Normally Paul and I entertain our mothers on Mother's Day - we have a fancy dinner, a gift or three, and enjoy spending some time together. Unfortunately that didn't work out this year - Paul went away to visit his sister and mom had tickets to the orchestra. Mom and I discussed what else we could do and she said 'I'd like to go wine tasting'.
SCORE
Really, it was a celebration for ME too! *smile*
I took Friday off of work and we decided to go before Mother's Day itself, thinking that the weekend crowd would be something else.
When mom arrived (late, might I point out), I gave her a card and inside it listed our stops for the day.
First up was the Niagara College Teaching Winery.
Niagara College Teaching Winery is located in Niagara-on-the-Lake, part of the Niagara Peninsula wine region, which spans a 30 mile plain on the N43° latitude where the growing season sunshine is comparable to the Languedoc-Rousillon in France, south of both Burgundy and Bordeaux, or Tuscany, Italy. Nestled along Ontario's Niagara escarpment, a United Nations world biosphere preserve, the Niagara Peninsula appellation, St. David's Bench sub-appellation, provides the perfect 'terroir '; a combination of soil, climate and topography, affecting the flavour and characteristics of the award winning VQA wines produced by the renowned winemaker Terence Van Rooyen while teaching his craft to aspiring students.
We had a great time talking about the winery and the various wines with Vivian. One of the benefits of going on a weekday was that we had her knowledge all to ourselves - what a treat.
As we were leaving, with bottles in tow, we saw a sign about a plant sale. Mom wanted to check it out, it was HER day, so I did a quick U-turn and we found the greenhouses where the horticulture students were learning their trade. The plants were beautiful and CHEAP so we loaded up and continued on our way.
Our next stop was Southbrook, a winery I first visited in 2009. This winery has been well-reviewed in the American trade journals both for the quality of their wines and the state-of-the art facility. Yes, it’s gorgeous, it’s glamorous, it’s green, and it’s making a statement. But what they have undertaken in the heart of Niagara wine country is so much more than building a new winery.
When I was last at Southbrook the tasting room was abuzz with people enjoying the view and the wines. On Friday we had the place to ourselves. We had a wonderful experience learning an incredible amount about the facility, the winemaker philosophy, and about the wines.
The winery had just released new biodynamic wines on Earth Day - the 2008 Triomphe Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009 “Fresh” White and 2009 Cabernet Rosé, all certified by Pro-Cert Organics and Demeter. YUM, YUM, and YUM. We added more wines to our collection in the car.
We were getting hungry by now so we made our way into Niagara-on-the-Lake where I had made reservations at the Stone Road Grille. It's in a strip mall - looking at the photo above you'd not suspect that inside is one of Niagara's hidden culinary treasures.
When you walk in the doors you enter one of Niagara-on-the-Lake's premier destinations for gourmet, eclectic dining featuring fresh new twists on classic dishes. House made breads, artisinal cheeses and seasonal, local fruit and produce play a vital role in complimenting the ever-changing menus.The Stone Road Grill has been called "the place where locals dine." - for those who travels that is always a fine sign! Located under the sign that says "Rest," where on any given night, guests are treated to some of the region's finest cuisine and Niagara's best wines.
The restaurant has recently been named as one of the best places to eat in Niagara by Frommer's Guide to Niagara. They've also been featured in such publications as Bon Appetit, Toronto Life, Toronto Star, Fodor's Travel Guide, En Route Magazine, New York Magazine and the New York Post to name just a few.
Lunch was brilliant. I've been hearing good things about this restaurant for a few years but never been in. SIGH I can only imagine the fine food that I have missed.
Satisfied, and full, we continued on our journey. Our next stop was a fairly new winery called Ravine.
This winery has been built on land that was in the same family for more than five-generations. The soil which produced Niagara's finest cherries, peaches, apples, and plums, is now being coaxed into producing some very good wines.
I'll be honest though, the main reason I wanted to go there was the tasting room which is located in the historical house shown above - the 200-year-old Loyalist Georgian Wm. Woodruff House. It is one of Canada’s top fifty most architecturally significant ancestral homes. Given that both mom and I appreciate history we enjoyed wandering around the home, reading about its history, and the wines weren't bad either!
Our final winery of the day was located in St Catherine's - 13th Avenue. We first visited the new facility last fall not long after it opened and enjoyed both the setting and the wines. While the winery itself has been around for some twenty years, the visitor centre is new.
One of the nicest things about this winery (besides the wine, of course) is the art that surrounds you - paintings, and sculpture are everywhere. This art-filled atmosphere even follows you outside where the landscaped gardens are also filled with sculpture. Happily the rain that had been falling for much of the day let up so we could wander about.
By the time we left it was 3:30. We had been touring Niagara for 6 hours and we were tired. It was an excellent day though, good company, wine, food, art, history, and interesting conversations with the people we met along the way. I think that we may have happened upon a brand new Mother's Day tradition!
This was so much fun to read about and was wonderful to see the photos that accompanied it all. What a lovely time...you are such a great son! Thanks for sharing it all. Happy Mother's Day to your mother.
Posted by: Kayte | May 10, 2010 at 09:25 PM
Sounds like a wonderful day, Jerry!
Posted by: sandrac | May 10, 2010 at 10:04 PM
That does sound like it should become your new Mother's Day tradition. Sounds like a lot of fun.
Posted by: Cindy Ruth | May 10, 2010 at 10:29 PM
I agree - what a great tradition for Mother's Day! I bet Paul was sad to have missed all that wine!
Posted by: nancyhol | May 11, 2010 at 01:30 PM