The temperatures have finally dropped below freezing at Mount Snow.

“It’s been frustrating, that’s for certain,” said David Meeker, director of communications, of the weather conditions.   “There were a lot of nights this past month that were forecasted for good snow-making conditions but they weren’t ever cold enough” he said in the Battleboro Reformer.

Typically, mountains near the Appalachian Trail open either just before or after the American Thanksgiving holiday.  The recent warm spell in and around Dover, however, have made it difficult to make snow without it melting.

Large areas of the east coast were damaged by Tropical Storm Irene in August.  The storm has put extra pressure on the region’s resorts to help maintain the local economy, Meeker told The Reformer, but his resort would not open with a poor product.

On Wednesday, a cold front covered the valley, dumping snow and keeping the temperatures cold enough for the crew at Mount Snow to start making snow, he said.

Thousands of skiers and snowboarders eager for their first run of the season showed up at the opening of Mount Snow’s Blue Bird Express on Saturday.

Even with the setback of not being able to open when they wanted, the staff at Mount Snow is positive this will be one of their best years ever.

If you’re heading south to hit the slopes, be sure to pick up some duty free goods at the border to warm you up in the chalet.

‘Tis the season for that special bottle

One lavish traveller is planning on ending this year in grandiose style.

A man purchased six bottles of rare wines for nearly $80,000 Canadian dollars at a Parisian duty free shop.  His purchase consisted of a bottle of Romanee Conti 1995, a Chateau Margaux 2003, two bottles of Chateau Lafitte 1982 and two bottles of Petrus 1980.

Such purchases can be the result of impulse buying, or in some cases the result of a customer asking the  shop to find a bottle of a particular year for a special occasion.

High-quality wines typically sell better at the end of the year as people move to compliment their holiday trips or gatherings with a little extra style.

Each Duty Free Canada shop’s page lists contact information should you wish to place a special order.  Or you can call ahead of time just to see what special finds are already on hand.  Duty Free Canada land border shops offer better prices than airport stores because they operate at lower prices, and these savings are passed on to you!

Source: BBC - Traveller blows 50,000 euros on wine at Paris duty free

Last winter, the accumulation of snow allowed some Colorado resorts to stay open as late as July 4.  This accumulation over the season amounted to over 200 inches, burying equipment like snow gauges.

Colorado hosted roughly one in every five skier visits in the nation last winter, with over 12 million visits.

As the economy slowly recovers, resorts across the United States are still offering travelers discounts.  Locations like Breckenridge Vacation Resort have deals with up to 50% off resort packages. Combining these offers with some Duty Free goods would make these trips even more affordable (and fun in the chalet).

Nationwide, resorts have also upgraded the quality of the ski experience, investing millions in faster lifts, new terrain park features and better trail grooming.

You can read more about “Colorado resorts opening ski season with momentum” on CBS News.

The Harper and Obama administrations announced wide ranging plans that aim to make crossing the border quicker and easier. Ever since 9/11 concerns about security have made crossing the border more difficult. Now different government agencies are planning on harmonizing regulations and sharing information so that people and goods can cross the border more quickly and easily. Here is an analysis on the CBC website What the new border deal means for you.

The Ambassador Duty Free shop is in the holiday spirit with savings of up to 40% on fragrances and jewelry.

Mix and match any two 1L bottle of Jameson 12yr, Chivas, or Glenlivet for only $60.

Get three of any 1L bottle of Malibu, Beefeater, Wiser’s, or Absolut vodka for $39.

And get a free duffel bag when you buy three 1L bottles of Crown Royal for just $59.

Check out these deals and more in our holiday flyer (pdf):

To celebrate our 25th year we’re offering four bottles of Absolut Vodka for only $44!
Make sure you stop and check out this and other amazing deals on your way to the USA!

