We began another day of good wine and good food with the Great One's unoaked Chardonnay and Harvest Squash Bisque. This tasty wine sells for under $20 and all proceeds go to the Wayne Gretzky Foundation to help kids. Impressive.
Our travels along the rural roads of Twenty Valley took us to the Tawse Winery, which has earned several gold medals and was named 2010 Winery of the Year. I certainly gave a thumbs-up rating to their "Sketches of Niagara Riesling" and the Honey Roasted Pear and Mustard 'Strudel' with soft herb creme and black walnut and rosemary praline from deLuca's Wine Country Restaurant. After this bite, I'm planning a trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake just to enjoy more scrumptious mouthfuls and to buy deLuca's cookbook. Stay tuned for yet another culinery adventure.
We enjoyed the Pinot Meunier at the beautiful Vineland Estates Winery, but what really caught our fancy was Bob at the cheese bar who offered "I-can't-sell-you" Citrus Fetish cheese and some exquisite terrine. He did let me buy two wonderful cheddars from P.E.I., one made from cow's milk and the other from goat's milk. I see there is an open house event at the winery next weekend, offering all kinds of good things, so I'll have an excuse to visit Bob again. ;-)
The most intimate experience of the Wrapped Up event had us tasting Sue-Ann's "Robert's Block Riesling" in her century-old dining room. She is the fifth generation to live in the house and produce wine. This wine commemorates her grandfather. For our visit, she polished the silver and made an incredible Chicken Marsala tasty bite with Reisling instead of Marsala.
We all agreed that Flat Rock Cellars' "Twisted" would be perfect for a summer's day. It is a combination of Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and Chardonnay. I thought their 'get dirty' event would intrigue those who enjoy the outdoors (and hard work).
Over two days we sampled 17 wines in a small section of the Niagara peninsula. We were impressed with all but one. That's a pretty good score, so top marks to the Twenty Valley wineries!
And we scored a box of truffles for our dedication to new discoveries. So now, in the comfort of our own homes, we can sample the area's wines covered with chocolate. Does it get any better than this?
Sounds like a yummy weekend. You'll have to make a trip west and see what Napa and Sonoma have to offer.
ReplyDeleteStacey