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Archive for the ‘Events’ Category

The Generosity of Wine Lovers and Foodies

18 Feb

Last week I had the opportunity to attend Eat, Drink and Give to raise money for the Doctors Without Borders disaster relief in Haiti. On February 9, 2010 several local restaurants, wineries and wine distributors gathered in donated space at Roy Thomson Hall for an evening of good food, drink and music. It was truly amazing to see how many vendors, wine lovers and foodies turned out in order to raise well over $40 000 for Doctors Without Borders. It was such a relaxed atmosphere and everyone looked like they were having a really good time. I particularly enjoyed eating a scrumptious Buddha Dog while sipping some Cabernet Sauvignon from Megalomaniac. Who knew that a hot dog could taste so good AND go with wine??

On a more serious note, there were several speakers who addressed the crowd, one of whom was Communications Advisor/ International Press Advisor for Doctors Without Borders, Isabelle Jeanson. Isabelle had recently returned home from Haiti and had some stories to share. I felt uneasy standing there in nice clothes, in a beautiful building, eating and drinking while so many people in Haiti had lost everything. However, I felt proud to be a part of such a generous community. I have been following Isabelle Jeanson on Twitter since she went to Haiti immediately after the earthquake. Through her tweets I have been keeping up to date with everything that Doctors Without Borders has been doing in Port-Au-Prince and the surrounding area and I know they are doing tremendous work. Hopefully with the money that was raised they can help many more people.

Thank you to everyone who organized and attended Eat, Drink and Give!

 
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Niagara Ice Wine Festival

21 Jan

Well I had a great time at the Niagara Ice Wine Festival, how about you? Since I was out with the kids I only had a chance to visit 3 wineries but it was a great afternoon nonetheless. We stopped in at Stonechurch Vineyards, Southbrook Vineyards and Strewn Winery. We also tasted a lot more than just ice wines, however for this post I'll focus specifically on the ice wines from Southbrook. Southbrook offered 2 Vidal ice wines for tasting, a 2004 barrel fermented and a 2005 steel fermented. I thought both of them were fantastic. At the time, I thought I liked the 2005 better but now that I think back, I really want to try the 2004 again! The 2004 barrel fermented Vidal tasted like baked apples to me, delicious. A lot of people think that it actually tastes like Christmas cake! It definitely has a sweetness and breadiness to it that the 2005 steel fermented ice wine does not have. The 2005 was much lighter in both taste and colour. Much more of the tropical notes came out, making me think that it would taste awesome with coconut. 

On top of having the chance to taste some great ice wine, I also ran into Ann Sperling, the Director of Winemaking at Southbrook Wineries, and had a nice chat. We had met previously at Wine Camp TO. It is really nice that I'm starting to recognize people out at the wineries.

 
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The Most Wonderful Time of the Year…

14 Jan

I know I have been away for a while, but no I'm not talking about Christmas. I'm talking about the Niagara Ice Wine Festival. That fantastic celebration that takes place during the coldest, darkest, dreariest time of the year, January. What better time to take a mid-winter break and head out into wine country to taste the wine that Canada is known for worldwide?

To me ice wine conjures up some great memories. Just a few months after my husband and I got married we decided to take a short weekend trip to Niagara. When I travel I like to keep myself busy, so I decided to search around on the web for something to do. I came across an ad for an ice wine seminar at Konzelmann Estates. Knowing nothing about ice wine I thought I would sign us up and see what we could learn. Well, it was that event that started my passion for wine. As it turned out, by chance alone, the night before this seminar was the one and only night of the year that the frozen grapes were picked from the vine. The opportunity for me to taste the fresh pressed grape juice that was still cold from the freezing temperatures where the grapes came from was an eye opening experience. Wine and wine production has fascinated me ever since.

If you have the opportunity to visit the Niagara region from January 15 – 31, I highly recommend participating in the festival. Take part in some tours or seminars, enjoy some great food and find out why Niagara ice wines are highly sought after both here in Ontario and on the other side of the world.

 
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Take A Walk In Her Shoes

24 Sep

Legends Estates Winery in Beamsville, Ontario is pre-releasing their new label "Diva" at the Niagara Wine Festival in St. Catherines. The festival has been on since September 18th but if you can head out to St. Catherines this week, it runs until September 27th. There are three different DIVA varietals and proceeds from the sale of each bottle will go towards improving the lives of abused women and children.

A Diva is a woman of outstanding talent, energy and a larger than life quality.  Taking a walk in her shoes will provide a chance for others to shine.  Historically synonymous with the word 'Goddess', the deity Artemis appears on the label as a symbol of protection for all women and children.


 
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Wine 101 Oakville

15 Sep

If you would like to taste some wine and help out a good cause check this out.

WINE 101 OAKVILLE
Otello's Banquet & Conference Centre
2273 Royal Windsor Drive, Oakville
Monday, September 28, 2009
Champagne Reception: 6:00 pm
Tasting: 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm
$55 per person

To order tickets, kindly contact VINTAGES at 416-365-5767 or
1-800-266-4764 (Monday–Friday 9am to 5pm, excluding holidays).

Events are restricted to guests 19 years or older. All ticket sales are final. Wines poured at this event will be measured and some wines may run out. In order to optimize the tasting experience for all participants, please refrain from wearing any cologne or perfume. Please do not drink and drive.

Participate in an on-site silent auction with proceeds in support of Ian Anderson House. For more details, visit www.ianandersonhouse.com.

 

 
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Graze the Bench – June 6 & 7, 2009

02 Jun

Graze the Bench is an event hosted by several Beamsville Bench wineries for anyone who loves food, wine and music. Each winery will be featuring a wine paired with food prepared by a local restaurant. If you are in the area I would highly recommend stopping by. When I first started visiting wineries in the Niagara region I focused mainly on the larger wineries in the Niagara-On-The-Lake area. This year I decided that I wanted to learn more about the Beamsville Bench and have really enjoyed trying some of the smaller wineries in this escarpment region. I think that this event would be a great experience.
Participating wineries:
Hidden Bench
Thirty Bench Wine Makers
Fielding Estate Winery
Rosewood Estates
The Organized Crime Winery
Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery
Angel's Gate Estates
EastDell Estates

 
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