Michael Pinkus Wine Review - On the Road with the Grape Guy

Report from - Dinner with Rosewood Wines at Treadwell ... April 17, 2010

21 Apr 2010

Details: Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy

What a busy day: family ‘do’ in the morning, buddy’s 40th birthday in the afternoon (happy b-day Geoff, how’s your head?) and dinner in Port Dalhousie at night. The family ‘do’ was typically familial, the buddy was well on this way to getting liquored when I left, and dinner, well that was truly the best part of the day.

I drove to Port Dalhousie from Toronto, with a couple of stops along the way to my final destination of Treadwell – farm to table cuisine, where the father and son duo of Stephen (chef) and James (sommelier) run a restaurant that has been garnering quite its fair share of acclaim in the area. Many were surprised I had never been before, although I have met both James and Stephen quite informally on other occasions.

Tonight I was there for a dinner paired around Rosewood Estate (Niagara’s only winery and meadery) wines. In attendance was a small group of dedicated wine and foodies eager to sip and sample the wines and taste Stephen’s kitchen wizardry. Four people didn’t bother to show up, not even a phone call of warning (the rudeness of this is … well I am not here to pass judgment on people, just the wine and food). To those who missed it I can tell you that you missed an excellent dinner and lively conversation about things such as the LCBO, Ontario’s best grapes, favourite winemakers and wineries, the state of the wine world and finally, whether mushrooms with Pinot Noir is cheating or inspired cooking ... (find out what was on the menu tonight ... with pictures)

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

Report from - Shooting the Poop over a few Glasses with Lloyd and Nick ... April 14, 2010

20 Apr 2010

Details: Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy

I find myself in the office of Lloyd Thistle, THE man at Fortessa Canada – the company that brings in Schott Zwiesel stemware. Also in attendance is Nicolas Pearce from Tannin Fine Wines. We are trying a variety of wines using a variety of glassware, including the proper glass for each wine and Schott Zwiesel’s “tasting glass” they call ‘Sensus’. Tannin represents Organized Crime winery in Niagara – and Nicolas took full advantage of my presence to pour a few Criminally good wines, all from the 2008 vintage and all whites … a good choice consider Andrezj Lipinski (the winemaker at the Crime scene) is a master at the pale wines. Props go out for his 2008 Viognier and the 2008 Riesling, especially the Riesling – an absolute beauty, if the price were just a bit lower it would fly off the shelves, though it’s so tasty I have no doubt it will sellout – this is a beauty you should be savouring this summer (at least one bottle).

Nicolas then started playing the “Guess What I Got” game... (find out what else Nicolas had in his box of tricks)

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