We’re creating a festival that puts our country’s finest on a platform for the world to notice. From coast to coast, we’re gathering the very best to congregate in Edmonton, AB.
The inaugural Northern Lands: The Great Canadian Wine & Craft Beer Adventure (March 27-28, 2015) will be the most significant ALL Canadian wine and food festival ever held.
Over the
past 20 years, the quality evolution of the wine, craft beer and craft spirits
produced in Canada has been dramatic. As
Canadians, we can take pride in knowing that our country produces wine, beer
and spirits comparable to the best in the world.
Yet, as
Canadians we do not collectively celebrate the great quality being produced nor
those responsible for the innovation and quality evolution we are experiencing
and we certainly don’t boast about it to the rest of the world. As a result, few beyond our borders are aware
that we even have a growing and maturing wine and craft beverage industry, let
alone the remarkable quality being produced.
We’re going to change that.
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This
festival will showcase Canada’s finest wine, craft beer, craft spirits and
cider producers along with the best chefs, food producers and farmers. The festival will host a marquee grand
tasting with winemakers/brewmasters and principals, educational seminars and
tastings, intimate producer dinners and events, and an awards competition providing
producers with local, national and international exposure. Many of the most respected international and national wine and food writers have already committed to attending the festival to experience what will be the largest gathering of ALL Canadian wine producers, chefs and food producers.
Help us raise the profile of the Canadian wine, craft beverage and culinary industries locally, nationally and globally.
Your support will put independent Canadian producers responsible for industry innovation and quality on the world stage. We should be proud of the quality our country is producing. It’s time to tell the world.
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Meet Your Makers (Saturday, March 28) is a marquee grand tasting
showcasing over 60 of the best wineries, craft breweries and craft distillers
in Canada.
Meet the winemakers, brewmasters and owners. Taste the creations
of Edmonton’s best chefs using products from local food producers and enjoy
delicious offerings of some of Canada’s best chefs including Vikram Vij (Vij’s;
the newest dragon on CBC’s Dragon’s Den; judge on Chopped Canada), Dale MacKay
(Ayden; winner of Top Chef Canada season 1) and Justin Leboe (Model Milk).
Use of Funds
What the funds will be used for: sponsor the chefs, support the
purchase of products from local food producers and farmers for the chefs to use
in their culinary creations to be served at the event, support the festival’s
efforts to gain national and international exposure for our local chefs and
food producers and wineries by assisting with the travel and accommodation for
national and international food and wine writers.
The festival will also raise funds for the next generation by splitting all net proceeds from the Meet Your Makers Grand Tasting on March 28 between two local community organizations: the High School Culinary Challenge (provides scholarship and apprenticeship opportunities to young people wishing to pursue a career in the culinary field, thus ensuring the sustainability of the industry) and the Edmonton Community Foundation Grateful Palate Fund (an endowment fund that grants to charities whose main purpose is to feed people).
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Northern Lands is supported and locally
organized by the following group of enthusiastic wine and beer adventurers:
Gurvinder Bhatia
Aimee Hill
Derek Weisbeck
Jerri Cairns
Bonnie Malouin
Nils Skalin
Aleisha Bartier
Spike Maynard
Natasha Susylinski
Steve Derpack
Phil Wilson
Kendall Barber
Simon Smotkowicz
Blair Lebsack
Caitlin Fulton
Jennifer Cockrall-King
Nate Box
Daniel Braun
Dwayne Pohranychny
Todd Babiak
Chris Labossiere
Greg Zeschuk
Dawn Harrison
Paul Shufelt
Jenny Lawrence
