On the Road with the Grape Guy

Report from - Hillebrand 21st Anniversary Jazz Festvial … July 10, 2010

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Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy

Attention Hillebrand Shoppers ... at this year’s Jazz Festival (their 21st) Hillebrand had some exciting news to tell.  As you may, or may not, know, 5-year winemaker Darryl Brooker has headed off for the desert of British Columbia; so Hillebrand was left looking for a winemaker to fill some pretty big shoes.  Today it was officially announced that the multi-award winning winemaker Crag McDonald, long time winemaker for Creekside, would be filling those shoes.  In this season of free-agent signings (a reference for all you hockey and basketball fans) this is a coup – it’s like trading one franchise player for another.  Craig takes over the role in late July.  Now on with the rest of the show …

Who Was Playing …
This year’s Hillebrand Jazz Festival had quite the line-up: the performers, the food and the wine were all top notch – a real trifecta for a great afternoon.  On the bill this year were: the Jake Wilkinson Quintet, the Richard Underhill Quintet, Denzal Sinclaire and Emilie-Claire Barlow – if you’re a jazz fan, like my mother is (she accompanied me this year) then these names mean something to you.  If you’re a casual music fan, these names would have meant nothing, but fans and casual listeners were treated to a fantastic afternoon of music that everyone could enjoy.  Hillebrand always seems to amass a great line-up for this event.

The Wines …
Before, and during, the performance, there was a free flowing of recently released, soon-to-be released and even some barrel and tank sampling of wines.  From tank we tried some Artist Series Limited Edition Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris, both from the ’09 vintage; and from barrel we got a taste of 2 single barrel Showcase Chardonnays that were in the works.  A barrel-aged icewine finished off our tour of the subterranean level. 

Up top, in the winemaker’s tower, the award winning Trius Rosé Brut started us off, then an array of white and red wines were poured.  First, there were six pre-lunch wines and then six more with the meal.  My top three selections were the following: ... (Find out what my 3 favourites were, link to the full reviews and see pictures of the amazing food)

To read about more interesting adventures thru the world of wine check out the On the Road With the Grape Guy blog.

Report from - Huff’s 6 Barrels for 6 Chefs … July 8, 2010

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Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy

“We read your blog today about the 2007 event to find out what to wear,” the man in the long khaki pants told me, the woman with him, in a black knee-length dress, nodded in agreement.

“Had I known it was gonna be this hot I would have told you as little as possible,” I responded.  It was a hot evening here in the County, where Huff Estates Winery welcomed 6 chefs to pair food with 6 barrels of new unfinished wine.  For the record, I was dressed in shorts, a golf shirt and sandals.

“We’ve gone from one extreme to another,” said owner Lanny Huff, referring back to last year’s torrential downpour, “but it adds a different dynamic every year.” 

This is the fourth year that Huff has hosted this fabulous In-the-Vineyard walk around dining event for wine and food lovers.  The concept is simple:  Huff invites 6 chefs from different parts of Ontario to match a dish with 6 unfinished, still in barrel, County wines – 3 Chardonnays (Huff) and 3 Pinot Noirs (Norman Hardie).  It’s an informal walk through the vineyard dine and drink event.  Followed by dessert and coffee back on the winery patio.  This year’s dessert was supplied by The Bloomfield Carriage House Restaurant (Gooseberry Turnover with Elderflower Cream along with Fifth Town Cheese (who brought three varieties along) and all were paired with Huff’s 2007 First Frost ‘dessert’ wine.  What a decadent night, and all without having to put on a tie and dress pants.

The chefs in attendance this year were Michael Potter (Picton), Ryan Crawford (Niagara), Steve Mitton (Ottawa), Chris McDonald (Toronto), Bryan Steele (Strafford) and Hiro Yoshida (Toronto).  The wines were pulled out of different barrels with different toast levels, of different ages and from different cooperage houses – but all were French – and all were meant to show the difference a barrel makes on the same wine (all the wines were from the 2009 vintage and all were made using 100% County fruit).

The Food …

(to read on and see pictures of the event click here)

To read about more interesting adventures thru the world of wine check out the On the Road With the Grape Guy blog.