Toronto to get its own South African "National Braai Day!"

People always hear that Toronto is a multicultural CITY, and that's definitely true, but I also think of TORONTONIANS THEMSELVES as being multicultural by nature. People who live in Toronto like to learn more about other cultures and have a natural curiosity to seek out more info. And we're fortunate to live in the perfect playground where we have so many different cultural influences to explore right in our own backyard. Diversity our strength!

I've had a couple South African co-workers in the past but we didn't ever get to talking about food or celebrations in South Africa. So I was intrigued when I heard about National Braai Day, which is like South Africa’s annual day of celebration that happens Sept. 24; South Africans gather around fires, prepare a feast, and come together to take time out and celebrate. From reading the official website, it sounds sort of like Thanksgiving meets St. Patrick's Day. Heck, it even has its own patron saint: Nobel Peace Prize winner, Emeritus Archbishop Doctor Desmond Tutu! ("Braai" basically means "barbecue" in Afrikaans, by the way.)

Two Oceans, Nederburg and Flat Roof Manor reached out to let us know they are bringing the Braai party to Canada on Sept. 21 at Distillery District and they sent us some South African wines to try. We've cracked open the Flat Roof Manor Pinot Grigio and plan to get to the others later this month. It's a super easy-drinking wine. I like sipping away and using my imagination to place myself in South Africa in the middle of a Braai, smelling mouth-watering barbecue - but I won't have to imagine much longer because Torontonians get to have our own inaugural Braai day soon!

Yours in food,
-Stacey

Horse betting & wine drinking: Hot to Trot wine tasting at Turf Lounge

Mid-October we checked out a wine launch at Turf Lounge, one of the much more upscale off-track betting places one can visit. We really enjoyed ourselves - Mark and I were each given $2 bet cards and I took both of them and placed bets with no knowledge of how to even read the screen (let alone having any prior understanding of how to bet on horses). Would you believe we won?! I bet both for horse #3 on Indiana Downs because that was the horse on the screen when I happened to look up - lo and behold, that horse placed first!

But the real reason we were there was to taste two wines available now at the LCBO from a US winery in Washington State called 14 Hands Vineyards. The Hot to Trot – Red Blend we sipped is mainly a Merlot, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon blend, but also has hints of Mourvedre and other red varieties. It has notes of berries, cherries and currants; the tannins were soft, but I didn't really catch the baking spice and mocha on the finish as per the description. Regardless, the warmer red/dark fruits were definitely present, and I found it to be fairly easy drinking. I'm more of a white drinker though, so I was looking forward to trying the Hot to Trot – White Blend. It is predominantly a Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Semillon blend with flavours of pear, melon and lemon zest. I got a whole lot of pear and a bit of melon, and found it to be crisp and not too too sweet. I wouldn't mind having another bottle on hand at home, as I think I could see it pairing well with many different types of foods, from fish to creamy pastas.

Yours in food, and sometimes wine!
-Stacey

G. Marquis vineyards

Introducing one of the latest brands of wines to hit the LCBO, G. Marquis.

G. Marquis is all VQA, produced at the Niagara Stone Road vineyard in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

The brand offers 2 lines, the Red Line and the Silver Line. The Silver Line is 100% Ontario VQA, made from hand-harvested grapes and includes premium Icewines and single vineyard vintages. The Red Line offers 100% Ontario VQA wines that are unoaked, and present a soft, fruit-forward profile.



I tried the 2009 Merlot with some of Stacey’s awesome lasagna! I must say the VQA really comes out. It was smooth and fruity, blanketing my tongue with mellow richness. It definitely goes well with hearty dishes laden with cheese and tomato sauce. Not quite as rich as a Cab, but substantial enough to go well with a good steak.



