08
Jul
2008
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Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy
I’m gonna come right out and say it, Jackson-Triggs should get out of the food business but keep right on truckin’ in the music business. Sure it was their first gig of the season (of a 5 concert series), and a new caterer was aboard for the ride; but they had the same, if not more problems this time than last year. The “caterers” were from Jamie Kennedy Kitchens, they showed up an hour late due to traffic issues coming out of Toronto – this prompted someone to remark, “couldn’t they find someone local?” Good question, considering that local cuisine is really beginning to take off in Niagara. After the almost an hour and fifteen minute wait (start time 6:00pm); dinner was derided as a disappointment by many at the Vineyard Grille … sure the french fries were very tasty, but the small hamburger, stale bun and over cooked tiny chicken breast was not worth the money to those who had paid fifty dollars for this meal. The best part of the dinner was the cold beat, bean and “local greens” salads, but you couldn’t make a meal out of them... (Read more ... with pictures)
To read about more interesting adventures thru the world of wine check out the On the Road With the Grape Guy blog.
29
Jun
2008
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Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy
Time to tour around the wineries of Niagara again – this time it’s the New Vintages Festival – a festival devoted to what’s new in wine from Beamsville to Niagara-on-the-Lake. This time out the passport program’s winery experiences expanded from 5 to 6 – a mild seemingly mild improvement, but one that ratchets up the value, now each winery costs you $5 for the experience, if you have a passport (though it still costs you $10 individually), this makes the passport a better value and worth purchasing. Last time out 4 of the ten wineries visited delivered equal or less value for the cost of their ticket ($6), I ranked wineries on a 1-10 scale (6 being the break-even point). This time, because the wineries ended up on a relative equal scale for value – meaning I didn’t feel ripped off by anybody (remember $5 was the cut-off value); instead I am giving out some “Best” awards: Best Wine, Best Food, Best Pairing, Best Cheese, Best Wine Serving Only, Best Value … plus a few others.
Once again my foodie (Erica) accompanied me on the journey of a dozen wineries and together we went through the list of 30 participating wineries and picked out our preferred twelve – we tried for a mix of wineries we have gone to in the past and ones we have not been to in awhile. They were: Fielding, Legends, Magnotta, Creekside, Caroline Cellars, Coyote’s Run, Inniskillin, Palatine Hills, Peller, Pillitteri, Reif and Vineland.
And the winners are: ... (Read more - with pictures)
To read about more interesting adventures thru the world of wine check out the On the Road With the Grape Guy blog.
