Report from ... World Chardonnay Day Tasting - May 22, 2014

Due to conflicts on my schedule I could not make the World Chardonnay Tasting held at Allen's on the Danforth ... I asked fellow writer and friend Dean Tudor to go in my stead, for those who don't know Dean, he is "food and wine writer of reference tools since 1969. Professor Emeritus of Journalism, Ryerson University, Toronto, and professional wine writer. www.deantudor.com" - here is his take and reaction from the day:

The Date and Time:  Thursday, May 22, 2014 2Pm to 5PM
The Event:  World Chardonnay Day
The Venue:  Allen's (patio)
The Target Audience:  wine trade
The Availability/Catalogue:  domestic wines from the wineries, imports via agency licensee programmes.
The Quote/Background:  this is a sort of preview of the Rebirth of Cool Climate Chardonnay – one world, one grape, one weekend (July 18-20, 2014). Tickets are available at coolchardonnay.org; the event is in Niagara. 55 winemakers will be present, as well as chefs and food.

The Wines:

**** BEST -- Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms):
-Southbrook Whimsy! “Damy” Chardonnay 2011 VQA Niagara biodynamic
-Speck Family Reserve Chardonnay 2010 VQA Niagara
-Jean Leon Vinya Gigi Chardonnay 2012 Spain
-Sumaridge Chardonnay 2011 South Africa [my fave]
-Creation Wine Estate Chardonnay 2012 South Africa
-Flat Rock Chardonnay Rusty Shed 2011 VQA Niagara
-13th Street Sandstone Vineyard Chardonnay 2010 VQA Niagara
-Napa Cambria Chardonnay 2012 Katherine's Vineyard Santa Maria Valley California
-Murphy-Goode Chardonnay 2012 Santa Barbara
-Cave Spring CSV Chardonnay 2011 VQA Niagara
-Cave Spring Estate Chardonnay 2012 VQA Niagara
-Chateau des Charmes Chardonnay 2012 Paul Bosc Vineyard VQA Niagara

***1/2 BETTER -- Three and a Half Stars (88 – 90 in Quality/Price Rating terms):
-Trivento Golden Reserve Chardonnay 2012 Mendoza
-Concha y Toro Marques de Casa Concha Chardonnay 2012 Chile
-Laroche Chablis St. Martin [Chardonnay]
-Southbrook Triomphe Chardonnay Organic 2012 VQA Niagara
-Southbrook Poetica Chardonnay Biodynamic 2011 VQA Niagara
-Sperling Vineyards Estate Bottled Chardonnay 2012 VQA Okanagan
-Flat Rock Estate Chardonnay 2010 VQA Niagara
-Catena Chardonnay Mendoza
-Catena Alta Chardonnay Mendoza
-13th Street June's Vineyard Chardonnay 2012 VQA Niagara
-Torres Milmanda Chardonnay 2011 Spain
-Jean Leon 3055 Chardonnay 2013 Spain
-Torres Gran Vina Sol [Chardonnay] 2012 Spain
-Gerard Bertrand Domaine de l'Aigle Chardonnay 2011 Limoux
-Normal Hardie County Chardonnay 2012 VQA PEC
-Normal Hardie Niagara Chardonnay 2012 VQA Niagara
-Clos du Bois Calcaire Chardonnay 2011 California
-PlumpJack “Adaptation” Chardonnay 2011 California
-Malivoire Small Lot Chardonnay 2012 VQA Niagara
-Malivoire Mottiar Chardonnay 2011 VQA Niagara
-Bachelder Chardonnay 2011 VQA Niagara
-Bachelder Chardonnay 2012 VQA Niagara

*** GOOD -- Three Stars (85 – 87 in Quality/Price Rating terms):
-Grant Burge Summers Chardonnay 2012 Australia
-The Dreaming Tree Chardonnay 2012 California
-Robert Mondavi Private Selection Chardonnay 2010
-Robert Mondavi Chardonnay 2012
-Kim Crawford Unoaked Chardonnay 2013 New Zealand
-Flat Rock Chardonnay Unplugged 2012 VQA Niagara
-Malivoire Moira Vineyard Chardonnay 2010 VQA Niagara
-Chateau des Charmes Chardonnay Musque 2012 VQA Niagara

The rest of the picture ...
The Food: nothing for awhile, then crackers and finally some salmon canapes.