Pricing and availability are as follows:

The Silver Line

2008 Chardonnay VQA - $16.95 (VINTAGES LCBO)
2011 Pinot Noir VQA - $19.95 (VINTAGES LCBO Essentials)
Ice Rosé VQA - $29.95 (VINTAGES LCBO)
2010 Vidal Late Harvest VQA - $14.95 (Duty Free)
2009 Vidal Icewine VQA - $27.95 (VINTAGES LCBO)
2009 Riesling Icewine VQA - $34.95 (Duty Free)
2009 Cabernet Franc Icewine VQA - $39.95 (Duty Free)

The Red Line 

2010 Riesling VQA - $11.95 (LCBO)
2009 Merlot VQA - $12.95 (LCBO)
2010 Pinot Grigio VQA - $11.95 (LCBO)
2009 Cabernet Sauvignon VQA - $12.95 (Duty Free)


Cheers,
Mark

Crossing it off the bucket list: Niagara winery tour, and my challenge to you to share your favourite local wine!

Hang onto your hats, folks - Ontario does so much more than just icewine!

This past week I had the good fortune of experiencing my first-ever wine tour as part of LCBO's goLOCAL month, which runs from Sept. 11 to Oct. 8. The fact that it was my first wine tour, might I add, elicited gasps from my foodie friends. ;) Needless to say, and 8:30 am be damned, I think I was definitely the most excited person there! There I was, in all my nerdy glory, tweeting all the new tidbits of knowledge I was picking up, and I found three new favourite local wines to boot!

We took our own private VIA Rail train on the way up, which I loved (I love trains! Such a fun way to travel) and had a pretty tasty breakfast of oranges and grapefruit, orange juice, and a bacon quiche served with grilled sausage, Lyonnaise potatoes and scorched tomatoes - not bad for train food at all, I quite enjoyed it. We first visited Hillebrand Estates Winery (where we drank Trius, Vineland Estates and Peller Estates wines); then proceeded to Creekside Winery (for a food truck lunch courtesy of El Gastronomo Vagabundo and Gorilla Cheese, paired with Creekside Winery wines); and our last stop was Angel's Gate Winery (which *might* just be the most beautiful place on earth - you can see Toronto from across the water, and the building itself looks like a beautiful old church to me). There we tried wines from Angel's Gate obviously, as well as a couple of Dan Aykroyd's wines from Diamond Estates (no, he was not there!) and Henry of Pelham.

My favourite wines (most-favourite from top to bottom) were definitely:

2010 Trius Sauvignon Blanc
2010 Henry of Pelham Riesling
2008 Creekside Estate Winery Shiraz

And now it's time for some nerdy wine observations, facts and figures I learned along the way:

• What struck me instantly is how supportive the winemakers are of eachother. It really seems like a beautiful community to be part of.
• I also learned a lot about the terroir and geography of the region. I had no idea that the reason why bench regions are so good for grape growing is because they often are on a slant, meaning water drains away from the vines (which is good as they don't need a ton of water).
  
• I also didn't know that most of the bench regions and the other areas suitable for grape growing in and around Niagara have already been fully planted, so it's unlikely there will be much more planting there.
• Wine Country Ontario is between 41° and 44° North, which is the same latitude shared by Burgundy and many other cool climate wine regions of Europe.
• Wines from cooler climates tend to be more aromatic, lighter in body and higher in acidity than those from warmer climates.
• Core red varietals in Ontario are Baco Noir, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Gamay Noir.
  
• Core white varietals in Ontario are Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Vidal Blanc, Gewurtztraminer, and Chardonnay.
  

Now get out there and find your favourite local wine OR if you already have a local favourite wine, share it with me, I'd love to try it so flip me your suggestions!

