer, husband and wife Mark and Kelly Huizink of 2 Crows Brewing– Jeremy Taylor, the Head Brewer and co-owner, was taking care of a batch of Pollyanna: Wild Northeast IPA at the time. What struck me most during my conversation with the Huizinks in the chic taproom of their brewery at 1932 Brunswick Street in Downtown Halifax was the lengths they’re willing to go to live up to their promise to craft beer enthusiasts.
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • JULY 2017
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