A Newfoundland wine called Funky Puffin

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This is where Newfoundland Wines grow

Newfoundland wines from the winery in Twillingate


Wine in Newfoundland is nothing new, as the island may be the Vinland - read wine country - of the viking They discovered it around the year 1000 on the east coast of America and settled there. Scientists are still arguing to this day as to whether that was actually the case. It rivals Cape Cod for the name, but one thing is certain. Newfoundland wine certainly never stood in rows on a winery like the vines we know from other parts of Canada. In the Niagara region or the Okanagan Valley, they cover river valleys and lake shores with rows of grapevines. Newfoundland wine grows naturally. Newfoundland Blueberry Wine is wild. So I was all the more amazed when I heard that the town of Twillingate owns a winery. the Newfoundland Winery in the Auk Bay, which produces its wines just outside of town in an old school building.

 

 

Newfoundland fruit wines with funny names
Newfoundland Wines with funny names

Newfoundland Wines are fruit wines

During our visit, it quickly became clear to me that only a few "real" wines are made in this winery. As is well known, only the fermented juice that is actually produced from grapes can be called “wine”. Everything else is - at least according to the German food law - wines in the broader sense, wine-based beverages or wine-like beverages. Auk Bay Winery in Newfoundland makes three true wines. The Great Auk Shiraz, the Great Auk Chardonnay and the Great Auk Cabernet Sauvignon. None of the grapes used come from the island.

The Newfoundland Winery buys them from winemakers in other parts of Canada. Therefore, many wine connoisseurs probably turn up their noses at the "blend" that comes from this winery. But the specialty of the Auk Bay Winery is not the wines made from grapes, but the fruit wines. These count - if you take it exactly - among the wine-like drinks. The ingredients probably come from Newfoundland. This is where it gets interesting. Almost all types of fruit that are native to the island are used for this. The most famous is the Newfoundland Blueberry Wine, the wine made from blueberries.

 

Newfoundland Blueberry Wine is just one of the wines from the Newfoundland winery
Newfoundland Blueberry Wine is just one of the wines from the Newfoundland winery

The Newfoundland Winery in Auk Bay produces Newfoundland Wine

These include types of fruit such as lingonberries, partridgeberries, gooseberries or bakeapples, which have absolutely nothing in common with apples. They resemble large raspberries, only they are yellow. But fruit wines are also made from blueberries, rhubarb, plums, blackberries, cranberries, currants and raspberries in the wine cellar of the Auk Bay Winery. The best known is the Newfoundland Blueberry Wine.

Since the types of fruit do not provide enough liquid to be able to make wine from them - sorry, fruit wine - water is added to the fruit mash. For the Iceberg Wines, the melt water from icebergs is chosen. These drift annually from the Arctic off the coast of Twillingate. This uses the cleanest water in the world for wine production in the Newfoundland Winery.

Depending on the sugar content of the berries, sweetening is added until the fruit wine has the flavor you want. This is how fruit wines and wine-based beverages are created, which – how can it be otherwise in Newfoundland – have names full of fantasy. There's the Funky Puffin, the Spin the Bottle, the Moose Joose, the Wreckhouse or the Jellybean Row. I think the most beautiful is the Krooked Cod, which for me is a symbol for the Humor of the Newfoundlanders is. Who else comes up with the idea of ​​calling a wine made from blueberries and raspberries a "crooked cod"?

 

At Auk Bay in Twillingate
The Newfoundland wines from the Newfoundland Winery at Auk Bay in Twillingate

 

 

You can go hiking in the area around the Newfoundland Winery. You need that for this.

  • Good hiking boots are a must with every hike. Only then can you enjoy your hike.
  • For a  snack on the way you need a  backpack. You can put your snack in a  lunch box and accommodate everything you need for your day trip. A bottle of Newfoundland Wine also fits in well for the break in between.

 


Travel Arrangements:

Parking at the airport

Here you can reserve your parking space at the airport.

Arrival:

Arrival by plane, bus or train*. You can reach Newfoundland from Europe via flights to Halifax , Montreal or Toronto. From there there are flights to St. John's, Newfoundland. Book your flight here*. The best way to get to the Newfoundland Winery in Auk Bay is by rental car.

Rental car Canada :

Cheap Car Hire - Book Fast and Easy! *

Hotels:

Accommodations in the Twingate* You can book through our partner booking.com.

 

Do you like to travel by motorhome?

  • Do you want to rent a motorhome? Then you will find information and a selection in these  booking options.
  • Check our packing list for campers to see whether you have packed everything for your motorhome tour.

 


 

Newfoundland Wine
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Source Newfoundland Wine : On-site research supported by Tourism Newfoundland and the Canadian Tourism Commission

Text Newfoundland Wine: © Monika Fuchs, TravelWorldOnline
Photos: © Copyright Petar Fuchs, TravelWorldOnline

A Newfoundland wine called Funky Puffin

Monika Fuchs

Monika Fuchs and Petar Fuchs are the authors and publishers of the Food and Slow Travel blog  TravelWorldOnline. They have been publishing this blog since 2005. TravelWorldOnline has been online since 2001. Their topics are trips to Savor, wine tourism worldwide and slow travel. During her studies Monika Fuchs spent some time in North America, where she - partly together with Petar Fuchs - traveled to the USA and Canada and spent a research year in British Columbia. This intensified her thirst for knowledge, which she satisfied for 6 years as an adventure guide for Rotel Tours and then for 11 years as a tour guide for Studiosus Reisen around the world. She was constantly expanding her travel regions, but curiosity still gnawed at her: "What's beyond the horizon? What else is there to discover in this city? Which people are interesting here? What do they eat in this region?" As a freelance travel journalist (her articles have appeared in DIE ZEIT, 360° Canada, 360° USA, etc.), she is now looking for answers to these questions as a travel writer and travel blogger in many countries around the world. Petar Fuchs produces the videos on this blog as well as on YouTube. Monika Fuchs from TravelWorldOnline is among Germany's top 50 bloggers in 2021. Find more Information about Monika and Petar Fuchs here.

4 thoughts too "A Newfoundland wine called Funky Puffin"

  1. I'm curious to see where 2013 will take you!
    I first have to digest and process the past year of travel, before that I forbade myself to make any plan;)
    Look forward to the bottle!

    LG Claudi

  2. Hi Monika,

    As always very enlightening and full of wonder, the article :) I only know Blueberry wine in mulled wine variety, but I like that!
    If you should come back in Twillingate (so before me;)), please bring me a Funky Puffin, whether full or empty! :

    LG Claudi

    1. Hello Claudi,

      So, for me now only other destinations are on the plan. And I have the impression that Newfoundland in your bucket list is always sliding up, am I right?

      But if I still be there in front of you, I'll bring you a Funky Puffin with you.

      LG, Monica

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