Wine Reviews

Featured Recipe

Looking to add some sparkle to your weekend? If you happen to be near the Niagara region, check out Twenty Valley's "not just icewine" festival.

There is a new reason to venture out on a chilly January weekend this year....over 50 reasons, in fact. Visitors to the new Twenty Valley Winter WineFest will be able to sample over 50 wines from 30 area wineries, and this year icewine will share centre stage with some of Ontario's best sparkling and premium VQA wines. The "not just icewine" festival - which will be hosted in Jordan Village January 16 and 17th - will allow wine enthusiasts to sip and savour from a list of specialty and reserve wines not offered at any other wine festival.

Over 25 award-winning wines are on the list, including Fielding Estates' 2007 Cabernet Syrah, the 2008 Natalie's Sussreserve Riesling from Rosewood Estates and the 2007 Van Bers Cabernet Franc from Tawse Winery - a gold medal winner at the 2009 Intervin International Wine Awards. Wine-lovers will have the opportunity to sample wines from Hidden Bench, Le Clos Jordanne, The Foreign Affair Winery andSue-Ann Staff's new winery - some of the premium Twenty Valley wineries who do not generally participate in street festivals. 13th Street Winery will feature 2006 Cuvée and 13 Rosé.

The lure of a journey through Montreal’s sea of restaurants was an experience that I was not willing to forego. It had been more than thirty years since my last visit to the host city for the 1976 Olympics, yet I have always held a fondness for its European feel and sincere food culture. So when Tidings editor Aldo Parise asked if I would be interested in writing a piece about Montreal, I jumped at the opportunity. Actually, I jumped on a plane from Paris with great anticipation for what lay ahead.

Upon being received by Monsieur Parise at Pierre-Elliott Trudeau airport, my first task was to convince him to not only serve as my guide, but to also join me on this culinary expedition. Although the prospect of twenty restaurants in thirty-six hours appeared to panic our young editor, he agreed, after some gentle coaxing and with the best interests of the magazine’s beloved readers in mind, to temporarily abandon the creative and technological helm of the publication to partake in this culinary field study (bottle of Tums in pocket).

I can think of no better place to initiate our journey than Montreal’s smoked-meat institution: Schwartz’s Hebrew Delicatessen. Firmly established in its original location on the now-fashionable Boulevard Saint-Laurent, Schwartz’s has seduced and satisfied the appetites of locals and celebrities since 1928.

Labour Day Monday is a day that’s full of possibility. Go to a parade, visit a cottage or do nothing at all. Whatever you choose to do, celebrate this symbolic end to summer with a fun activity and great food.

Visit a restaurant or pack a picnic, then pay a visit to one of these fabulous attractions.

• Attend any of the Labour Day Parades taking place across the country.

• Drive a team of sled dogs – Yukon

• Drop in to Bad Sam's, The Gold Range Tavern - Northwest Territories

• Photograph the Floe Edge - Nunavut

• Picnic in Stanley Park – British Columbia

Talk about roughing it in style! Friday, October 16th and Saturday October 17th mark the 6th annual Wine in the Wilderness event -- a weekend autumn gala at the West Coast Wilderness Lodge in the village of Egmont on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia.

Friday night will see you sit down to a seven-course dinner cooked in a classical European style and paired with international wines chosen by the Lodge’s professional sommelier, Doug Russell, a past president of the American Wine Society.  By Saturday afternoon you’ll be ready for the champagne boat cruise through the Skookumchuck Rapids, the fastest salt water rapids in North America. Return to the Lodge Saturday evening for an eight course meal cooked with local ingredients and regional influences, and paired with the best wines B.C. has to offer. Relaxed, intimate and fun, this is a great event to share with old friends or meet new ones.

Normal 0 0 1 197 1127 9 2 1384 11.1282 0 0 0

Niagara often lags behind the latest food trends, but it’s long been ahead of the curve when it comes to eating local.

“You might like it,” said the girl at the Ontario tourist information kiosk as she handed me a Niagara Culinary Trail map. I unfolded the large map littered with dots, all identifying the region’s most delicious destinations. I found farms and farmers’ markets, local food shops, a few wineries and restaurants. I picked a restaurant off the beaten path, and with a big appetite headed into the beautiful Niagara countryside of vineyards, blossoming orchards and fertile fields.

When I walked into the restaurant, there in front of me were large jars of house-made pickles proudly displayed in the front entrance, and just behind them a chef busily preparing lunch for one of his four other customers. He looked up, and with a big smile, welcomed me. How civilized to be greeted by none other than the guy who’s going to prepare my meal! Talk about a connection to my food.

This is August Restaurant, a modest little eatery on the main drag in Beamsville; just look beyond the food, and it is very understated. The restaurant reflects the town, I thought — it’s exactly what you’d expect in this sleepy little village. I was sitting at a table in front of a bright window; it was midday Tuesday after all, and one would expect it to be slow.

Related Articles