The Downside: for awhile, there was no list of wines. There were also additions and withdrawals, for “cool” also means “laid back”.

The Upside: There were 21 domestic and 21 imported wines (mostly New World) poured

The Contact Person: trish@coolchardonnay.org

The Event’s Marketing Effectiveness and Execution (numerical grade): 87

To see the original visit Dean's website.

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Wine and Casinos - an overview

I have been asked a few times what my thoughts on gambling and wine are ... not sure why this topic comes up in conversation but when you travel to places like Windsor and Niagara I suspect people are interested.  I found this little article that might offer a little advice and help:

When you think of having a few drinks at the casino, you probably think of having a rum and coke, vodka, Jello shots, or downing a few beers.  You probably don't think about drinking wine while you play casino games, but it is an option.  Casinos all over the world serve a wide variety of wines to help keep customers happy.  Here are just a few of the reasons casinos serve wine.

The first and most common reason that you see wine served in casinos is for player's enjoyment.  Above all else casino gambling is supposed to be entertainment and if a player is enjoying their time spent at the tables, they are more likely to spend more money.  That is why you will see wine and other types of alcohol served.  Nothing keeps one playing and in their seats better than to have a glass in their hand, it's the way many of us unwind and enjoy ourselves.

Another indirect reason that wines are served in the casino, and one that casinos will not admit to if directly asked, is that wine can impair players at the tables.  By this we mean that players who regularly drink alcohol at the tables will not make the same types of decisions that a person that is not drinking will make.  They will not be capable of using betting strategies as well or make the same types of decisions.  In the end that increases the house edge on its players.

US casinos and many around the world will also serve wine to allow players to feel an air of sophistication when playing at the tables.  For many, playing at the casino is about fantasy and feeling like a high roller.  If someone is well dressed and sipping on Gaja Sito Moresco while playing blackjack, they will give off the appearance of being a high roller; they may even be treated better by the casino if they give off that air. 

Finally, another reason you will see casinos serve wine is due to restaurants.  Many casinos host a variety of restaurants, from buffets and cafeteria-style to fine dining and steakhouses.  Nothing beats a great Cab when savoring a fine steak, a Riesling with your Thai or Chardonnay with most anything else.  Offering a solid selection of wines gives customers the chance to enhance their dining experience, and increases the chance they will choose that establishment again the next time they want to dine out at the casino or spend their hard earned entertainment dollars.

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Report from ... Wrapped up in the Valley - November 2011

While I was out hob-nobbing with the wineries, winemakers and pairings of Niagara-on-the-Lake for the Taste the Season event back in November, the folks in the 20 Valley were putting on their own food and wine extravaganza ... Once again I turn to the intrepid photographer, wino, bon vivant and man of leisure Fred Couch to bring us up to speed on what happened this year during "Wrapped Up in the Valley"

"Wrapped Up in the Valley"

by F.G. Couch

Each November, there are two passport events in Niagara – “Taste the Season” in Niagara-on-the-Lake and “Wrapped up in the Valley” in the Twenty Valley area.  For one set price, passport holders could visit 23 wineries in the Twenty Valley.  (24 wineries were supposed to participate but before the event, we heard the news that Wayne Gretzky Winery was closing for good.  However, the brand will continue and the wine will now be made by Andrew Peller Limited).  A food and wine experience is offered at each winery.  The Grape Guy has already reviewed this year’s “Taste the Season” and he asked me to do a review of “Wrapped up in the Valley”.  Unfortunately, November is a very busy time with back-to back wine shows in Ottawa and Toronto so I was only able to attend the one passport event this year.  From all accounts both events were a great success and all events were sold out or close to being sold out.  If my sources are correct, “Wrapped-up” sold 500 tickets for each of three weekends – a record number!

As an added bonus, and for no additional charge, passport holders could visit The Watering Can Flower Market in Vineland to make their own holiday arrangement.  My wife and I made our way to Vineland early in the morning before the wineries opened.  I had no idea what I was doing but with the assistance of one of the Watering Can’s employees, managed to put something together that had some semblance of a plant arrangement!  We proudly put our arrangements in the car and headed for the first winery stop of the day.

