Review: Thirsty for more at Soif

Everything at Soif is corked.

No, no, not the WINE. The wine and the food (OMG) are fantastic. I'm talking about the walls. The floors. Some of the tables, parts of the bar, pieces of artwork. All made of cork. A startling revelation as you walk in the door; this is, indeed, a one-of-a-kind place.

#CDNWineDay: Backroads and Downpours in the County

Not even a two-day deluge could keep me from a Canadian Wine Day weekend in the County. And let me tell you, it RAINED. And then it rained some more. And then more on top of that. You'd figure rain would mean a lack of tourists, right? On the contrary, rainy days send the crowds to the tasting rooms en masse. I mean, what else are you going to do when your beach plans at Sandbanks are waterlogged? Go drinking, of course!

Clockwise from top L: affogato at Drake Devonshire; the Golden Grape; dessert at The Hubb;
Terra Cello Winery; Traynor Vineyards; Red Tail Vineyards

La Girolle: Une grande folie de goût!

Two years is a long time between visits. Yet somehow when my BFF and I get together, it's as though time kindly waited for us to take a break in our crazy-busy lives. And then we pick up right where we left off.

Part of this most recent mini-vacation to Québec was spent at La Girolle, a small-ish, crowded French bistro on Chemin Ste-Foy (pronounced FWAH, if you please.) The noise is deafening, the proximity to other patrons' elbows a little too close for comfort ... but the food more than makes up for it.

Beckta Two Point OMG that's delicious

We'd barely settled into our seats when Steven Beckta came over to welcome us to the "new" place. "It's been a busy week," he confessed. "Dealing with heating issues and then plumbing and all that ... do you have any questions about the menu? If so, I'll be sure to redirect you to someone who knows much more about food and wine than I do ..."

Wait ... what? Steven Beckta? Not know about food?

I guess when you're busy worrying about renovations, you might not have a chance to go through the menu of the week. But I wasn't concerned. Steve has absolute trust in his staff, from front-of-house to back. And they always deliver.

Looking Ahead Through a Glass Half-Full

The year kicked off just right, with Lighthall Vineyards 2013 Progression in hand. We made it to midnight (albeit barely), toasted 2015 and went to bed. Yup, my wild New Year's Eve celebrations put Times Square to shame, don't they? What two kids will do to you.

I saved up the energy for a week-long family trip in Punta Cana, where I learned that those same two kids are not at all interested in long, relaxing days on the beach. Good thing the resort had a water park ... conveniently equipped with its own bar. Winning for everyone.

Now back home in the deep cold of another Ice Age, I've been keeping my eye on the horizon for vinous (and hoppy) happenings around town.

Arrivederci Violi's

We pulled up to the border, rolled down the windows and handed over our passports.
The guard ran them through the computer, looking us over with a critical eye.

"Where ya'll from?"
"Cornwall."
"Where ya'll going?"
"To Violi's, for dinner."

A smile of fond recollection flitted across the guard's face.

"For the last time," my dad said.

The smile dropped. "What's that, now? They're closing?"

"Yup. End of the month."

He hands back the passports with a sigh and waves us through. "Ya'll have a good evening now ..."

Clearly I'm not the only one with a heavy heart over Violi's closing for good this weekend. Even the border guards know it, whether they've been there themselves or from waving through visitors who have nothing more to declare than a Styrofoam box filled with half-eaten cheesecake and a full belly.

Ottawa's Food Fest: Eat Drink Spring!

The inaugural Spring edition of the Ottawa Wine and Food Festival launched at the EY Centre in Ottawa this past weekend. Joan Culliton, director of the festival, and her crew rolled out the welcome tulips to bring a much-needed burst of colour and light to us poor snow-bound masses.

Table 21

Striking decor at Table 21

157 Pitt Street, Cornwall, Ontario

While I generally don't need a special occasion to drink wine, there were plenty to be celebrated this month, starting with Mum's birthday at Table21, a fine dining locale in my hometown of Cornwall, Ontario. (Yes, you read that right - "fine dining" and "Cornwall" in the same sentence.)

Please watch your step going up the 45-degree incline at the entrance. This close to sublime food and wine, you don't want to mess up the evening with a tumble. When our party reached the top, I had to pick my jaw up off the floor, having dropped it there in an astonished gasp. Were we still in Cornwall? Seriously? 

An #Untweetable Weekend - Hillier-bound

I can always depend on the wine when travelling in the County, and the tour of Hillier organized by Wine Country Ontario certainly didn't disappoint. Despite the deluge Mother Nature dropped on us (or maybe because of it) every tasting bar was packed with busloads of tourists. I suppose if it's rainy out and you don't want to be stuck at home, *why not* head to a winery?

WBC13: The Food

I couldn't possibly come up with enough adjectives to get through even half of the decadent meals we had before and during the conference, so I think I'll just let the photos speak for themselves ...

WBC13: So there was this one time, at Wine Camp ...

"IS EVERYBODY READY FOR SOME BUBBLES??"

Thus was the rallying cry issued forth by Christine, our Constellation camp counsellor for the evening, to a school bus of thirsty bloggers on the way to See Ya Later Ranch. We hollered and cheered with equal fervour in reply as the bus chugged its way up through the Okanagan hills.

View from See Ya Later Ranch

It was only day one, and the 2013 Wine Bloggers Conference was already turning out to be a superlative, high-octane camp experience for grown-ups, complete with enthusiastic counsellors and a non-stop roster of activities. (Minus the drafty, spider-infested cabins, though. No, we were quite comfortably put up at the Penticton Lakeside Resort. More on that later ... )

WBC13: Lakeside Digs at Manteo Resort

It's rather nerve-wracking to wake up on a plane and see mountains fly past the window, far too close for my comfort. We descended along a narrow path between two hilltops dotted with evergreens and sage, a headwind buffeting the wings with alarming force. I held my breath while the ground rose up to meet us. We bounced onto the runway, I took a deep, cleansing breath, and affirmed I was finally here, in British Columbia.