“Dessert wines, often rare and expensive, are unique wines and the most difficult to make; but when successful, they earn some of the highest ratings given by our editors.  Enlisted to do a specific job in a specific situation, these luscious nectars are the special teams of the wine world.  They accompany the dessert course, or even take its place and star on their own.  Yet despite delivering high quality more often than not, dessert wines are generally misunderstood, underestimated or simply ignored.” - Bruce Sanderson, Wine Spectator

Canada produces some of the most highly rated sweet wines in the world, with Icewines from  Inniskillin, Jackson Triggs and Henry of Pelham wineries winning top ratings internationally.  These wineries and more help Ontario supply as much of 75% of Canada’s output of ice wine.

What is an “Icewine”?

Icewines are a specialty of winemaking regions that rapidly become cold after harvest.  Icewines are fabulous ultra-sweet dessert wines.  The most famous regions for ice wine are Germany, Austria and Canada. British Columbia and Ontario make some of the world’s best.

To make a “true” Icewine, grapes are left on the vine long after harvest and are picked by hand once temperatures reach a certain level, usually about -8 Celsius (17 degrees Fahrenheit).  The resulting freezing and thawing of the grapes dehydrates the fruit, and concentrates the sugars, acids, and extracts in the berries, thereby intensifying the flavours and adding complexity to the wine made from it.  Typically, wine workers will trudge through snow in the middle of the night to pick the grapes.  These marble-hard grapes then are crushed.  Yields are very low, often as little as 5-10 percent of normal.  Since they’re frozen, just a few drops of sweet juice is released and fermented.  Because it’s so hard to make and so little is made from the harvested fruit, Icewine tends to be very expensive and is offered in half-bottles.  However, stopping at the Duty Free Canada shop before you cross the border can save you a pretty penny, with savings of up to 50%.

The best ice wines are those that retain natural acidity in the face of late harvests and high sugars.  This is why Riesling is one of the finest varieties for ice wine.  A few wineries also are experimenting with red ice wines using Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.

Some wineries make “Icewine” by picking late-harvest grapes and freezing them.  The resulting wines are not as good, though they are generally much less expensive.  Genuine ice wine must follow VQA (Vintners Quality Alliance) regulations that prohibit any artificial freezing of grapes.

Icewine is winter’s gift to the wine lover.  So pick some up for yourself for the lover you know!

Canadian searches for “Black Friday” in Google have been increasing since its first blip appeared in Google Trends six years ago.

A number of academic studies have investigated the Black Friday phenomenon. A recent study in the International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management argued that families see Black Friday as a time to come together and strengthen family ties.  The authors state:

“This study’s data clearly show that the family bonds together in the face of perceived adversity (i.e. survival in the competitive shopping environment) during Black Friday consumption rituals. Thus, Black Friday appears to be one means for multiple generations of females to bond together, reinforce relationships, and indoctrinate younger generations.”

Another study, from the Journal of Marketing Research, examined the impact of Thanksgiving dinner on shopping behaviour.  Researchers found that turkey, which contains tryptophan and increases the amount of serotonin in the brain, actually decreases impulsiveness.  This actually makes people less likely to jump at bargains.

But it doesn’t require much impulse to take advantage of Duty Free savings that amount to up to 73% in some stores.

For most Canadians, Black Friday shopping isn’t a long-standing family tradition.

Cross-border shopping just comes down to the cost of travel versus the benefit of lower prices. A recent study by economists Ambarish Chandra, Keith Head and Mariano Tappata estimated that a typical shopper requires savings of almost $30 per hour of travel time. So, for example, a six-hour round-trip journey is worth doing if it generates savings of $180 or more.

You can save this much money in a single trip to a Duty Free Canada store.  Additionally, some stores offer up to $800 in outlet savings in their region.

Retailers north of the border are offering their own versions of Black Friday sales to combat the impact of the rising Canadian dollar.  However, you’ll only escape the tax man at our Duty Free stores.  So come in and check out our specials!

[studies found in The Globe and Mail]