Over the weekend, we were able to visit 20 of the 23 wineries.  We were joined by friends from Toronto and we all agreed this was a wonderful event and well worth the $35 (plus HST) passport price.  Most of the food and wine pairings were spot on and most wineries did a great job in presenting the visitor with a unique experience.  However, there were a few disappointments!  Every winery except one served the wine in a glass.  Cave Spring Cellars had plastic cups for their 2009 Chardonnay Estate.  When we commented on this, the server said that they were having a lot of tours, functions and a wedding that day and didn’t have enough glasses.  Well, I’m sorry, but the winery knew that they could possibly get 500 visitors for this event and should have made arrangements.  Even the smaller wineries were able to serve their wine in a proper glass.

The award for the smallest sample of food goes to Stoney Ridge Estates Winery.  The mushroom and goat cheese in puffed pastry was smaller than a quarter and it was gone before you had a chance to taste in properly let alone with the 2009 Excellence Pinot Noir!  Now, we weren’t expecting lunch at the wineries, but this serving was just ridiculous.  Another disappointment was at Tawse Winery.  The notes said that they were serving “locally grown grilled vegetable & goat cheese lasagna”.  I was looking forward to this, but, instead we received something indescribable on a cracker.  It sure didn’t look anything like lasagna.  I’m not sure what happened.  The redeeming feature was the wine – a 2009 Estate Chardonnay.

Enough of the negatives – ‘tis the season, etc., etc.  Some of the highlights were at wineries where thought was given to the food and wine pairing, the presentation was unique or the pairing was, shall we say, interesting!

Our first stop on the tour was 13th Street Winery.  A delightful pairing of the 2010 Red Palette with a Fall Mushroom Soup garnished with savory garlic & herb croutons was served. 

GreenLane Estate Winery served their 2010 Pinot Gris-Riesling with a Gourmet Mac & Cheese topped with smoked pulled pork, aged white cheddar, ricotta, sautéed asparagus and mushrooms.  This was served piping hot and an ample portion.  One of my favourites of the day!  Well done, GreenLane.

One of the most interesting pairings of the weekend was at Sue-Ann Staff’s Winery.  Sue-Ann’s mom was busy at the griddle, preparing a Quebec Swiss & mozzarella grilled cheese sandwich with a slice of Granny Smith apple in between and an onion marmalade on top.  This, of course, was paired with one of my favourite Sue-Ann wines, the 2008 semi-dry Riesling.  This was not your typical grilled cheese sandwich made with Kraft slices!

Two wineries served chili – Harbour Estates with their 2006 Petit Verdot, Malbec blend and Hidden Bench (owner, Harald’s secret recipe?) with their 2008 Terroir Cache Red Meritage. 

Special mention goes to Flat Rock Cellars – the 2008 Chardonnay was paired with a butternut squash & bacon soup topped with goat cheese; Megalomaniac 2008 Bravado Cabernet Sauvignon match with a country-style pate with homemade preserves (from August Restaurant in Beamsville); Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery – the 2009 Top Bench Red with a duck confit on cranberry focaccia with squash bruschetta – all delicious!

The event wouldn’t have been complete without some desserts and dessert wines.  Vineland Estates Winery paired their 2006 Vidal Icewine and the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Icewine with Blue Cheese – a wonderful pairing.  The Vidal Icewine had a rich, orange colour and I had to look at the bottle to make sure it was, in fact, the Vidal!

I’m not a big fan of mead (honey wine) but I am a fan of desserts.  Rosewood Estates Winery & Meadery served the 2008 Mead Royale with a harvest honey cake covered in a “blanket of Mead Royale frosting”.  I could have easily been persuaded to have seconds it was so good.

Fielding Estate Winery was offering a choice of their 2010 Chardonnay or a 2009 Pinot Noir to go with an apple cider butter tart square from August Restaurant.  We asked for a sample of each so we could decide which wine went best with the square.  The unanimous decision was that the Pinot Noir was the best match.  Unfortunately, the dessert was too sweet for the Chardonnay.  A better match would have been a late harvest or an Icewine.

And so ends our tour of the “Wrapped up in the Valley” participating wineries.  But, all was not over.  Passport holders could pick up a box of 12 chocolate truffles prepared by “Toute Sweet” in Jordan.  Each truffle contains a different wine.  What a nice bonus to end a wonderful weekend and, hopefully, we can keep them long enough to share with our guests over the holidays.

