Latest news with #PoetComeau
CTV News
27-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
‘Something pretty special': N.S. cider appellation is a first in Canada
The Nova Scotia Cider Association has launched Canada's first cider appellation called 'Red Sky.' Poet Comeau, the owner of Lake City Cider and president of the Nova Scotia Cider Association, said the cider showcases the high quality of apples grown in the province. 'I think it's just about looking at what we have here in Nova Scotia and realizing that it's something pretty special,' said Comeau in an interview with CTV's Todd Battis on Friday. 'Red sky at night, sailors' delight. Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning. It's just that connection to where we are and how unique Nova Scotia is.' Comeau said a cider can only be recognized as a 'Red Sky' if it meets certain standards. 'There's quality control, there's a blank tasting and you need to submit samples for the blind tasting to get though the qualifications. There are even things around sugar levels, acid levels, and you need to have a blend of apples and not one particular type.' There are currently nine qualifying ciders available across the province, said Comeau, with all of them being available at the NSLC around the end of August for a short period of time. Reducing interprovincial trade barriers With provinces changing rules around importing and exporting alcohol across the country, Comeau said it's important that Canadian products are being consumed by Canadians. 'I think that the best products that are made in Canada should be enjoyed by Canadians,' she said. 'It's going to take a little bit of time and reworking just because we are used to the way things used to work, but I think the idea about reducing some of those barriers is really about getting great products across Canada.' Comeau said ciders are different from other products as apples cannot grow in every climate. 'Apples don't grow everywhere. I think it makes our product a little more unique. It does create opportunities and markets where maybe they don't have cideries. I think a great way to promote something like 'Red Sky' is with that restaurant experience and pairing it with food and enjoying it with others.' For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
CTV News
10-06-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
Red Sky at night, sailor's delight: N.S. launches Canada's first cider appellation
The Nova Scotia Cider Association has launched Canada's first cider appellation. Dubbed 'Red Sky,' the association says the cider celebrates the distinct flavours and characteristics of Nova Scotia's world-class apples. 'An appellation really is about the area,' Poet Comeau, owner of Lake City Cider and president of the Nova Scotia Cider Association, explained during an interview on CTV Morning Live Tuesday. 'So really, when we are celebrating appellations and our ciders here, we're talking about Nova Scotia in particular.' All ciders must be made from 100 per cent Nova Scotia-grown apples in order to obtain the Red Sky designation. 'What it strives for is to say, this is a little bit of Nova Scotia in a glass,' Comeau said. The Red Sky appellation is the first appellation to be recognized in North America. In order for a cider to be recognized as a Red Sky in Nova Scotia it has to meet certain standards. 'It has to go through a blind tasting of its peers, no one from the association or who owns, or produces can be on that tasting panel,' Comeau said. The association partnered with Nova Scotia Community College's food and hospitality program for the tastings. 'It really just creates a standard. So you can only have a certain amount of sugar, acid has to be in balance, it does need to be carbonated and filtered,' the Lake City Cider owner said. The cooler nights and warmer days help to make the apples red to produce the Red Sky appellation, she said. 'We have this specific soil, we have this specific climate, we get the right weather, we get the right change in weather,' Comeau explained. The association says the goal is for Nova Scotia cideries to produce Red Sky ciders that share similarities, but still have their own expressions depending on the different apples used. 'We want the different Red Skies to be more like siblings,' she said. The Red Sky name is an ode to the weather proverb that suggests a red sky at night indicates good weather is coming, while a red sky in the morning signals bad weather. The association notes Nova Scotia's cider history is rooted in its maritime heritage, from the arrival of apples and seeds via ships to the role of cider in supporting sailors and coastal trade. Red Sky Red Sky by Dartmouth's Lake City Cider is pictured. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