Yours in food,

-Stacey

Vintage Ink

Last month we were at the launch of Vintage Ink wines at Brassaii. Vintage Ink features blends of select Niagara wines for their Chardonnay and Merlot-Cabernet. Veteran wine artist Keith Bown brings his 25 years of experience to bear in selecting the optimal combination of each wine. Of note is the Merlot-Cabernet that uses mostly Cabernet Franc instead of more of the typical Cabernet Sauvignon. See the wine tech sheets below:



Vintage Ink Chardonnay Tech Sheet

VintageInkMerlotCabernet Tech Sheet









Posted by: Mark Rodas

Need a culinary weekend getaway that's still close to Toronto? Try Hockley Valley Resort

Hockley Valley Resort is a resort one hour from Toronto (near Orangeville). We had the good fortune of touring the resort, eating at one of its three restaurants, and meeting their General Manager John Paul Adamo via the folks at Pilot PMR who gave us and a few other bloggers a lift (thank you!)

Upon walking into the resort, there is very much a family feeling about the place, which is likely because it's a family-owned business (it was first purchased by John Paul's father and, at the time, it needed a lot of work). Mark and I found it to be both sophisticated and stylish without being pretentious.

Here's a quick rundown on the resort's three restaurants Babbo, Tavola, Restaurant 85 as well as the wine cellar's "table for two" and their Farmer's Market:

• Eating at Tavola is a unique and participatory experience - first, you get to walk in their garden and pick items that their talented chefs will turn into your dinner - talk about fresh and local. You can also go into their kitchen and write a message on the kitchen walls - I could've stayed in there all day reading all the messages (which are now creeping onto the cieling). You'll get to start off your meal by tasting the chefs' in-house cured meats and cheeses, and you'll also get a tour of the wine cellar. Tavola consists of a single table in a separate room beside the kitchen, so it's very intimate - not like a restaurant at all but more like sitting around a dinner table with friends and family.
  
  
• Restaurant 85 seats the largest number of people and, as far as we know, is the newest of the three restaurants.
  
  
• Babbo is somewhere in between the other two restaurants in size, and it looked like a great place to grab a drink and relax.
  
  
• We thought this idea was genius - there was a table for two in the area where they keep their wines - no, it's not a wine cellar in the basement, it's a beautiful glassed-in walk-in wine cellar. That would probably qualify as the quietest, most intimate dinner you could have with another person since it literally is just the two of you - that would be the PERFECT gift for a pair of married wine-lovers: Spend your anniversary dinner in there!
  
  
• The resort holds a Farmer's Market every third Sunday. They don't charge the vendors anything. Jean Paul emphasized repeatedly that it's not a revenue stream for them, but rather it's their way of showing support for local producers.

For those who want to do more than just eat while at Hockley, (weirdos!) there is skiing and snowshoeing in the winter, and in the summer they have a great saltwater pool and a golf course. There is also a year-round spa.

In case you are curious about exactly what we ate at Tavola, here's the full menu - can I just add that the Tawse Gewurtztraminer was TO DIE FOR?! We were served different wines with each meal from Ontario and Italy and the Gewurtz was, as usual, my favourite. Favourite dish was the cod wrapped in prosciutto, hands down. Also really appreciated the neat idea to candy celery and put it in a dessert - very unique and actually worked quite well in terms of flavour!

Executive Chef: Rabii Jaouhari

Restaurant Chef: Daniel Mezzolo

Lunch

First Course:

Served in Kitchen

House-cured & Imported Cheese & Salumi

Antipasti

Second Course:

Potato Soup

Crispy asparagus, parmigiano foam, truffle oil

2008 Viewpoint Estate Winery, Arneis, VQA Lake Erie North Shore, ON

Third Course:

Scampi Bagna Cauda

Slow poached in olive oil & thyme

2010 Tawse, Gewurztraminer, Quarry Road VQA Niagara, ON

Fourth Course:

Tortelli

Filled with 3 years aged parmigiano cream, Pingue speck

2007 Le Clos Jordanne, Oaked Chardonnay, Jordan Station, ON

Fifth Course:

Fiddlehead Risotto

Braised fresh house sausage

2008 Foreign Affair, Sauvignon Blanc, VQA Niagara Peninsula, ON

Sixth Course:

