On Saturday, I had the di-vine pleasure of participating in my first official wine tour courtesy of Toronto's own iYellow Wine Club. With my sister-in-law as my plus one, we met up with a wonderful group of wine enthusiasts and boarded a luxurious bus and were soon bound for Niagara-on-the-Lake. Our first stop was Diamond Estates for a cellar floor experience.
There we enjoyed a sample of their wines such as their Moscato, learned how carbon dioxide is emitted from the production of a single bottle of wine and how Dan Akroyd invested $1 million CDN in Diamond Estates back in 2006. Why do I feel like patting him on the back?
Later we headed into the Diamond Estates Wine Boutique for additional wine tastings and shopping before making our way to Jackson-Triggs Niagara Estate.
We were greeted by sommelier and self-proclaimed 'cork dork' Graham who began our wine tasting with a little bubbly. He was very knowledgeable and provided in-depth descriptions of the process of harvesting grapes and wine-making, although his specialty lies in the consumption of wine as well as food pairings.
Once inside, we headed down into the wine cellar for an exclusive Bachelor-esque dining experience surrounded by walls of wine barrels. Our salad was dressed with an ice wine vinaigrette and the beef stew was prepared with a red wine. Both were delicious and paired with... yes, more red wine!
After our apple crumble dessert topped with delectable crème fraiche, we headed to SouthBrook Vineyards which I had first visited during the summer with Farmers Feed Cities. I was really excited to be back at this organic and biodynamic winery and ended up purchasing a bottle of 2009 Whimsy 'Renewed Vows' Cabernet Franc and a 2012 Triomphe Cabernet Franc Rosé.
- Monday, November 11, 2013
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