It seemed like months that our friend Lily had been ardently encouraging my wife and I to attend the Charcuterie Board Workshop at Jackson-Triggs Estate Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake. And there we finally were—on a steamy Saturday morning in late August.

Part of me wondered if this was a particularly ‘guy’ thing to do, as sexist as that may sound. Except that when I quickly checked out their Instagram account, the first image I saw included as many guys as girls. And then there was the photo of a couple with a wee youngster in tow. And one of a silver-haired woman in a wheelchair. And others of all sorts.

And thus did I concede, “OK, this activity plays no favourites.”

The workshop also crosses economic demographics. At $130 per person at Jackson-Triggs ($200 for couples making one board), our summer visit was an affordable outing for the average joe, particularly given the unlimited (within reason) wine sampling that’s included, and, of course, the eye-catching charcuterie board you depart with.

But it clearly appeals to those with deeper pockets too.

“I planned (Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender) Jack Campbell’s first date; he rented the whole brewery out,” notes company founder Sarah Lavigne.

Lavigne is referring to Brunswick Bierworks in Toronto, one of her three bases in Ontario; Sandbanks Winery in Prince Edward County and Jackson-Triggs being the other two. She also has four locations (so far) in B.C.’s Okanagan Valley and three in Nashville.

It involves a little travel from time to time. But Lavigne’s entrepreneurial spirit knows no bounds.

“Twelve years ago, when my husband at the time and I moved from New York to Florida and built a custom home, only half of our stuff arrived,” she recalls. “We were young and had no money, and I said, ‘No worries, I’ll build the furniture!’ I never went to school for it—I learned everything online, watched a lot of videos, and built our bedframes, tables, etc.”

That hands-on confidence may also have been in her genes. “My dad was a tradesman who built homes when I was growing up, and I followed him around,” Lavigne shares.

“I was in Florida for seven years,” she continues. “We had a food truck-and-trailer company. I designed built and ran a fleet of them—30-foot trailers. Had a huge staff. I did all the electrical, plumbing, lighting, building and designing from the ground up.”

Even the cooking? “Yes, and all the recipes.”

But the ingredients of her own life soon changed. Lavigne eventually parted ways with her husband, sold the business and moved back to Ontario.

“I thought, ‘What am I going to do with my life?’ So I started this building and design company (Lavigne & Co Design) in Toronto. It took a year. I knocked on doors and asked if I could sweep floors while I learned from these amazing engineers and people who built homes and custom furniture. It was hard on my pride, because I’d just owned my own company.”

From there, the Charcuterie Board Workshop was a natural evolution. “It was was birthed out of passion for enjoying wine and charcuterie with friends and family. Wanting to bring the full experience to others, I decided to teach how to build the actual board itself, making it an event you’d actually enjoy with friends and family with simple woodworking and lessons!” she says.

Success came quickly. “In July 2018, I started in my workshop in Toronto on Geary Avenue with eight people. We grew 300% as we headed into our second year. We were slammed busy. Corporate stuff included Twitter, Facebook, Canada Goose, the Toronto Maple Leafs. Then COVID hit, and in the last year-and-a-half we lost 90% of our business. But now it’s starting to come back.”

The various workshop pricing has expectedly fluctuated with the inability to include food (both eating and charcuterie styling) due to the pandemic, but when the workshops move indoors after Thanksgiving, Lavigne says individual charcuterie boxes will be included.

Expenses have also needed to be absorbed. “Everything costs more,” she says. “Lumber alone is up 26%.”

WINE AND DUST

But the realities of COVID are soon forgotten at our workshop. After being met by Cheryl Penman in the Jackson-Triggs lobby, our small masked group was ushered out back to a tent, where multiple tables—well-spaced and prepared with boards, clamps, a sanding block and drawknife—awaited us.

The masks were off and the gloves were on. Well, except for me. With a recently broken finger due to a hockey injury, I stood around making notes and taking pictures, leaving my wife Mary to do the manual labour.

But it’s not that intensive, to be honest. Cut to size specifications and pre-milled to a 150 grain roughness, the boards only require about 15 minutes of gentle work to complete (also it stretches to around 35 minutes with the accompanying instruction —and to maybe an hour with including sampling.

Lavigne expertly and enthusiastically walks you through the process the whole way. It begins with debarking (shaving the easily broken-off ends on either side of the board) with the drawknife, which consists of a blade with a handle at each end, before sanding and oiling.

“All the wood is Ontario-sourced and hand-selected,” Lavigne explains. “It took me two years to find these guys in St. Jacobs.”

Lavigne primarily sticks to walnut, although she occasionally employs Ambrosia Maple—named for a style of maple in which the Ambrosia Beetle creates creative bug trails of brown and grey throughout the boards. (Rest assured all boards are insect-free since they are kiln-dried.)

Our boards were walnut, and they truly sprung to life when the food-grade mineral oil Lavigne uses for the workshop (and sells in the Jackson-Triggs wine shop) was applied. (Think of going from your parents’ TV sets to modern high-definition.)

But throughout the process, Penman was challenging Lavigne as our favourite person at the workshop, given that she was the one dispensing a complimentary trio of premium wines over in the corner. Assistants Dianne and Randy tended to other tables, as smiles widened with each passing step of the board making (and with each passing sip of Jackson-Triggs’ Champagne-style Entourage Grand Reserve Brut, Pinot Grigio and Red Meritage.)

They’re all among the reasons Lavigne’s Charcuterie Board Workshop has received nothing but five-star reviews, while filling up the Instagram world.

“People leave having had no idea they could do this and are really satisfied and amazed with themselves,” Lavigne says. “They carry their boards out, walking tall like they’ve just built a house.”

And not a splinter to be had thus far, she contends. “4,000 people, and no slivers yet!”

From a purely wine country standpoint, this has been a perfect way to start the day. It’s only noon in Niagara-on-the-Lake and I’m still razor sharp. A few wineries are in our immediate future.

And very possibly some cheese and charcuterie.

Check out this quick video to get a feel for this unique activity.