A Foothills-based winery will soon be available at various restaurants overseas.

Spirit Hills Winery in Millarville announced the news, saying they'll appear in restaurants in Belgium, Italy, and the Netherlands, including some with Michelin stars.

"We just never really imagined that when we started making honey wine here in the Foothills it would actually be so valued so much for its quality in the world... We never thought we'd be exporting Albertan honey wine to Italy," said Hugo Bonjean.

Bonjean is the President, Beekeeper, and Wine Alchemist for Spirit Hill.

He says he's excited to bring the flavour of the Foothills to Europe.

"Our dandelion wine has a huge cultural heritage in this region because almost everybody here had a little grandfather who made this. So we harvest the dandelion flower petals here on our farm because several pastures have not been sprayed for the 22 years that we've been here."

Beyond the excitement of bringing the Spirit Hills brand overseas, Bonjean says it's actually been easier to export to Europe than to closer areas.

"Exporting to Europe is, unfortunately, easier than exporting to another Canadian province. And European trade agreements are very valuable in that, and so our importer is in Belgium, and from there, there's really no constraints for us to get in other European countries."

Bonjean says the reason it's so challenging to export inter-provincially is due to red tape restrictions.

 

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