DUNHAM, QUE. -- Alfonso Gagliano reached down and plucked a fat purple grape off a bursting vine. The man associated with more than a whiff of political scandal now wants to be linked to the aroma of a fine vintage.

"They're so sweet," he said, popping the grape into his mouth. "It's going to make very good wine."

Mr. Gagliano - former public works minister, ambassador to Denmark and prominent player in the federal sponsorship scandal - has re-emerged as a vintner. After causing ferment on Parliament Hill, he will be doing the same in oak barrels.

The first bottles of reds, whites and rosés from Gagliano Vineyard will be uncorked next year, thanks in part to a $550,000 federal loan. As he led a reporter on a tour of his vineyard, set in the gently rolling hills of Quebec's Eastern Townships, the retired politician defended himself against charges he benefited from connections in obtaining the federal cash.

 "I'm a private citizen and I applied as a private citizen," Mr. Gagliano said under a wilting late-summer sun. "I'm paying interest. There was no favouritism whatsoever."

Mr. Gagliano submitted his loan application to purchase the vineyard in Dunham, Que., in July. By August, he signed the papers and took possession of the 11-hectare property.

"I didn't do anything wrong," he said. "I answered all the questions."

Mr. Gagliano plans to produce up to 40,000 bottles of wine and has already negotiated some deals to sell them to restaurants and reception halls, some of them in Saint-Léonard, part of his former federal riding in Montreal.

Being in politics has taught him some valuable lessons for winemaking, he said. "Don't take shortcuts. If you take shortcuts on making wine, you don't make good wine. In politics, you make bad decisions.

"Every time you take a shortcut, you get into trouble."

Mr. Gagliano was the minister of public works responsible for the scandal-plagued sponsorship program aimed at promoting federalism in Quebec. To this day, he insists he is unfairly maligned.

"Name me one politician - even Brian Mulroney - who's been treated like I have been treated in the media," he said, yanking a fistful of weeds from the earth.

Mr. Gagliano - who has shed 45 pounds since he began to exit the public stage - says his love of wine dates to his childhood in Sicily, where he sometimes crushed grapes underfoot. Producing quality vintages in Quebec will be a challenge, however. The vineyard's previous label, Les Blancs Coteaux, achieved some success, but three different Montreal sommeliers contacted this week had never heard of it.

Some experts remain skeptical about Mr. Gagliano's chances. He is the third owner of the 19-year-old vineyard.

"We wish him a lot of sponsorships if he wants to succeed in improving the quality of the estate's wines," wine critic Mathieu Turbide wrote on his blog, Méchant Raisin (Mean Grape). The last time he tasted them, Mr. Turbide called the results "lacking a bit in cohesion and personality."

Mr. Gagliano's winery is set in Quebec's wine route, which offers visitors tastings and guided tours. Some say producing good results under Quebec's harsh winter conditions requires patience and fortitude.

"I advise him not to think he'll make money. There aren't many winemakers who are millionaires," said Olivier Fontaine, sommelier at the Montreal restaurant and wine bar BU. "If he wanted to do something profitable, he wouldn't have made a winery in Quebec. And don't expect to compete with product from France or even California."

The Farm Credit Canada loan to Mr. Gagliano has been criticized in Ottawa. A spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper said "money should go to help farmers, not former Liberal cabinet ministers."

But Dan Bergen, chief operating officer of the Farm Credit, said from Regina that the federal agency looks at "credit worthiness" and other factors when assessing applications. "Whatever their past vocations were, it doesn't prohibit them from getting a loan," he said.

Mr. Gagliano, who is working with his family but has also hired a oenologist and agronomist, plans to harvest his first grapes by early October and produce his first rosé in May. He denies he is producing wines to erase the public memories of the sponsorship scandal.

"I hope people remember me for something other than sponsorship," he said. "But I'm not doing this as a legacy."

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Gagliano Vineyard at a glance

THE WINERY

Alfonso Gagliano has purchased the winery Les Blancs Coteaux

and plans to rebrand it as Gagliano Vineyard. He will sell off

the remaining stock and the bottles will be sold under its new name next year. The vineyard opened in 1989 and has been one

of the most visited wineries in Quebec. It is located in scenic

Eastern Townships, along the Route des Vins, the province's

largest concentration of vineyards.

THE WINES

The vineyard offers a selection of red and white wines, using grapes that are resistant to the cold climate. The vineyard's

most popular products are its trademark ciders, specifically

the ice cider, which uses apples gathered after first frost and

has become a specialty of the region.

THE SERVICES

The vineyard centre offers guided tours that include samples

of its red wines, white wines, rosé, cider and ice cider. The vineyard also offers gift baskets and caters gourmet picnics with

a selection of local products. The vineyard centre has space

for receptions, family events and retreats.