A sampling of some of the truffles prepared by “Toute Sweet”, Jordan

Passports sell out quickly so if you’re planning on attending next year, check out the websites early for both
“Taste the Season” –
http://wineriesofniagaraonthelake.com/taste-the-season and
“Wrapped up in the Valley” – http://www.twentyvalley.ca.

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com, while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.

Report from ... The Pinot Affair - October 15-16, 2011

You'll have to excuse me for missing this event.  I hadn't been home for the past 6 weeks and the house just needed some attention ... inside and out .. and heck, I just needed some R & R on a weekend (feet up, glass of wine in the hand, a movie or two).  Thankfully the intrepid Fred Couch, who has passed a few of his musing about events along to me in the past, was nice enough to share his experience of the Pinot Affair held in Niagara October 15-16, 2011.

“The Pinot Affair”
By F.G. Couch

An inaugural event for the Niagara area this year called The Pinot Affair.  For one weekend in October, lovers of the Pinot Noir grape could visit eight wineries for a unique tasting experience.  Four wineries were located in the Beamsville Bench area (Hidden Bench, Malivoire, Rosewood and Tawse) and the other four in Niagara-on-the-Lake (Coyote’s Run, Le Clos Jordanne (at Jackson-Triggs Winery), Lailey Vineyards and Inniskillin).

Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate on the weekend of the event and many of the wineries had to change from having the event in the vineyards to an indoor venue.  Everyone did an excellent job considering this last minute change and all of the wineries offered a unique experience.  Since Pinot Noir is such a food-friendly wine, all but one winery served their wines with food.

Our day started with a sit-down seminar at 10:00 am at Malivoire with winemaker, Shiraz Mottiar.  Shiraz poured barrel samples of the 2010 vintage and tried to demonstrate the difference between two vineyards (Estate & Mottiar) and two methods of fermenting the grapes – in older oak barrels and stainless steel.  We then had a chance to try our own hand at blending using the four different wines.  This was followed by sampling the finished wine from the 2009 vintage.

We then went on to Tawse Winery where we were able to try the 2010 Pinot directly from the barrel.  This was followed by a tasting of two of the 2009 vintage wines accompanied by delicious canapés provided by August Restaurant, Beamsville.

There was a bit of a mix-up with the reservation process at Rosewood Estate Winery so we had to postpone our visit until the next day.  This meant that we had to visit five wineries on Sunday – a really tough job but someone has to do it! [ed. note:  5 wineries?  A tough job?  Try doing 26 over the course of a weekend ... geesh, amateurs].  Our day finished with a great food and wine tasting at Hidden Bench.  This ranked as our favourite event of the day.  So good in fact, that when I went back the next day to take a photo for this article, gracious hosts, Retail Manager, Meg McGrath and owner, Harald Thiel, invited us to participate in the food and wine pairing again.  The food and wine was so good how could we say no?

The Hidden Bench offering (described below)

This delightful presentation at Hidden Bench included two Pinots – the 2009 estate-grown and the 2008 Locust Lane Vineyard.  The third glass contained möst, a partially fermented wine, traditionally served from pitchers with charcuterie, bratwurst and sausage plates.  So to uphold this tradition, Hidden Bench presented a very delicious food plate with sausage, an assortment of cheese and a spoon of Harald’s own beef bourguignon served with crusty bread.  This experience rated 5 out of 5 stars!

The next day we were able to return to Rosewood to participate in their event which included a demonstration of the “pump-over” process.  This process is used for large batches of wine instead of “punching down the cap” which brings the grape skins in contact with the juice to extract colour and tannins from the skins.  We then proceeded to the barrel cellar for a sit-down tasting of the 2007 Pinot which is now sold out at the winery, the 2009 Pinot Noir and the 2009 Reserve with natural fermentation.  After the tasting we were served charcuterie and cheeses from local suppliers.

After our second visit to Hidden Bench, we went on to our next reserved event for a tasting of Le Clos Jordanne wines at Jackson-Triggs Estate Winery.  At a sit-down tasting we were told about the four distinct vineyards – Talon Ridge, La Petite Colline, Claystone Terrace and Le Clos Jordanne Vineyard.  The 2009 vintage from each vineyard was poured.  A “favourite” wine could not be selected by the group because they all were so different and all very good.  The wines actually changed in the glass after sitting for a time and they were much different with the accompanying food.

