Dr. Hilary Rodrigues, a successful dentist, has long been interested in
economic development. In 1993, he acquired a permit to make wine using local
blueberries, a practice quite common before Confederation. His first batch of
500 cases sold in 10 days. This year Markland Winery near Whitbourne will
produce 25,000 cases of wine from blueberries, partridgeberries, bakeapples and strawberries. Eighty per cent will be exported.
"In Newfoundland the creation of wealth is dependent on exporting,"
says Dr. Rodrigues who exports wines across Canada, to the United States and
Japan.
Markland wines are remarkably pure being made from wild berries having no
herbicides or other contaminants, which has also allowed Markland to become
Canada's only registered producer of kosher wines.
Recently, Dr. Rodrigues purchased a distillery from St. Pierre which may
allow him to produce pear and plum brandy, blueberry schnapps, bake apple liqueur
and vermouth. A distillery could increase Markland's production by an additional
20,000 cases a year.
Finally, Dr. Rodrigues has discovered that Newfoundland berries have some of
the highest concentrations of anti-oxidants in North America, which has him
planning to enter the nutraceutical, or non-prescription food supplement
industry. He is experimenting with seabuckthorn, a plant imported from Siberia. Dr. Rodrigues bubbles with confidence. "I am a strong believer that here
in Newfoundland and Labrador we have the talent, the resources, and the people
to make a difference."
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