On the Road with the Grape Guy: Report from ... All-Stars in the Vineyard at Rosewood

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Report from ... All-Stars in the Vineyard at Rosewood - August 19, 2012

The folks at Rosewood could not have asked for a more beautiful day when they hosted their first (annual?) All-Stars in the Vineyard event. The premise is fairly simple: 4 chefs make 2 dishes each paired with their "favourite" Rosewood wines ... each station is in a different part of the vineyard, so you get to eat, get some exercise and see how the grapes are growing first hand (because at two of the stations you were actually standing right beside them as you accepted your food and wine).

You could take your pick as to where you started your vineyard munch and sip journey - down near the Rosewood Pond, the furthest point from the winery; or at the Crush-pad, just outside the winery's back door. I arrived early to take a few pictures so it only made sense to begin at the winery itself.

What's being served at Station One

Our evening began with a glass of Mima's Block Riesling - a wine I have had before, but it's nice to re-visit, especially one like this that'll help whet the appetite. The restaurant at the Crush-pad was Ortolan, out of Toronto, they had three dishes: some kind of peach and honey thing started it off - it wasn't listed anywhere and caused a little confusion as to which wine it was suppose to pair with. But thank goodness for the peaches, because the other two dishes were not up to snuff. The grilled lamb was way too fatty with lots of grisly bits and was served cold (on-purpose?) - and we weren't alone in our assessment of it either, a few people around us had the same problem - and the Seafood Medley Escabeche was no better, it had an off-putting sweetness ... this was unfortunately the worst station, a bad one to begin with and I have to feel sorry for those who ended here - unless they stepped up their game by the end - we didn't stick around to find out. As for the wines paired at Station One, they were both pre-release wines. Natalie (winemaker for Rosewood) seems to have found a niche making Semillon and her 2011 version did not disappoint, and she once again massaged a beauty from her nemesis Cabernet Franc - this time the 2010 - both wines really outshone their food pairing.

You have now entered the Spanish Pavilion

Thankfully Station One was the fly in the ointment (so to speak) because the rest of the evening went without a hitch and saw beautiful and inventive/innovative food paired with some of Rosewood's finest wines. Station Two was Spanish inspired fare served in the Rosewood Pavilion by Torito Tapas Bar (Toronto) ... a Reserve Riesling was paired with Heirloom Tomato Tostada with Serrano Ham (simple but lovely); while round two was Summer Seasonal Vegetable Paella, paired with a 2010 Merlot. Here we give the nod to the Tostada - although both foods were excellent ... had the Paella included a little seafood I'm positive it would have come out on top.

Chef prepares the Tostada for service

Station 3 in our walk around the vineyard was smack dab between the Pinot Noir and Semillon fields, there Nick and Nats Uptown 21 (from Kitchener-Waterloo) was serving up a complete meal (if you were to put the two plates together). Plate one was Sauerkraut Pork Goodies with apples and crispy chips - Gewurztraminer was the paired wine; Plate 2 was Walnut Breaded Zucchini, blue cheese aoili, stewed tomato and fresh herb salad ... the single barrel 67 Cabernet Franc (2010) was the wine served. Hands down the Pork Goodies won the prize here ... this was a dinner in and of itself, and the sausage and thinly sliced apple sticks combination was delicious.

Serving, right there in the vineyard

A little further down the road in the heart of the Semillon vineyard beside the Rosewood Pond - Richmond Station (Toronto) had set up shop, with Top Chef Canada 2 winner Carl Heinrich manning the deep fryer (no word of a lie). I have come across Carl's food once before during the 6 Barrels for 6 Chefs event at Huff earlier this year and was impressed with his simplicity of food and wonderful flavours ... there's a feeling when you look at the plate, and combinations of ingredients that you could make this dish at home - but then you taste it and realize: no I can't. The same feeling applied here. His two dishes were Wild Boar Croquettes with Sour Cherry Relish and the dessert like Cream Louisa with Preserved Local cherries ( the cherries were macerated in Rosewood's own honey) ... both were delicious in their seeming simplicity. The Louisa was gobble-up creamy and smooth, while the Boar was crunchy with an explosion of flavour. This was a tougher choice than at the Spanish Pavilion, but I think the Boar Croquette eked out the victory, especially since once I bit into it the first words out of my mouth were "Sh*t that's good".

Carl and his deep fryer

There was a lot of talk on the way home about which food impressed the most. Nick and Nat's Pork Goodies was a real stand-out, took first place for most filling and a second place over-all. The Heirloom Tomato Tostada from Torito Tapas Bar came in a hard fought third for favourite food. But it was Carl Heinrich who once again stole our tastebuds and showed why Mark McEwen and the judges at Top Chef Canada (2) chose this young man as their winner ... simplicity is key: wow them with flavour in small packages, and Carl did just that.

Spying the winery through the vines

Congrats to the folks at Rosewood, who with just a few minor glitches pulled off what will hopefully be an annual walk and dine through the vineyard event ... and even more impressive, two weeks before harvest (it's gonna be an early one folks).

More pictures from the evening ...