Thick-gloved workers briskly picked frozen bunches of grapes that would be pressed into extra-sweet juice within hours out in the cold air. Hunt Country Vineyards makes a sweet wine that has become a specialty for a number of vineyards dotting upstate New York hillsides - albeit one dependent on the increasingly noticeable vagaries of winter.

Frédéric Brouca, an Ottawa resident who makes wine from his own vineyard in southern France, was headed for a career in business. Born in France, he studied in Lille at one of the country's top business schools. But, as he tells the story, after graduating and being offered a banking job, he got into a car with his father and told him he was going to turn the job down as he just didn't see himself working in a bank.

Coffee giant applies for liquor licenses for three of its cafes in upscale neighbourhoods

Viognier is one of the most finicky and difficult wine grapes to grow. Pick it a little too early, and it comes out green and flavorless. Pick it a little too late, and the resulting wine can be flabby, oily and generally unpleasant.

"We've kind of dubbed the bypass the South Okanagan Connector," Peter Warner, president of the Highway 97 Task Force Society, said Sunday. "The bypass would obviously make Peachland a quieter and more pedestrian-friendly place, but it would also reduce the travel time for people in Penticton and Summerland who drive to the Coast," Warner said.

Unseasonably warm winter temperatures impacted the ability for Finger Lakes wineries to produce popular products like ice wine. (With video)

The annual Niagara Ice Wine Festival will take over the Scotiabank Convention Centre from Jan. 29 to 31. The event is designed to not only showcase Canadian produced ice wines, but also help attract weekend visitors to Niagara Falls during a traditionally slow part of the winter months.

Niagara's wine country could hardly buy better publicity. A recent New York Times piece has extolled the virtues of the region, in a food feature titled Exploring Canada's Fertile Niagara Wine Region.

A late deep freeze this winter may have lifted the spirits of Ontario's icewine industry, but the province's grape growers say bigger questions about the impact of a changing climate are creeping up on their business.

When Vancouver City Council was busy postponing the sale of wine in grocery stores last month, the BC Government and Services Employees' Union was lobbying the provincial government to sell marijuana in BC Liquor Stores.

A potential trade war between Canada and the United States was averted Friday when Congress passed a massive spending bill that also repealed a controversial meat labelling law. The 2,000-plus pages of legislation contained a two-page rider that scrapped the U.S. labelling law, known as COOL, which had become a major irritant among Canada, Mexico and the U.S.

Ontario's provincial premier made history last week when she bought a six-pack of beer in a Toronto supermarket.

Following a four-month trial, Dennis Oland, whose family owns Canada's Moosehead Brewery, was found guilty of beating his father Richard Oland to death four years ago

As temperatures plunged late on the night of Nov. 25, the pickers prepared to move in and pluck frozen grapes from their frosty vines on the slopes above Okanagan Lake.

Wine country on the Niagara Peninsula of Ontario, Canada, may sound a little incongruous. But the area about a half-hour west of Buffalo is home to a wine region of depth, diversity and distinction.

Wine country on the Niagara Peninsula of Ontario, Canada, may sound a little incongruous. But the area about a half-hour west of Buffalo is home to a wine region of depth, diversity and distinction

"Ultimately, I think the things that are most affected are our ice wine and our spirit," said Matt Cassavaugh, winemaker at Casa Larga in Perinton. "It's definitely not ideal for ice wine."

The U.S. wine industry is furiously lobbying Congress to pass legislation before it leaves for the year to avert a trade war with Canada and Mexico, which would likely target California wines for higher tariffs.

"We really have to have -8 C for us to harvest the grapes and crush them when they're frozen," Lavoie said, adding that the grapes are drying out in the meantime.

Province to spend $1M to expand grape production in multi-million dollar wine industry