Wine Wednesday: So tasty I lost track

The slogan is "Charitable Giving Never Tasted Better" and I tell ya, the organizers and participants of Bon Appetit have nailed it.

The bash was held once again in the spacious and well-organized Ernst & Young Centre (formerly the CE Centre in 2012; will they have another name change for the 2014 edition of the show? We shall see.) And once again I enjoyed FAHbulous company with one of my favourite wineaux/foodie/supermoms, who, like me, saw this as not only a fun (and most definitely well-deserved) night out, but a mission to discover the next new, tasty morsels Ottawa could offer.

(Clockwise, from top left: Grayson McDiarmid, the sommelier-turned-soda-jerk of Harvey and Verns; Spearhead Brewery; a plateful of yum from Lunch, the Flour Shoppe, Stone Soup Foodworks and Muskoka Brewery; Rosewood Winery & Meadery; more yum from Sala San Marco)

Wine Wednesday: Judging

Found myself back at Algonquin again, at Liam Doody's invitation, to judge the students' final pairing project in the wine and food matching course. Yeah, I know. I've got it so tough.

Seriously though, three-and-a-half hours and 17 courses, with wines, is no small task. Loved the format this time around, having the chance to ask the students about their choices and dishes. Some pairings were better than others, but the food was consistently ohmnomnom-my. Feast your eyes on this ... I'm still trying to digest.


Vichyssoise w Truffle Oil / Lobster & Double-Smoked-Bacon Mac n' Cheese / Cad o' Gratn
Duck Sausage / Pepper Lemon Shrimp / Walnut & Wild Mushroom Goat Cheese
Beef Curry / Duck Confit / Ahi Tuna w Shiitake Cream Sauce

And then there was dessert ...

#indulgePEC: The Food

Busy breakfast bar at The Hubb
Cinnamon-sugar donuts / County Mimosa

Oh, the food. The glorious food that seemed to magically appear everywhere we went, served up by some of the nicest, most knowledgable and County-proud folks, made by passionate chefs from simple, fresh goods. So. Much. Food.

I should have really followed the advice of the #indulgePEC veterans on this matter; "Eat light and save room - there's gonna be more." But it seemed impossible to resist the bounty laid out for us.

#IndulgePEC: The Wine

Nothing beats the bliss of driving along a country road on the way to a winery. It's a clear, sunny day, the wine map's in hand, the music's on and the horizon is beckoning to where that next hidden gem will be found. Nope, it doesn't get much better than that.

Unless, of course, the wineries come to YOU.

As part of #IndulgePEC, John and his lovely partner, Sasha, of Indigo Yoga and Spa, opened up their magnificent church-turned-home-and-studio to host a mini-tasting of exceptional County wines.

There were more than a few confused looks as we pulled up outside the building. (Drinking in a place of worship? I'm not religious, but something just doesn't seem right about that.) But once we doffed our shoes at the door and the curtains were drawn back, the whole of John's clever plan was revealed. And it was good.

Feed a fever, starve a cold ... and drown the flu

After a fun trip to the ER this morning, I'm bedridden with a nasty case of the flu. On top of feeling positively crummy, I'm missing out on two great wine events: Hinterland Estate Wines was at the Wellington Gastropub this afternoon showing off their line of exceptional Prince Edward County sparklers; and a good friend of mine is hosting the aforementioned wine swap at her house tonight.

(By the way, Creekside Sauvignon Blanc was the obvious winner in my poll, with 28 votes. If I was going to the swap, I would have had a case of that to share with folks. Never mind, I plan on hosting my own sometime in the near future.)

At least being sick affords me some time to catch up on my blogging. Then I plan on burning off those germs in my throat with some sherry and going back to bed.

Cupcakes and beer: Ottawa Wine & Food 2012

Ottawa Wine and Food Show - to go? Or not to go?

Having attended Bon Appetit and Taste in the Glebe in the past year (which were much better organized, less crowded and lacking the miniskirt-clad hard-core party goers) I was pretty sure I'd written off OWFF. But then a week before the big day, I casually mentioned it to Hubby, who texted back his reply in all caps: "YEAH!"

So off we went. Yeah, twist my rubber arm.

Hubby Speaks: Artisanal Fromagerie

Hi, Internet. Hubby here, perpetrating a hostile takeover of Second Ferment! Okay, not really. Damned if I know how this program works, so I needed the extensive help of the blog-goddess who normally runs this joint to make sure I didn’t plunge the world into eternal darkness. A big thanks to her for letting me guest-blog.

My line of work allows me the luxury of travelling all over the world. My latest business trip sent me to New York for a couple of multilateral meetings at the UN. Not to distract too much from the point of this post, but you can check out the fruits of my labours here, here and here. I doubt these statements will change the world, but if nothing else, hopefully they will help it become a bit safer and more secure.

Back on topic. In a city that prides itself on being the center of the culinary universe, you can’t walk for two minutes in Manhattan without passing two dozen restaurants of myriad styles. As luck would have it, my hotel happened to be across the street from Artisanal Fromagerie and Bistro, a French restaurant and gourmet cheese shop. Here is how the night went.

Thirty (Eighteen?) Forever

I filled out an online survey today and stopped cold when I got to the age question. Suddenly, I found myself hovering over the "18 to 35" bracket and realizing that I don't belong there anymore. Now I'm in "36 to 50". FIFTY. Ya gotta be kidding me?