By Katy Apollonia, Special to The Laker News
NEWPORT: Nova Scotia’s oldest vineyard was acquired by a new family in 2019.
The Coutinho family was excited to share their new ownership of the iconic Avondale Sky Wineries with Nova Scotians and the world when a global pandemic changed everyone’s plans. They continued their work and have found another way to share their experience and themselves: a four-part Podcast series.
The family includes their father Louis, mother Avila, sons Karl and Sean along with their partners Jaime and Mallory. There was no past experience from any of the family in running a winery but when son Karl Coutinho heard Avondale was available he brought the idea to the family.
It was an unexpected proposal to his family members. After some discussion, the family was eventually sold on the idea and went into the venture together.
The Podcast touches on their beginnings as well as Avondale’s history. It features all members of the family and their own histories, perspectives, and responsibilities; and of course making big moves while the world stood still during the COVID-19 crisis.
Karl stated in a press release “In business, anytime you can learn something new every day, work side-by-side with your family and have fun doing it, you are already successful. The story of how our family and our business got here is perfectly told thanks to the expertise of the Podstarter team.
“There will be at least one piece of the story that everyone can relate to, and I think that is what makes it an intriguing listen.”
The episodes will be released weekly beginning on May 5, 2022.
Listeners can expect to hear about rural life, a family coming together, a pandemic trying to take everything apart, and their much-anticipated post-lockdown event more than two years after it all began.
The podcast was made possible by The Nova Scotia Tourism Digital Assistance Program and brought to life by Podstarter, a podcast creation company focusing on the production, design, and distribution of podcasts for others.
The Podcast can be found on the Avondale Sky website avondalesky.com or on any podcast app by searching, “Avondale Sky Winery.”
