It could be argued that Annapolis is merely another way of saying ‘apples’, with so many orchards dotting the valley. Producer-owned co-operative Scotian Gold manages 40% of stored apples in the province, which means literally tons from Annapolis. A bit of an oddity, the company also sells ice cream, because it always has and does it well. President and CEO David Cudmore believes that Nova Scotia is producing the best Honey Crisp apples anywhere, due to a specific cool Atlantic climate. I didn’t realize apples were such a specialty, but the company has acquired rights to a new variety named ‘Minnesota 249’ which it expects will be another success. Gravensteins are also considered one of the best Nova Scotian varieties. The storage, packing and distribution system employs both traditional and state of the art technology, such as controlled atmosphere rooms behind massive Dutch-manufacture sealed doors. www.scotiangold.com