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

Report from - Featherstone X-mas Open House ... Nov 25, 2007

03 Dec 2007

Details: Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy

Is it me, or does Louise Engel, one half of the ownership of Featherstone Estate Winery, put on quite possibly the best open house spread of any open house this time of year. Annually I find myself there and each time I am impressed with the array of delicacies she provides. This year was no different, though I did hear from both patrons and fans alike that they believed there were less nibblies than in previous years … yet it was all still wonderful … and really, how can one find time to complain when they’re stuffing Walnut Cranberry Stuffed Brie laced with Pepper Berry Blast into their face; or munching on pieces of Prosciutto red peppr pizza topped with roasted red onions (in thyme and verjus). Louise, the former owner of a gourmet shop outside of Niagara, knows all the great recipes to help make the ordinary extraordinary …(Read more with pictures)

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

Report from - Gourmet Food & Wine Show ... Nov. 15, 2007

03 Dec 2007

Details: Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy

This year’s Gourmet Show saw a cast of regulars rubbing shoulders with a cast of newcomers and hopefuls. New York had their usual big booth showcasing at least two dozen of their wines; both France and California also had their usual large displays. Chile (the feature country) had a nice exhibit, but the narrow pathways made it hard to circumnavigate between the booths. Agents were spread throughout the show and that means that many countries were also spread throughout the room – so you were likely to bump into y9our favourite country or favourite type of wine anywhere within the room. The LCBO had their selling shop, but there seemed to have less consignment and pre-release bottles this time around.

The Gourmet Show is great for getting all kinds of countries together into one room along with interesting foods (I had a 44th Street roast beef sandwich to die for – best of all its available at the grocery store in the refrigerator section) and paraphernalia sellers (Wine Establishment, Vinoverso, etc.) all there in the hopes of improving your gastronomical pleasures. Myself I was looking for something special, a few things to write about (like that beef sandwich) instead of a shopping list of wines to enter into my lexicon … I’m looking for stuff you can buy now or hopefully soon – something to look forward to once I leave the show and something I can put on my table. Here are a few of my finds: (Read more)

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