GRAPE EXPECTATIONS:
A new product is hitting P.E.I. shelves called Reason to Season
A collaborative effort between a mother and son has led to the creation of a unique product.
Wendy Stewart and her son, Adam, have crafted an original wine-seasoning rub called Reason to Season that is made with fermented grapes.
“There is nothing out there like it. It’s new to our markets from the research I’ve done,” said Adam.
This gluten free product is locally produced and packaged in Canada and is being sold at various businesses in P.E.I. and N.S.
The idea arose after Wendy, who lives in Nova Scotia, saw a similar product being produced in France.
However she noticed that the wine-seasoning rub produced there was made with full bottles of wine (that were then reduced to a rub by adding salt) and she began mulling over if this could be done in a simpler way yet still retain the rich flavour.
Wendy chatted with her son Adam, who lives in Charlottetown, about it and he asked ‘why not use the grapes?’
So Wendy contacted Wine Kitz in Dartmouth and got the grapes they had already used to make wine to see if they could come up with a similar product but use fermented grapes instead.
Adam proceeded to contact Wine Kitz in Charlottetown asking the same thing.
“The grapes are technically soaking in all of the wine that they use to make the wine,” said Adam on the reason why they decided to use the grapes instead of bottles of wine to make this rub.
“They were taking those grapes and throwing them out in the compost. They were going to waste. We took a product that was completely thrown in the green bin to recycle and we turned it into a profitable product.”
After a lot of research and trial and error, the mother and son came up with their own recipe.
“It was a lot of face time back and forth in the kitchen,” said Adam. “It took a lot of hard work, grit and sweat.”
Adam said this venture was especially exciting and important to him since his ADD has provided some challenges throughout his life and in prior workplaces.
“I could never really set my mind to do something,” said Adam. “My Mom kind of thought if we could do this, it would be something that I could build up on my own and I would see growth from it.”
Adam said he is enjoying being his own boss and building this brand in P.E.I.
However this is just the beginning. Adam and Wendy plan to expand their product to different flavours and produce a beer rub as well.
Adam said he hopes to inspire people with his story and be that voice for people to never give up.
“Set goals for yourself, you can get there,” said
Adam.
The P.E.I. product is currently made at his home in Charlottetown but Adam hopes to eventually expand to a production and packaging facility.