Cod

Pingue prosciutto wrapped, quenelle of rapini & garlic, braised shallots, carrot cream,

2007 Brovia, Barbera D’Alba DOC, Italy

Seventh Course:

Suckling Pig

Rosemary roasted apples, Dijon mustard sauce

1994 Antica Sleva Di Meana, Pinot Nero, Scambia, Allerona, Italy

Eighth Course:

Pre-Dessert

Melon granita, semifreddo, fizzy, limoncello foam, candied celery

2004 Daniel Lenko, Select Harvest Vidal, VQA Niagara, ON

Ninth Course:

Dessert

Pistachio crème brulee + raspberry, apricot, orange house made truffle + orange vanilla marscapone cake with raspberry & strawberry sauce

Also have to give a big shoutout to Hockley Honey for the amazing creamed white organic unpasteurized wildflower honey (try saying that five times fast!) they gave us. Delicious!



Yours in food,
-Stacey

We have a winner! And the Inniskillin prize pack goes to...

Today's the day we give away an Inniskillin prize pack to a lucky winner!

We've done the draw and we have a winner - and the winner is...

ERIN!

Erin told us that her favourite treat is "a dark chocolate truffle, with a glass of ice wine at the end of a long day." Mmm, now THAT'S the kind of indulgence we could all use at the end of a long day, especially during the holiday time! Thanks for sharing, Erin!

We'll be emailing you, Erin, at the address you left us to arrange delivery of your prize pack.

Happy new year to you all, thank you all for entering the contest and sharing your favourite holiday treat with us!
Yours in food,
-Stacey

CONTEST ALERT: Happy Holidays from Inniskillin and Tasting Toronto!

Inniskillin and Tasting Toronto want to wish you a happy holiday!

We're giving away an Inniskillin prize pack to one lucky Tasting Toronto reader - You have a chance to win an Inniskillin VIP Tasting Card for their Niagara-on-the-Lake winery, an awesome book all about icewine, Kozlik's triple-crunch mustard (YUM!), and a nice thick winter scarf - all great things to make your winter that much warmer!

To enter, either comment on this post or tweet to us @TastingToronto telling us what your favourite holiday treat is! If leaving a comment, please make sure you leave a way for us to get in touch with you!

Best of luck!
Yours in food,
-Stacey

Contest closes December 31, 2010. Open to residents of Ontario 19 years or older. Entry: Either comment on this post or tweet to us @TastingToronto telling us what your favourite holiday treat is (and if commenting on the blog, please be sure to leave us a way to get in touch with you!). Prizes to win: An Inniskillin prize pack valued at approximately $85. One entry per person. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Mathematical skill-testing question to be correctly answered to win. No purchase necessary. Full rules below.

Tasting Toronto / Inniskillin “Favourite Holiday Treat” Contest

The Tasting Toronto / Inniskillin “Favourite Holiday Treat” Contest (the “Contest”) is open to residents of Ontario who are 19 years or older. The Contest Period starts on December 22, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. and ends December 31, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. No purchase necessary. All times are Eastern Times.

HOW TO ENTER – Either comment on this post or tweet to us @TastingToronto telling us what your favourite holiday treat is. If commenting on the blog, please be sure to leave us a way to get in touch with you.

PRIZE – Entrants are eligible to win one (1) Inniskillin prize pack valued at approximately $85.

FINAL DRAW – The names of all eligible entrants will be entered into a random draw. The random draw by a representative of Tasting Toronto will be made December 31, 2010. The name of the winner will be posted December 31, 2010 via a Tasting Toronto blog post and via @TastingToronto on Twitter. The winning entrant is responsible to verify if he/she has been selected. Selected entrants must make themselves known by 7:00 p.m. on January 7, 2010 by either tweeting to us or contacting tastingtoronto@hotmail.com.

