The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

BY ALYSHIA HIGGINS A Whitchurch-Stoufi'ville winery has something to which to toast. Matt Passafiume and his wife, Stephanie, of Applewood Farm and Wmery, received a gold and double gold for their fruit wines at the All Canadian Wme Championships in Wmdsox. “We were absolutely floored to find out we had won a double- gold," Mr. Passafiume said. “I think its pretty great,” Mrs. Passafiume said. “It’s nice for him (Mr. Passafiume) to be validated.” STAFF PHOTO/SJOERD WITTEVEEN Matthew Passafiume of Applewood Winery on McCowan Road shows two of his fruit wines that won gold medals at the All Canadian Wine Championships. Eden, a wine of strawberry and apple is named after his daughter. The bottle on the right is a sparkling Mac Meade and the other is an apple and honey meade winning double gold, meaning best of class. Fruits of winery’s labour bear national titles This mung. t9 you n a community Ion/loo of The Eoonom!ltl§un-Tflbuno And they couldn't be more excit- Mr. Passafiume runs the opera- tion, on McGowan Road just north of Stouflvifle Road. He began the winery eight years ago at his parents' farm and since then, has seen an “increase in inter- est and sales" of the wine, said Mrs. Passafiume. In addition to the winery, the family has sold strawberry and apples for 35 years. _“My dad ié still actively involved in farming the apples," said Mr. Pas- D Go to applewoodfarmwineryxom for more information. ram r2003 DODGE mmo sxr 4x0 72008 DODGE an CARAVAN SE‘ 2008 DODGE CALIBER SXT safiume, who runs the expanding fruit wine business. The best part of running his own business is being the boss, Mr. Pasâ€" safiume said. But, it also has a disâ€" advantage. “I get full autonomy with where I'd like to head with my wine,” he said, “but the downside is you don’t have any help." The eoufile have four children and each one has a wine named after them. While this isn’t the first time the Passafiumes’ wines have won One was one of the award winâ€" ners, The 2007 Eden. r2007 DODGE an CARAVAN se‘ r 2007 JEEP LIBERTY LTD ‘ 2005 JEEP GR CHEROKEE LAREDO awards, they’re optimistic for the future and intend to continue expanding their farm. “We’d like to expand upon the path we’re headed as a family farm and winery," Mr. Passafi- ume said. In addition to the winery, the family has sold strawberry and apples for 35 years. rzoos CHRYSLER PIT CRUISER rzoioi'llia’Eii (in CHEROKEE unEoo‘ rzoo-r JEEP comss 4x2 NORTH ch‘ “We’d also like to see some ofour wines in small and mediumâ€"sized restaurants," adding he’s waiting for the appropriate legislation from the provincial government. Currently, there's a greater mark- up on fruit wines than there is on grape wine. He invites the public to come to the farm and taste test the awardâ€" winning wines. For more information on the wines or the farm can call 905-642-4720 or go to apple woodfarmwinery.com 11