A fleet of food trucks and all the gourmet goodness they can cook up are coming to wine country.
Food Truck Eats; Twenty Valley will be at Sue-Ann winery Oct. 19-20.
The details are below along with news about Foreign Affair Winery receiving a top honour and progress being made with on the Free My Grapes front.
Food Truck Eats in Wine Country
Food Truck Eats, the ongoing series of wildly popular and successful events celebrating Ontario’s burgeoning gourmet street food culture, is bringing its first Food Truck Eats event to Jordan wine country.
Ten gourmet food trucks will participate at Food Truck Eats; Twenty Valley – which will take place at the Sue-Ann Staff winery in Jordan on Oct. 19-20. Admission is free to the public.
Food trucks from across the province will celebrate Southern Ontario’s burgeoning street food scene. Participating trucks will include; El Gastronomo Vagabundo, Buster’s Sea Cove, Dobro Jesti, Bestia, Frankie Fettucine, Gourmet Gringos, Tide & Vine, and more.
In addition to the largest number of trucks ever gathered at Sue-Ann Staff Winery, Ontario wineries will also be present to help compliment food truck cuisine with local wine. Wineries include; Megalomaniac, Fielding, Sue-Ann Staff Wines, Cave Springs Cellars, 13th Street Winery, Featherstone Winery, and more.
Event Details:
Date: Saturday Oct. 19-20
Time: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Location: Sue-Ann Staff Winery, 3210 Staff Ave., Jordan
Admission: Free. Food and drink must be purchased separately.
How to make the most out of Food Truck Eats Twenty Valley 2013:
• Wear comfortable shoes to the event.
• Cash is king.
• Divide and conquer. Bring your friends! Food Truck events are more fun when you share the experience with a group of friends.
• Share your experiences on Facebook and Twitter and see what everyone else is eating. Use the hashtag #foodtruckeats.
•••
Foreign Affair presented
the Minister’s Award for Innovation
Premier Kathleen Wynne and the Government of Ontario awarded The Foreign Affair Winery with The Minister’s Award for Innovation for their innovative approach to wine making and their commitment to Ontario viniculture.
In her remarks, Premier Wynne noted, “(Their) innovation isn’t limited to the vineyard. Their Foreign Affair Winery produces 14 different wines using 100 per cent Ontario grapes, all in a unique appassimento process. Rather than simply recreating the Amarones they adored in Italy, the Crispinos pioneered a Canadian approach.”
The appassimento process, used to create the legendary Amarone wines of Italy, requires a drying process for the grapes after the harvest to concentrate the sugars and the flavours while reducing the percentage of water in the grapes.
“This is a difficult technique — and we’ve certainly had our share of failures including the loss of 15 tons of grapes in our first year,” said Len Crispino, proprietor of The Foreign Affair. “However the results and now this award, speak to the success we’ve had pioneering, adapting and bringing to life this technique in the Canadian market. The technique requires a continuum of care from vineyard to bottle.”
Len and his wife Marisa were inspired to develop a Canadian version of this beloved Amarone following a stint as expats in Italy. Later joined by their business partner Louis Cimicata, Len and Marisa acquired a 40 acre site, of prime southern sloping land in Niagara’s Vineland.
The winery produces a range of wines, all benefitting from their uniquely developed appassimento techniques.
As committed entrepreneurs, Len and Marisa credit their success to determined vision, risk taking and an unwillingness to be deterred by challenges.
This is not the first award recognizing the innovation and dedication of the winery. In 2012, New York State’s Niagara University awarded Len and the winery with “Business Leader of the Year”. And last year the Speaker of the Legislature announced The Foreign Affair 2011 Conspiracy (Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc in a ripasso method) as official red wine for 2012.
Len’s dedication and belief in Ontario’s wine potential stems from the early 90’s when he led an effort to enter Ontario wines into the VinItaly international competitions, encouraging Ontario wineries to compete with the very best. In doing so, a number of Ontario wineries earned inaugural respect in this international arena.
•••
MPP Rob Milligan: Private member’s bill
supports Free My Grapes
In Ontario, MPP Rob Milligan’s private member’s bill has passed second reading. His office issued the following news release, and you can read the bill online here. This is a step forward in having Ontario open its borders to Canadian wine; be sure to write your MPP in support of the bill.
MPP Milligan’s “Free My Grapes” Private Member’s Bill Passes Second Reading
(Queen’s Park) – MPP Rob Milligan’s (Northumberland-Quinte West) Private Member’s Bill has passed second reading with all party support. Bill 98 entitled “An Act Respecting the Importation of Wine, Beer and Spirits from other Provinces” amends the Liquor Control Act to add a provision that permits individuals of legal age to import wine into Ontario from another province as long as it is for personal consumption only.
“I’m thrilled that Bill 98 has passed second reading,” Milligan said. “The Ontario wine industry is the largest in Canada and will benefit from inter-provincial trade opportunities.”
Bill 98 has received support from wineries throughout the province, Free My Grapes, and the Canadian Vintner’s Association. According to a Harris Decima study undertaken in June 2012 83% of Ontarians believe that they should be able to import wine from another province.
“Bill 98 updates an 84-year old law and allows greater consumer access to wines across provinces,” Milligan said. “Stakeholder discussions revealed how mutually beneficial inter-provincial wine trade can be. For example, a Nova Scotia wine club would like to enter into a partnership with an Ontario-based winery where they reciprocally promote each other.”
Milligan hopes that since Bill 98 received all-party support the governing Liberal’s will expediently call the bill for third reading.
Comment here