No wine-ing

NEW GLASGOW - Charles Patton's Stewart Street New Glasgow shop has all the telltale aromas, which give it away as a brew-it-yourself location.
The Water 'N' Wine is home to dozens of plastic buckets and carboys, labeled and placed on shelves, each containing a mixture, which is somewhere between Welch's and wine.
He doesn't touch them once they're started, just provides the equipment to make wine and space for brewing batches to sit. He's got a permit to do so.
Despite controversy surrounding the practice in this province, following the conviction of a Halifax shop owner, Patton says the demand for the service hasn't diminished.
"On a good month, I probably have 100 or more batches," he said.
The demand is so great, that Patton has decided to relocate his shop to accommodate his customers' demands for in-store brewing. Some are coming from as far away as Sheet Harbour and River John - he mentions a Second World War veteran who travels from Antigonish. Many are elderly or simply don't have the space in their own homes to do the job, he says.
In-store winemaking is common in other provinces, such as Ontario, New Brunswick and P.E.I. and Patton believes it's only a matter of time before the roadblocks and litigation surrounding it in Nova Scotia are a thing of the past.
Ross Harrington, the owner of Wine Kitz in Clayton Park, was convicted of selling alcohol last week. He had also been charged with illegally storing liquor but was not convicted. Harrington's court troubles began after a complaint made by the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation claiming he had violated the province's Liquor Control Act. At issue was the definition of liquor, which included the grape mixture sold in the wine kits, which includes "any compound, mixture or preparation whether in solid or liquid form to which the addition of water or any other liquid or any substance will produce intoxicating liquor."
"But it's so broad, it catches everything," Patton said.
The court transcript from Harrington's case is tacked to a clipboard on Patton's store counter.
"It smacks of political interference," he says. "They say it's to protect wine sales - for smaller wineyards, such as Jost."
But he calls the amount of revenue generated by a small shop like his, "a drop in the bucket," compared to the millions made by the NSLC, for instance.
And some of Patton's customers are like-minded.
"I think it's just a big racket," said Brenda Langille, who mentions that she makes wine at her New Glasgow home. "It's a service for anyone who isn't able to do it."
Patton charges a $40 fee for storage. A batch of wine made at the store will cost a customer between $100 and $120. Higher end kits will run upwards of $175.