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Monday, July 22, 2013

Sip & Savour Ontario (locally grown food paired with VQA wines, June 19

The Date and Time: Wednesday, June 19, 2013   6:30 PM to 10 PM
The Event: Sip & Savour Ontario (locally grown food paired with VQA
wines)
The Venue: Fermenting Cellar, Distillery District
The Target Audience: consumers, wine media
The Availability/Catalogue: the catalogue listed details about the
wines (prices, availability), the Ontario Wine Award winners, the OWA
judging team, the food pairing establishments, and Houselink (charity
partner).
The Quote/Background: there were also live culinary demos, featuring
Chef Brad Livergant from The Fifth, Debbie Levy from Dairy Farmers of
Canada, and Chef Charles Kerr of Distillery Events catering.
The Wines: I could not sample every wine – there were too many of them!
Most wines were available through the winery, but some are also at the
LCBO.
 
**** BEST -- Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms):
-13th Street Winery Cuvee 13 Rose, $24.95
-Creekside Estate Broken Press Syrah 2008, $39.95
-Creekside Laura's White 2011, $18.95 Vintages
-Creekside Lost Barrel Red 2007, $65
-Huff Estates Cuvee Peter F. Huff 2007, $39.95 Vintages
-Jackson-Triggs Entourage Grand Reserve Brut 2009, $22.95 Vintages
-Jackson-Triggs Grand Reserve Chardonnay 2011, $14.95 Vintages
-Jackson-Triggs Grand Reserve Shiraz 2011, $24.95 Vintages
-Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserve Chardonnay 2010, $30 Vintages
-Le Clos Jordanne Claystone Terrace Chardonnay 2009, $40 Vintages
-Le Clos Jordanne Pinot Noir 2009, $40 Vintages
-Southbrook Triomphe Chardonnay "Damy" 2011, $21.95
 
***1/2 BETTER -- Three and a Half Stars (88 – 90 in Quality/Price
Rating terms):
-13th Street Winery June's Vineyard Riesling 2011, $19.95 Vintages
-Trius Red 2011, $22.95 LCBO
-Cattail Creek Estate Creek Series Riesling 2012, $14.95 LCBO
-Cattail Creek Estate Series Simply Stainless Chardonnay 2012, $16.95
-Chateau des Charmes Rose Cuvee d'Andree 2012, $14.95 Vintages
-Colchester Ridge Estate Winery Grand CREW 2008, $50
-Colchester Ridge Estate Winery CREW Riesling 2011, $14
-Fresh Moscato 2012, $11.95
-G. Marquis Riesling Red Line 2011, $11.95 LCBO
-G. Marquis Chardonnay Silver Line 2011, $16.95 Vintages
-Huff Estates South Bay Chardonnay 2010, $29.95 Vintages
-Inniskillin Discovery Series P3 2012 [PG/PN/PB], $19.95
-Inniskillin Reserve Series Viognier 2012, $19.95
-Konzelmann Estate Gewurztraminer 2011, $14.75 LCBO
-Niagara College Teaching Winery Dean's List Chardonnay 2009, $28.15
-Nyarai Cellars Viognier 2012, $21.95
-Nyarai Cellars Sauvignon Blanc 2012, $19.95
-Rockway Vineyards Small Lot Reserve Chardonnay 2011, $18.95
-Rockway Vineyards Small Lot Reserve White Assemblage 2011, $16.95
-Southbrook Cabernet Franc Rose 2011, $19.95 Vintages
-Vineland Estates Chardonnay Musque 2010, $14.95
 
*** GOOD -- Three Stars (85 – 87 in Quality/Price Rating terms):
-Trius Sauvignon Blanc 2012, $13.95 LCBO
-Casa-Dea Estates Chardonnay 2010, $15.95
-Colchester Ridge Estate Winery CREW Chardonnay 2011, $13
-Colio Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2012, $15.95
-G. Marquis Merlot Red Line 2011, $12.95 LCBO
-G. Marquis Pinot Noir Silver Line 2011, $19.95 Vintages
-Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserve Pinot Noir 2010, $30 Vintages
-Mike Weir Sauvignon Blanc 2012, $14.95 LCBO
-Mike Weir Chardonnay 2009, $14.95 LCBO
 
The Food: wine pairing is always a problem at a consumer show – the
lights are dim, the wine must be swallowed, and you might want to re-
taste the food with another wine. Nevertheless, we soldier on. The best
display was Summer Fresh dips and sauces: they had a well-lit lounge
with crackers and veggies, plus more than a half-dozen of their 20 or
so dips, all accompanied by just one wine pairing (a Crush Riesling
Gewurztraminer 2011 which went rather well against such an assortment
of sauce flavours). Most food stations were tables where samples could
be picked up, and most had just short lineups. The Fifth provided a red
fife crepe with duck confit, the Dairy Farmers had three cheeses (Tre
Stelle Feta, Mountainbrook Aged Gouda, and Empire 4-year old cheddar,
all exceptional), Distillery Events featured smoked and cured candied
salmon with house bannock, and Aria Ristorante had a chilled zucchini
soup with shrimp "chips". Barque had exquisitely smoked salmon, Crush
Wine Bar produced halibut fired fish sliders on house buns, while the
Houselink Food Program had an eggplant appetizer on cracker. Bernardin
showed off its pepper and garlic jelly bruschetta and veggie antipasto,
Stonemill was the "official bread sponsor" and Q Water the "official
water sponsor",  while Popelin had innovative choux a la crème for
Icewine pairing.
The Downside: as it was a consumer show, the lights were lowered, so it
was difficult to actually see the wine and much of the food.
The Upside: a chance to re-try some of the wines I had blindly judged.
The Contact Person: tony.aspler@rogers.com; sandy@forefrontcom.com
The Event's Marketing Effectiveness and Execution (numerical grade): 92

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