Nutmeg is self-admittedly not a patient person. She develops a plan, does not appreciate too much external input, and certainly is not thrilled when there is a proposed change. Living in France, with life at a slower pace, has helped with her natural inclination somewhat. Although, Ginger is certain that she may never be fully cured of her affliction.
Here, are some verbal “pictures” of life in slow motion:
Walks with a 12 year old yellow lab
Sunday morning coffee service at the village café
Opening hours/days for the local boulangerie and boucherie
Watching a dog sleep in the sun
WiFi access in a thunderstorm
A swimming pool warmed only by the sun
Waiting for your tax refund
This post is about the ultimate lesson in patience, a heavy dose of bureaucracy, mountains of paperwork and long queues. Welcome to the world of the sous-préfectures(home of French Administration)! Nutmeg has had the pleasure of visiting a couple of these offices while in Provence, the location in Aix-en-Provence and equally attractive Arles office.
It is not every day that a new vodka hits the liquor store shelves, and certainly not one that is fabricated using only (100%) ingredients from Alberta. The bad news is Ginger and Nutmeg missed the grand opening party. The good news the Wild Life Distillery is nearby, in Canmore.
The distillery’s founders Matt Widmer and Keith Robinson are both Bow Valley locals. Widmer grew-up in Banff and Robinson in Canmore, their connection, like many residents, was snow and sport related – in this case, cross-country skiing events.
It might seem strange for graduates of Kinesiology (Widmer) and Business Administration and Marketing (Robinson) to join forces, but they both appear to be driven by entrepreneurial forces. In the summer of 2014, they shook hands on the slightly crazy idea of opening a distillery in Canmore, and the Wild Life Distillery began to take shape.
Nutmeg asked how the concept came together. According to Widmer,
“I have had an interest in distilled spirits since 2010. While living in Tofino, I would chat with a friend (MBA graduate) on a weekly basis about business ideas and options for future entrepreneurial goals. Distilleries were just starting to be a thing on Vancouver Island around then, and it sparked my interest. Why were there no small distilleries in Alberta? I travelled to Chicago in 2011 to take a spirits course and learn about the industry. Then after some investigation with the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (AGLC), I discovered that there were extremely high production minimums to grant access to a class-E manufacturing license. So basically, you had to produce 250,000 litres of absolute alcohol to get a license, which clearly prohibited any small distillery from considering starting up. It was then in the summer of 2014 that the AGLC changed the licensing structure, and dropped this huge minimum to zero.”
This was the game-changer that they needed.
“The distilling industry is full of big bucks and big dreams. Keith and I had to find ways to achieve the big dreams without spending too many $$. “
And, sure enough starting a new venture is not easy…
Probably the most difficult part of opening this business was getting permission from the municipality to renovate and acquire our building permit. This involved months of planning, navigating the building and fire codes, and countless meetings with the town to finally arrive at a mutually acceptable solution. Only then, could the space be renovated to suit the production requirements. Determining and finalising equipment needs took months of research and hours of commissioning once it was all installed.
The Wild Life Distillery facility is now fully operational and open to the public Wednesday through Saturday from 12 to 8 pm. Drop by for a tour (at 3 pm), enjoy a cocktail or buy a bottle of local vodka to take home.
Can you tell our readers about the Wild Life Vodka?
We use all Alberta ingredients for our vodka. The grains are raw hard, red wheat and malted barley. We mill, mash, ferment, distill, bottle and label every drop of every bottle on site. It is 100% locally produced, and we are proud to be able to do so here in Canmore. From ‘grain to bottle’ the process is around two (2) weeks. We use Canmore ground water for blending, and the resulting spirit is clean, smooth and authentically Albertan.
Where can readers find your Wild Life Vodka locally?
In Canmore: Stores: Liquor Depot Canmore, Cellar Door, Rusty’s Liquor and Unwined at 3 Sisters Restaurants: Where the Buffalo Roam, The Drake Pub, Hogshead Pub, and The Hive Gallery
In Banff: Stores: Liquor Depot Banff, Side-Street Liquor, Town House Liquor, Tunnel Mt. Liquor Restaurants: Ticino Swiss-Italian Restaurant, Melissa’s Restaurant, The Bison Restaurant, Park Distillery, The Block Bar/Restaurant and The Banff Park Lodge
What is Next up on your list of spirits to be produced?
Gin. We should be ready with gin within several weeks, and then from there, we will likely do a flavoured vodka for summer.
Contact details: Wild Life Distillery 160 -105 Bow Meadows Crescent Canmore, AB T1W2W8 Tel: 403-678-2800
Unkempt and a bit frayed at the edges New Orleans just woke up with bed head.
This is the kind of place where potholes can swallow a car tire in a single bite and construction projects take decades. Flash flooding is frequent when it rains because there is nowhere for the water to go. The city’s residents have adapted, basements are practically unheard of and definitely a folly, slab on grade construction begs for slightly damp walls, and there is a festival of some description almost every day.
This post will most likely make Nutmeg’s Corsican friends angry.
Why bother with the hassle of an overnight ferry, crowded beaches and small twisty roads? If you want to feel like you, have experienced a bit of Corsica without leaving the French mainland, plan a trip to the Ardèche region.
The similarities between, the beautiful island of Corsica and the Ardèche are significant, see below:
Today, your GPS or smartphone might just lead you to the middle of nowhere – East Jesus. This artist’s colony is a couple of dusty miles away from Slab City, a squatters’ settlement that feels like an Imperial Valley desert metropolis once you reach this commune, literally at the end of the road.
As Nutmeg stood in front of a crayon-coloured mound of dirt, clay and straw she thought what would Antoni Gaudí i Cornet (Gaudi) have thought of this? The “summit” of Salvation Mountain stands almost 45-feet high, a mass that is easily recognisable in the otherwise pancake-flat California desert.
Sète it is the kind of city that grows on you slowly, until one day you recognize that this fishy port has you hooked. Suddenly, you find yourself planning your next trip – reviewing the 10 reasons to visit and craving seafood à la Sètoise.
Kasia Dietz is a transplanted New Yorker who has called Paris her home for the last seven years. The “City of Light” lured Dietz into its fabulous web of art, culture and fashion while she was studying International Marketing in London. Ok, there might have been a swarthy Italian too, but she says, “It’s always been a city I dreamt of calling home.”
Ginger and Nutmeg is a Food and Travel blog for Active Foodies hooked on travelling. We love food, history and digging into cultural traditions. This is a blog with a bit of humour, informative travel information and some great recipes.
Perfectly Provence provides a vast online resource for all things Provence, France. Whether you are about to travel to Provence or currently live their as a local or ex pat, we have curated the region’s best experts to bring you everything you need to know. Perfectly Provence is all about great regional cuisine, France travel tips, local markets and things to do in Provence. Bon Voyage!
19 Spring Menu Ideas from Provence Easy Recipes for Entertaining
Calisson d’Aix a Sweet Almond Candy for a Queen of Provence
Canistrelli Recipe Sweet Corsican Cookies to have with Coffee
Couscous a Traditional Moroccan Recipe
Claufoutis aux Cerises Recipe for When Life Gives You a Bowl of Cherries
Banana Bread Love Affair
A Perfect Date Recipe
Easy Chicken Stew from the Pantry
Provence’s Olives Start to Finish
Aioli On Fridays in Provence
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Ginger and Nutmeg is a digital travel guide aimed at an adult English speaking audience. These are educated, tech-savvy tourists and locals who want to understand unique stories and details behind a destination’s sights and tastes.
