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Toronto's Sip & Savour Event during Ontario Wine Week

Taste Local Cuisine and Wine in Toronto’s Distillery District

Jul 15, 2009 Allison Anthony

Enjoy an evening dedicated to local food and wine pairing with creations from Ontario's top Chefs and vineyards at Sip & Savour in Toronto's Distillery District.

Local wineries and Chefs gather together to celebrate Ontario Wine Week. A festival dedicated to promoting local wine, restaurants and home grown food.

In 2005 the provincial government declared the third week of June to be Ontario Wine Week. In addition to the Ontario Wine Awards and specially created menus at participating restaurants, there is also the highly anticipated Sip & Savour event.

Tasting Wine from Ontario at the Sip & Savour Gala Event

This sumptuous evening allows the public to indulge in local wine while discussing the tasting notes with the actual winemaker. Held in the Fermenting Cellar in Toronto’s Distillery District, the cavernous stone walls provide the perfect ambiance for wine tasting.

While some of the wine offered this evening is readily available in LCBO stores across Ontario, many of the varietals can only be purchased through the vineyard. Legends Estate Winery opened their 2008 Malbec Rosé and the off-dry flavour of cherries make it worth the trip to Beamsville.

Even the group from Stonechurch Vineyards (Niagara on the Lake) brought along bottles of unlabeled wine that came straight from the barrel that day. “Just for fun,” they all laugh as they clink glasses and spit.

Food and Wine Pairing Using Local Ingredients

This year, ten of Toronto’s best Chef’s each create one dish to pair with a specific wine. While all of the restaurants involved are using home grown produce and meats, Chef Ryan Gustafson from Epic Restaurant (Fairmont Royal York Hotel) takes the idea even further.

His cured Lake Huron whitefish is seasoned with lemon verbena that is grown on the roof of The Royal York Hotel. Even the honey used to add a hint of sweetness to the dish comes from the bee hive that is also a part of the roof top garden. The zesty whitefish is paired perfectly with a 2007 Riesling from Thirty Bench Vineyards.

Chef Anne Yarymowich from FRANK (Art Gallery of Ontario) provides delectable dessert. Her apricot, upside down almond cake is dusted with sugar, paired with Inniskillin’s 2007 Sparkling Vidal Icewine and is almost too pretty to eat.

The tickets for Sip & Savour Ontario are $60.00 CAD per person and include all wine tasting, appetizer pairing and shuttle bus to the event from Union Station in Toronto.

This yearly festival makes Toronto a great place to visit for wine lovers. Support the local food and wine movement during Ontario Wine Week at the Sip & Savour event.

The copyright of the article Toronto's Sip & Savour Event during Ontario Wine Week in Culinary Travel is owned by Allison Anthony. Permission to republish Toronto's Sip & Savour Event during Ontario Wine Week in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.