By Michael Lowe/Story and photos
The Grand Tasting at Cuvée 2016 last Friday night kicked off a weekend-long series of wine tasting events known as Cuvée en Route. Here’s my quick run-down on what makes it such a special event.
The event was held at the Scotiabank Centre in Niagara Falls. The new venue received mixed reviews from people I spoke with, but if your focus was on the wines and food on show, and the social aspect, the change was hardly an issue.
The talented team of chefs at this year’s tasting made sure there was no shortage of delicious nibbles to pair with your wine samples. A few of the best bites included pork belly ‘Lollipops’ from Chef Chris Smythe, Korean fried chicken by Chef David Watt, Chef Claudio Mollica’s maple macaroons with chicken parfait filling and Chef David Sider’s porcini marinated scallop with chestnut mushrooms and cauliflower (below clockwise from top left). Sider’s smoked chuck steak with parsnip and Brussels sprouts was a hit with me but, sadly, I devoured it without snapping a shot first.
My nod for the most unique treats has to go to Chef Justin Cournoyer who used reindeer moss and pears with birch and lardo (below photos). The melt-in-your-mouth moss drew comments such as “very cool” and “… wow, I like it.” They ran out halfway through the night.
Chef Ryan Crawford (below photo) showed off his house-made burrata and glorious crusty bread along with a braised beef short rib ravioli in broth. Both were, as expected, amazing.
Chef Sing Ho served up beautifully lacquered, crispy Peking duck wrapped in a soft, delicate pancake and succulent roast suckling pig (below photo).
Cheese and salumi from Mario Pingue, plates of lamb and root vegetables by Chef Shaun Goswell, sweets from Italian Ice Cream, and pierogi from Benchmark restaurant, (below- clockwise from top left) kept palates from getting bored.
After all that wine a refreshing craft beer like the citrus-laced, well-hopped IPA from the good folks at Brimstone Brewing Company (below photo) really hit the spot. The after party is always a rocking end to a night of good taste.
With the Grand Tasting lingering in the recent past, we set off on Saturday morning to check out the Cuvée en Route tastings.
The first stop was Westcott Vineyards where the welcoming, homespun tasting room (below photo) could be straight from a story book.
Some superb wines were poured during an exhausting day of tasting at six wineries. We tasted six wines at Westcott, Syrah at Redstone, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir at 16 Mile Cellar, and Cabernet Franc at Rockway (Below, clockwise from top left).
Before dinner we dropped in at Stratus to sample some rare varietals, at least in Niagara. Sangiovese, Tempranillo and Tannat are seldom found here so it was an opportunity not to be missed.
The culmination of our two-day celebration of Cuvée was dinner at Peller Estates. March Madness at Peller means you can enjoy a 5-course tasting menu for just $59. Dishes included shrimp with yellow tomato, gravlax with shaved celery, sesame brittle and wasabi cream, pan seared monkfish with wild rice and black kale, and lamb loin with parsnip, Brussels sprouts and heirloom carrots (below, clockwise from top left).
Whether you go all-in and attend the Grand Tasting or just partake of the en Route tastings, Cuvée is always a great opportunity to enjoy fine Ontario wines and some of the best food prepared by notable Ontario chefs. Many thanks go to Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute for keeping this fantastic celebration of Ontario wine alive.
Note: Rick VanSickle reviewed the wines from the Cuvee Grand Tasting in a post just below this. Have a read.
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