Jackson-Triggs doles out Le Clos Jordanne wines - "another 5 star experience"

The food presentation at Jackson-Triggs rated right up there with Hidden Bench.  This included a mushroom quiche, duck pâté, salmon tartare and two cheeses served with crusty bread.  We were then served a tasting of the 2008 Talon Ridge to compare with the 2009.  As if this wasn’t enough, we were then invited to the tasting room where we could try the 2007 La Petite and Talon Ridge Pinots.  This was another 5-star experience!

Feeling quite content, we moved on to Lailey Vineyard where winemaker, Derek Barnett, poured us the following Pinots from the excellent 2009 vintage – Niagara Peninsula (now, unfortunately, sold out), Canadian Oak, Brickyard (my personal favourite), Old Vines and Lot 48.  Knowing that our group appreciated really fine wines, Derek raided the library and treated us to a sample of the 2007 Old Vines Pinot.  The website said we would be given an opportunity to “punch down the cap” but because of the weather, I assume that plans had changed.  Besides, with all the wines consumed, I’m sure some of us might have fallen in the vat!  During the tasting we could help ourselves to the charcuterie and cheese selections offered.

Moving on to Inniskillin Winery just down the Niagara Parkway from Lailey, we were directed to the barrel cellar.  I have to admit this was the most disappointing event of the Pinot Affair.  I was surprised because their sister winery, Jackson-Triggs put on such a great tasting.  There was not a lot of room in the barrel cellar.  Four of us had to stand because there were only four seats available.  Only two wines were served – the 2009 and 2003 Pinots from the Montague Vineyard.  It was interesting to taste the difference six years of ageing made on the wine from the same vineyard.  The food was a pork rillette prepared by Estate Chef David Penny.  The presentation just did not compare with Jackson-Triggs or Hidden Bench.  I would give this 3 out of 5 stars.

Seeing is believing, the dirt at Coyote's Run

Our last stop of the weekend was Coyote’s Run Estate Winery in St. David’s.  This was supposed to be an outside event but the winery was able to set up a very informative experience inside one of their buildings.  In fact, it was very seasonal with straw on the floor and harvest displays.  We were led through the winemaking process by first trying the just-picked grapes and then the juice from the pressed grapes before fermentation.  Then we were told about the influence that “terroir” has on the wines including the soil from which the “Red Paw” and “Black Paw” is made.  We then could taste the finished Pinots with a selection of delicious canapés.  We then went into the tasting room where we could try the 2009 “Rare Vintage” Pinot.

What the Coyote served

With the success of this year’s event, I’m hoping this becomes an annual “Affair” and that a few more wineries that are producing excellent Pinots in Niagara come on board.  I would rate this inaugural event a 4.5 out of 5 stars.  Congratulations to the organizers and participating wineries. Well done!

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Report from … Get Fresh in the Valley – May 7-8, 2011

Back in 2008 I did something I have never done since:  I had a guest writer write a blog entry of an event that I could not attend.  His name was Fred Couch, and although I and my readers enjoyed his frank, honest assessment of Wrapped Up in the Valley 2008, a certain winery had some choice words for Mr. Couch (I think they threatened to eat his children, good thing for Fred that he does not have any).  Anyway, it has taken me 2 years but I have coaxed Fred off the couch and on to the road again – this time for a look at the new 20 Valley event “Fresh”.  Fred has also told me that he tried to remain positive, and where negativity did seep in he did not mention any names (I guess he wanted to not only protect the guilty but himself as well) …

“Get Fresh in Twenty Valley” Passport Event 
… By F.G. Couch

This event, held the first two weekends of May, was an inaugural event for the Twenty Valley Association.  20 wineries participated and for a passport cost of $35 plus HST (of course!), holders could visit all 20 for a sample of wine with matching food.  As a bonus and to get your spring garden started, each winery also gave out a packet of seeds.  There were ten different varieties in all, each producing an edible product including arugula, sweet basil, Detroit dark red beets, Touchon carrots, Bouquet dill, red salad bowl lettuce, Tokyo long white onions, cherry belle radish, Tyee spinach and Johnny Jump-up violas.

As with most passport events, some wineries go all out and do a great job and put a lot of effort into the wine and food pairing and the presentation.  Unfortunately, others took the easy way out and offered uninspired food such as a bit of goat cheese mixed with dill on a very stale crostini.  Another winery just served a small piece of baguette with a saucer of dipping oil and a dry spice mixture. [ed. Note:  this is where Fed has performed his negative soft shoe shuffle.]

