03
Jul
2009
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Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy
The iyellow wine club had an interesting idea: why not bring the 21 wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake to Toronto for a tasting. You know, those wineries that put on such events as Taste the Season, Wine and Herb and Wine and Chocolate . Well Ange and Pax (the folks behind the iyellow club) arranged for those 21 wineries to come to Toronto to present 2 wines each, hence 42 wines from 21 wineries. The event was held at the Toronto Board of Trade in downtown Toronto and was perfect for bringing the beauty of Niagara wines to the heart of the city. Now you can read some of my reviews of such wines as Hillebrand’s 2008 Showcase Ghost Creek Riesling ; Palatine’s 2007 Gewurztraminer and Marynissen’s 2007 Bottoms Up blend, that were at the show and all featured in a newsletter at some point in the past few months. You’ll also see in the coming weeks reviews for such wines as the Cattail Creek 2007 Cabernet Franc, Maleta 2005 Cabernets and Peller’s 2008 Private Reserve Pinot Gris … keep checking the wine reviews section of the website or sign up for the newsletter to stay updated. But there is one winery from these 21 that I would like to single out for some special mention and a plea or sorts. I met up with winemaker Jamie Evans, of Stonechurch, who was pouring barrel samples of the Ontario Wine Awards Gold medal winning, 2007 Syrah Reserve and the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, both are stunning wines from the equally stunning vintage of 2007: “the best red vintage ever in Ontario”. Problem is, the winery went into receivership a few months ago, Jaime was trying to drum up interest in these wines so they will hopefully see the light of day under the Stonechurch label (meaning: get bottled for consumer purchase). If there is any justice in the world, financing will find a way into place to that these wines will indeed be labeled and sold under the Stonecurch name and Jaime will get the credit he so richly deserves for creating these beauties. I will now step off my soapbox.
As for the 42-21-1 event, both wineries and consumers agreed that this was an excellent showcase for the wines, the venue worked well, the food was delicious and the attendees were interested in the wines being poured; but most of all, that the event should be repeated again next year … and I am in full agreement there.
To read about more interesting adventures thru the world of wine check out the On the Road With the Grape Guy blog .
01
Jul
2009
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Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy
A fairly lazy day turned into a very lazy, and music filled, night - and as the old saying goes, a day without music is like a day without sunshine, and trust me, this day had plenty of that too.
Our day in Niagara began with a mid-afternoon trip to Lailey Vineyard to try a couple of 2008 whites (Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc - not yet released), 2007 Chardonnay (set for bottling in July) and a peak at a couple of Pinot Noirs (2007 – awesome – & 2008 – coming along nicely). In the late afternoon we found ourselves at Cattail Creek, where we sampled the 2008 Unoaked Chardonnay, Serendipity Rosé, Gewurztraminer and got a sneak peak at the soon to be released Select Late Harvest Meritage (a real winner in my books).
But the piece-de-resistance (as they say), and our reason for being in Niagara in the first place, the opening of the 9th Annual Twilight in the Vineyard concert series at Jackson-Triggs, starring Chantal Kreviazuk. Now, for those who have read my previous Jackson-Triggs Twilight write ups, you’ll know that I seem to be a jinx for the caterers’ performance. One year the caterer ran out of food, the following year the caterer was late; this year I decided to give the concert a fighting chance of getting a good review, and not even bother with signing up for the dinner. As I walked into Jackson-Triggs and was presented with my tickets I was told, “The Vineyard Grill is going wonderfully well”, not once, not twice, but at least three times by three different people. And it was true. Smiles were on the faces of those sitting or standing with plates and there was no griping. I wandered over to the food tent to get a glimpse of what was on the menu, there seemed to be plenty of food to choose from and many stations you could wander up to to fill your plate. A J-T staff member (Stacey) offered me a sampling of the night’s fare, as I stood in line for water and wine. I’ll never say “no” to a light bite. What she put together for me was a small plate with a bean and pea salad, grilled veggies, roasted mini potatoes, salmon and pork loin – all delicious, and served at just the right temperature. I wandered back into the food tent to get some pictures and bumped into the man behind tonight’s delicacies, chef Michael Olson. We spoke for a bit about the food and the evening. Michael told me he had done his homework, “there are two things you never do in the catering business,” he said in his usual jovial tone, “arrive late or run out of food. You can get drunk, start a fight, set fire to a table - but never arrive late or run out of food.” He gave out a jovial laugh as he finished reciting his rules of catering and with that we shook hands and he was off to tend to one of the food stations, to talk with his staff. I caught up with him about 5-minutes later doing some hands on work with the pork loin (see picture). I should also mention the delicious desserts, of which the mini-strawberry shortcake was a personal favourite. Now it was time to wait for the night’s main event.
Finally, the wait was over, Del Rollo appeared on stage, as he does every year, to welcome us all and hype the night, and the upcoming season. With a cheer Del turned and was hugged by the emerging Chantal K, who took her seat at the piano, pulled the mike in close, and tinkled the first few bars of ‘Leaving on a Jet Plane’, which was greeted with an appreciative roar from the crowd; she began singing just as a single-engine jobbies flew over-head. Music and banter filled the amphitheatre, wine flowed and people sang along with the songs they knew (and head-bobbed to those they didn’t - including a sampling of some new material from her upcoming album). It was the perfect end to a perfect lazy day in Niagara. Chantal called the Jackson-Triggs venue her favourite “and I get to play Massey Hall,” she said. “With the crowd, the wine, the beautiful Niagara location in the vineyard, what more could you ask for?” What more indeed. I now find myself looking forward to the 10th Annual Twilight series.
To see pictures of the event, or read my wishlist for the 10th Annual Twilight series, click here
To read about more interesting adventures thru the world of wine check out the On the Road With the Grape Guy blog.
