Page 29 - At Home Prince Edward County

and store it until we are ready to make
wine.”
But they unexpectedly had thousands of
visitors in 2020. “Even with restrictions we
were busy because we are a good outdoor
activity. We sold out of wine and were so
busy we had a big backup of honey to
process and ferment.” Maybe he can build
up some inventory after all to be aged.
VATS and STILLS
To extract oils from lavender, Sylvain
packs a bale of lavender into a vat, steams Sylvainʼs winemaking vats easily convert to
it and distills the oil. “Then I clean it and stills ... for essential oils, not liquor!
use it to ferment honey wine.” People get
excited seeing a still, maybe because of sto- Algonquin College. His family jokes the
ries about Prohibition and illicit booze.
Millefleurs venture came about because he
“But every European winery has one or ran out of room to make and store wine at
more stills,” he says. “After making wine,
home. That won’t happen here.
they use the grape skins again to make The new house was designed with a a
grappa. It’s considered a waste not to.”
wraparound porch that needed its own
Sylvain has been making wine for years foundations. “When I saw the excavation I
and earned his sommelier qualification at
was shocked!” he says. “We’d need so

@HOME CONSTRUCTION, RENOVATION & GARDENING DIRECTORY 29