The best food presentation both visually and taste-wise has to go to Sue-Ann Staff Winery.  Sue-Ann had an unfortunate experience on the first weekend with the spring-style sushi California rolls that she wanted to serve for this event.  [She did not repeat her mistake twice] instead she created a dish modified from a magazine recipe.  For the cup she used an egg roll wrapper baked in a muffin tin.  This was then filled with a coarsely shredded papaya dressed with fresh mint, ginger, garlic and lime juice with fish sauce, sugar and salt.  Then garnished with soya poached salmon, cherry tomato, peanuts and thinly sliced dried mango on the side.  The matching wine was the 2009 Pinot Grigio.  Five out of five stars, Sue-Ann!

Runner up in the presentation category goes to The Good Earth Food and Wine Co.  They served a spring pea soup with crème fraiche garnished with an edible Johnny Jump-up viola.  The soup was paired with their 2009 Chardonnay.

Best food pairings were at: Megalomaniac (John Howard Cellars of Distinction) - the 2009 Narcissist Riesling was served with a caramelized onion tart with duck confit and goat cheese, garnished with a beet chip.  This excellent dish was prepared by About Thyme Bistro in Vineland.  13th Street Winery – the 2010 White Palette was paired with spring rolls and a spicy dipping sauce.  As an added bonus they also served a carrot soup and you could also try the Red Palette with the spring roll.  Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery – the 2010 Wismer Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc with a spring market sandwich of cream cheese, cucumber, tender greens and fresh herbs on organic whole wheat bread.  Angels Gate Winery – the 2009 Sussreserve Riesling with a South-western rice medley with shrimp.

The maverick winery award goes to Stoney Ridge Winery for serving the only full-bodied red wine of the event!  The other wineries served either a white wine or a rosé.  Stoney Ridge broke the mold by offering their 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon with roast beef slices and aged cheddar cheese including a horseradish cheese which went well with the beef – delicious!

Overall, this was a great event and well worth the price of the passport.  Some of the wineries were disappointed with the attendance while others said they had a great turnout.  I’m not sure what would be the explanation for this.  One winery representative said that the event should be held in June rather than May.  The wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake hold their Herb and Wine Festival during four weekends in May as well so this could contribute to attendance being lower than expected.  However, with a bit of tweaking and possibly more advertising this event could become the spring wine event to attend!  Event rating: 4 ½ out of 5; value for money: 5 out of 5.

[ed. note: I found the advertising to be a little lacking for this event; as a media outlet I received only one email about the event and it gave only a single day for the event, not 2 weekend in May.  Meanwhile, the folks at the Wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake have sent me two emails a week to remind me of there Spring event (Wine and Herb Festival)].

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Report from ... Wrapped Up in the Valley - November 29-30, 2008

I can’t get to them all … honest I can’t; but I had every intention of going to the Wrapped up in the Valley event on the weekend of November 29 and 30. But as luck would have it I was called away to help someone move; in retrospect I would have preferred to go to the winery events … but sometimes you must make sacrifices – especially if you ever want her to talk to you again, plus it was my foodie, Erica, who was moving, and a wine a food event just wouldn’t be the same without someone to bounce opinions off of.

Upon my return I got an email from Fred Couch, a member of the Ontario Wine Society, and in it he wrote: “Did you do any of the Twenty Valley "Wrapped up in the Valley" passport events? This, by far, has to be the best-valued passport event. We visited 9 wineries today with friends and all did a wonderful job. Great food and wine pairing and an edible treat to take home … (slags another festival here) … We still have 3 more wineries to visit tomorrow to finish off the passport. What a treat.”

I emailed back and forth with Fred for several days and finally said to him: “seems like I should have gone, for sure next year, but would you mind giving me a little write-up of your experience”. I have never known Fred to be as talkative as he is in the article below. Thanks Fred.

On the Road with the Grape Guy’s Understudy ... F.G. Couch

Having participated in many wonderful winery passport events in the Finger Lakes, New York, I have usually been disappointed by similar events put on by the Ontario Wineries. However, this year seems to be much different. The Grape Guy has already reported on the “Taste the Season” and said, (it) “remains one of the highlights of the holiday season and, for my money, one of the best events of the year.” Well, “Wrapped Up in the Valley”, put on by the wineries that belong to the Twenty Valley Association, should be right up there as one of the best.

