Windsor Ontario News / FoodThese grapes unique to Essex County
WindsorOntarioNews.com Jan 20 2012Did you know Essex County has its own signature grapes? Well, the grapes so far only go by scientific names such as HG-1, HG-3, and Hg-4 although some wineries have placed commercial bottle names on them. They have been undergoing scientific research for more than a decade, originating from a Swiss grape breeder, and now can be found in wineries like Oxley (opening this year), Viewpointe, Smith & Wilson and Cooper’s Hawk.
Wine aerators for a new generation
WindsorOntarioNews.com Jan 12 2012Wine bottle aerators might be the latest accessory for the growing legions of wine fans. But they also might be the lazy way to aerate wine and get the sediment out, according to a local wine expert. Bev Carnahan, director of the All Canadian Wine Championships and general manager and sommelier at The City Grill, says she prefers old-fashioned decanters “just because” they allow more air to mix with wine, which can smooth the taste out.
These food calendars have a similar look
WindsorOntarioNews.com Dec 7 2011They aren’t exactly competing against one another. But there are two calendars being distributed free this fall that are very similar in character. One deals with milk; the other with Ontario food crops. The well-known, and even coveted, Milk Calendar, was distributed in newspapers last month. According to spokeswoman Josée Bienvenu of the Diary Farmers of Canada, which puts it out, the milk calendar has been published for more than three decades.
Fresh eating couldn't save restaurant of chain wildly popular elsewhere in Canada
WindsorOntarioNews.com Nov 17 2011The closing of one of two Cora restaurants is highly unusual for what is generally a highly popular restaurant chain across Canada. The Lakeshore location, which opened about a year after the Walker Rd. location, is shutting its doors tomorrow. The chain has been growing by leaps and bounds across Canada and now has more than 120 locations in every province except Saskatchewan, and Cora will soon be opening one location there. Usually, in other cities, Cora – which stresses fancy, plentiful breakfasts with lots of fresh fruit – has restaurants so popular there are line-ups to get into them.
White puts the ghost in pumpkins
WindsorOntarioNews.com Oct 21 2011They’re called ghost pumpkins. At least that’s what George and Mimi Bousaba of George’s Produce & Flowers in River Canard call them. They’re white pumpkins – so they’re ghostly in colour, right? Boo! There seem more and more white and even yellow pumpkins this Halloween season at highway produce stands and at farmers’ markets.
Store gives white glove treatment
WindsorOntarioNews.com August 23 2011Workers at the FreshCo grocery store in LaSalle stand out not only because of their bright lime green shirts but because of the white gloves they wear, which seems a rarity among grocery workers. FreshCo, a discount chain, in fact makes gloves available, on an optional basis, to its entire floor staff, a store spokeswoman says. The FreshCo banner has only been in existence for a little over a year. The stores used to be known as Price Chopper.
Fruit and vegetable stickers have a purpose, but you knew that
WindsorOntarioNews.com July 27 2011So what is with those tiny stickers on pieces of fruit and vegetables? Are they there simply to make consumers’ life more difficult, since we have to peel each individual sticker off before eating the tomato or apple? They may be an annoyance but it looks like the PLU or Product Look-up (yup, that’s what they’re called) stickers will be with us for some time to come.
Shoppers' mini grocery stores
WindsorOntarioNews.com May 25 2011You could be forgiven if you thought you were in a grocery store when shopping at the Roundhouse Centre’s Shoppers Drug Mart. One large section of the store is designed to look like a grocery store, with a wider food selection, more aisles, waist high freezers and even perishables like bread and eggs. Shoppers calls this its “food essentials” section.
More lighter wine bottles are coming to liquor store shelves
WindsorOntarioNews.com May 10 2011More wines are coming in lighter bottles. Typically wines are sold in bottles weighing more than 500 grams. But producers are switching to wines in bottles that weigh no more than 420 grams. The LCBO’s Chris Layton says more than 150 wines now come in bottles weighing about that amount. Some producers have stickers on the bottles advertising the lighter weight as an environmental initiative.
|
Mid-winter fests
The decision by the Leamington and District Chamber of Commerce to hold its Vine and Dine night in the winter rather than summer is welcomed. The wonder is why more local arts and food organizations don’t hold festivals mid-winter. The long time complaint in this area is that festivals tend to get bunched up in June and July. Meanwhile the dark days of winter, which can be lacklustre and depressing, are empty of events. The London food and wine show, for example, is held in early January, right after New Year’s! Let’s hope more local groups decide to spread events out throughout the year or add new ones in the January to April period, and lift us out of the winter doldrums. – 1/2/12
Nouveau no show
For some wine lovers the third Thursday in November is very special. That’s when the current year’s “nouveau” release takes place. These are event wines, from just-harvested grapes, and those who love them love them a lot. Only problem was that the staff at the LCBO’s flagship Roundhouse Centre store was caught off guard. A group of people who lined up for the release at 9.30 am were surprised to see not one bottle out on the floor. Usually there is a fairly prominent display. Staff had to scurry to roll out the wines from the back room, checking what labels they had. One staffer even wondered what customers were waiting around for. According to an LCBO news release the nouveau wines are one of its “fastest-selling products” so this added to the mystery. LCBO spokesman Chris Layton put it down to employees being off sick. “It was one of those situations where we were caught short-staffed,” he said. “Certainly we try to advise all staff of special releases like this. I am not sure whether the staff on duty at that time were relatively new casuals who may have missed the briefing on the nouveau release due to scheduling.” This year there were six wines from France, two from Italy and one from Canada. - 11/21/11
Former Pelee Island exec's winery thrives 10 years on
Some people locally might recognize the name Catherine Langlois. For 10 years she worked at Pelee Island Winery in sales. Langlois is originally from l’île d’Orléans, an island in the St. Lawrence River near Quebec City. She later studied winemaking in Burgundy on a scholarship. Since 2000 she has operated her own winery in another of Ontario’s up and coming wine regions Prince Edward County east of Toronto. Her Sandbanks Estate Winery has six acres overlooking Lake Ontario on the Loyalist Pkwy just west of the town of Wellington. The winery offers 14 wines - including three award winners from Windsor's All Canadian Wine Championships - and complimentary shipping within the province. Besides serving up some very good wines the winery has put an emphasis on design. Its store is architecturally sleek yet warm and accented by colourful patio chairs. Its bottle labels also have a colourful and professional look. The winery believes in sustainable and pesticide-free farming. Yoga classes are even offered on site. Langlois is a smiling vivacious presence behind the front counter. Asked why she chose Prince Edward County as the site of her winery she had a one word answer: “Land!” For more on the winery go to www.sandbankswinery.com - 9/7/11
Wine tasting has to be one of the best deals going
Mastronardi Estate Winery must have one of the best deals going. Last weekend the winery on Concession 3 (east of Division Rd.) in Kingsville held a wine tasting and tapas event, along with live music, under the tent on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons. There were seven or eight samples of tapas and six flights – or tastings – of their wines. These were Chardonnay, Vidal, Rose, Syrah, Cabernet Franc and Baco Noir. The pourings were almost as big as some restaurants give! The charge for the entire event? $15. And yet on Sunday there was hardly anyone there, though Saturday had a bigger crowd. Upcoming at Mastronardi – the sixth annual Dionysus Festival Aug. 20. - 7/18/11