If a selected entrant fails to make him/herself known by 7:00 p.m. on January 7, 2010 or to claim the prize as instructed, incorrectly answers the skill-testing question, declines the prize, fails to sign a Release of Liability as may be specified by Tasting Toronto or fails to present valid ID, entrant will have forfeited the opportunity to claim the prize and Tasting Toronto reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to select another entrant or to cancel the prize.

Prize must be accepted as awarded and is not transferable, redeemable, refundable or exchangeable for cash. Tasting Toronto reserves the right to substitute a prize of at least equal value in the event of the unavailability, for whatever reason, of the advertised prize.

To be declared a winner, selected entrants must first correctly answer, unaided, a time-limited, mathematical skill-testing question at the time of claiming the prize and may need to sign a Release. Contest judges' rulings are final and without appeal in all matters related to the promotion and the awarding of prizes.

By entering this Contest and/or accepting a prize, entrants consent to the use of their entry and name for publicity, advertising or informational purposes carried out by Tasting Toronto in any medium or format without further notice or compensation.

The Contest is subject to all applicable federal, provincial and municipal laws and regulations.

Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries. All entries that are incomplete, illegible, damaged, irregular, do contain offensive material or inappropriate content, have been submitted through illicit means, using any robotic, automatic programmed method that artificially increases the odds of winning or do not conform to or satisfy any condition of the rules may be disqualified by Tasting Toronto. Tasting Toronto takes no responsibility for lost, stolen, delayed, damaged, misdirected, late or destroyed entries, or for typographical or other production errors. Tasting Toronto is not responsible for any errors or omissions in printing or advertising this Contest. All entries become the property of Tasting Toronto.

Tasting Toronto is collecting personal data about entrants for the purpose of administering this Contest. No further informational or marketing communications will be received by entrants.

By entering this Contest, entrants release and hold harmless the Contest Sponsor (the “Releasee”) from any liability in connection with this Contest or, if declared a finalist or a winner, the prize.

This Contest will be run in accordance with these rules, subject to amendment by Tasting Toronto. Entrants must comply with these rules, and will be deemed to have received and understood the rules by participating in the Contest.

Gourmet Food & Wine Expo: quick highlights and pics

Hi folks - We wanted to share some quick highlights from the Gourmet Food & Wine Expo with you.



As a bit of an intro for those who haven't been before, the Gourmet Food & Wine Expo is held in November each year at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. It has over 1,500 wines, spirits and beers from around the world to sample. You basically buy your entry pass, then are handed a wine sampling glass (don't break it or misplace it, or else be prepared to pay $3 for an extra - but they are so darn cute I almost wanted to buy an extra!). Then once inside, you buy a block of tickets you can use toward food and drink and you get little "sample sizes" to try for a few tickets each from whichever booths you deem interesting. We bought 20 tickets this year.

We hadn't been to GFWE in a couple years, but noticed there was a lot more wine than last time so if you're a wine lover, you'll really be enjoying yourself there!

Speaking of wine, we tried a Georgian red wine that was extremely spicy (when you smelled it, it was like black pepper up your nostrils, but I'm kind of a pepper lover - Mark liked it less than I did). It was certainly interesting, and I think it was the most memorable wine I've ever had for its sheer uniqueness.



In terms of ticketed food items, there were some options, but it seemed like less than last time we were there. Everything we did eat was good - we had a yummy vegetarian samosa from Magic Oven with a delicious spicy chutney drizzled over it. But of course I got drawn to DESSERT almost immediately! There was fudge on a stick dipped in chocolate from Northern Confections - what an awesome idea! It was delicious. I was sold at first glance. We also geeked out over the extensive variety of macarons from Ruelo Patisserie. Such unique flavour combinations - wasabi grapefruit, black truffle (no seriously - it was made with real black truffles! It cost more tickets than the others!) Very creative and very delicious.

It's a great night out, if you live in the GTA and haven't yet been to GFWE I'd say be sure to catch it next year because it really is a fun night out, we really enjoyed ourselves.

Yours in food,
-Stacey