For a reasonable $20, you purchased a passport (good for the last two weekends in November), which allowed the holder to visit all 12 participating wineries for a food and wine pairing. Also, each passport holder was given a tasty Twenty Valley “collectible edible” to help create a gourmet hostess gift. There were three “non-edible” gifts but more about those later!

I was joined by my wife, Sue, who is a food “groupie” if there is such a thing [editor’s note: Fred has just ably given us a definition for “Foodie”], and two friends from Toronto. Unfortunately, our friends waited too long but were able to get the last remaining passport – only 200 sold for the whole event (both weekends). However, most of the wineries were sympathetic to the one without the passport and let her try the food and wine pairings anyway. To our friends’ amazement, we were able to visit 9 wineries on the first day. They commented, “we have never been to so many wineries in one day”. They’ve never toured with us before! [editor’s note: sounds like a lot but this foursome still proves they are lightweights; Erica and I plowed through 14 on our first day of the Taste the Season event]

We started our tour at Flat Rock Cellars where we were given a gift bag to collect all our “goodies”. Rather than review all twelve wineries, in Grape Guy style [editor’s note: of which he has much], I’ll just report on the “highlights” and the one disappointing wine and food pairing. It’s best to get the worst out of the way first. It was unanimous that the worst food of the weekend was served at Eastdell Estates Winery. We were offered a “Homemade parmesan risotto paired with Cuvee Brut Sparkling Wine”. The risotto was undercooked and the cheese gave the dish a sour taste. The sparkling wine was flat. The only redeeming thing about the visit was the large biscotti as our takeaway gift.

Not being a seafood lover, I deferred the rating of what would have been the best food and wine pairing to our Toronto friends. Vineland Estates Winery served “Pinot Blanc Steamed Bluecoat Mussels, Shaved Fennel and Koorneef Cherry Tomatoes paired with Pinot Blanc”. We were seated at a table for four in the upstairs loft with a live jazz band playing quietly in the background. As I said, this should have been the best food and wine pairing but, unfortunately, a few of the mussels had an “iodine” taste, which was off-putting.

Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery went all out and served a tasting plate of pears, prosciutto and a ripe, soft cheese paired with their Ratafia. Our takeaway gift was a large package of cheddar shortbread cookies from the Sprucewood Handmade Cookie Co. and a package of mulling spices to make a holiday batch of mulled cider or wine. For our “chocolate” fix of the day, the winner had to be Cave Spring Cellars. They served three chocolates (white, milk and dark) paired with their Cabernet Franc Select Late Harvest. We all agreed that the dark chocolate was the best match and the white chocolate, (surprisingly) a close second. Our next choice would probably have to go to Harbour Estates Winery for their “Phyllo-wrapped baked brie with HEW Drunken Apple wine jelly paired with Non-Oaked Chardonnay”. This was a tasty treat that made you want a second piece.

The best takeaway “edible gifts” besides the shortbreads from Peninsula Ridge were a piece of Christmas cake from Creekside Estate Winery, walnut cookies from Flat Rock Cellars, fudge from Harbour Estates, pasta (uncooked, of course) from Vineland Estates, popping corn from Mountain Road Wine Company and spiced nuts from Fielding Estates Winery. There were three “non-edible” gifts. At Tawse Winery, we were given a cheese-cutting knife and a discount coupon for the Upper Canada Cheese Company. At Angels Gate Winery they were giving out a clay “Brown Sugar Saver”, courtesy of Le Clos Jordanne Winery, who doesn’t have a winery to visit but wanted to participate in the event. The most expensive “non-edible” gift was from Mountain Road Wine Company. They gave away a boxed set consisting of a stainless steel waiter’s corkscrew and chrome-plated wine stopper.

We came away with two gift bags packed to overflowing with holiday “goodies. This was one of the best passport events we’ve ever attended in Niagara and look forward to seeing how this can be duplicated next year. There was talk about selling 200 passports for each weekend in 2009 but I hope it doesn’t become so busy that it won’t be as enjoyable. Star rating (4 ½ out of 5); value for money (5 out of 5).

Ah Fred, moving really was fun … or so I keep telling myself.

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