On the Road with the Grape Guy

On the Road with the Grape Guy is a on-going feature that follows me from event to event ... I post my thoughts, feelings and reviews of what happened and what I tasted ... basically it is here that I review the events I attend and the things that thrilled me.

Report from - Green Evolution Eco-Friendly Wine Tasting ... April 20, 2010

22 Apr 2010

My only complaint about the Green Evolution Eco-Friendly Wine Tasting is its apparent lack of organization and its lack of printed material about the wines.  Now, I suppose to be Eco-Friendly you would forego the use of paper that folks will eventually throw away (or hopefully recycle) once they get them home and throw on their coffee table for the rest of the month – but there were some catalogues available, but very few, so the choice should be print none (so that everybody has to write on their hands and wash the ink off later) or print more so everyone has the chance to recycle the books at the end of the month (or have them decompose naturally on the coffee table) … but the bottom line here is that I did not have at my disposal all the details of the wines I would normally like to have when writing these reports – and I promise not to print this one off for editing purposes. Write green, Think green.

Alright, so aside from that little glitch in the action I found this tasting to be very interesting.  It was held at Earth restaurant (1055 Yonge Street); approximately 21 wines were being poured all from producers who are certified organic, practicing bio-dynamics and/or other sustainable methods of growing grapes and making wine.  From these 21 wines, which were all available to order through Vintages (but not in store), I have pared it down to 7 that truly shone.  One note about the lone Ontario winery in attendance, Southbrook, reviews of their wines can be found on my website, namely:  2008 Triomphe Merlot and the 2007 Poetica Chardonnay which were all part of their turn to the eco-wine; also look for a review of their 2009 Rosé coming soon … sign up for the newsletter to keep up-to-date.  Now enough with the blatant self-promotion, on to the wines …(click here to read about the 7 wines worth your greenbacks)

 

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

 

 

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

21 Apr 2010

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.

 

 

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