The Vikings named this land “Vinland” which conjours up images of acre upon acre of neatly pruned grape vines spanning the land. When the modern European settlers got here they named it “Newfoundland” and, in this new land, there was no trace of a grape or of vine. Just thousands of square miles of forest. Black spruce, birch, maple and juniper grow everywhere out the peat bogs. In the clearings and beneath the canopy grow the berries that feed the moose, the birds and the bears. Blueberries, partridge berries, cloud berries to name but a few.
At Twillingate today we ate a late lunch at the cafe next to the “Vinery” which made us wonder, “had those Vikings been right all along?”
Fascinated we bought a bottle of Moose Joose which is sold as, “a delicious local wine”. But, unfortunately for the Vikings, it is made of blueberries and partridge berries not the product of the vine. Whether it is any good or not we will find out tomorrow when we test it out on friends.