This February, Ottawa is lucky to be hosting Ontario Wine Country!  Not only is the Winter Wine Fair an event not to be missed, but we’ve also got two amazing wine dinners coming up.  What a unique opportunity it is to dine with a winery principal, tasting special cellar selections that are carefully paired with just the right menu.  These dinners are filling up quickly so reserve your place today!

Cave Spring Cellars Winemaker Dinner at Restaurant E18hteen
Wednesday, February 6, 6 pm Cocktails, 7 pm Dinner
Restaurant E18hteen, 18 York Street, Byward Market, Ottawa
Cave Spring Cellars was founded in 1986 by grape grower Leonard Pennachetti and wine maker Angelo Pavan. From the beginning, they have vinified vitis vinifera grapes - the noblest grape varieties of the Old World - from vineyards along Niagara’s Beamsville Bench.  Join Thomas Pennachetti as he guides you through this fantastic four-course dining experience prepared by Restaurant E18hteen’s Executive Chef Matthew Carmichael. $75 per person (includes food and wine) plus tax and gratuity.  Wines to be tasted include Cave Spring Cellars Brut, Dolomite Riesling, Cabernet Franc Estate, Indian Summer Riesling, and Riesling Ice Wine.  Registration is required, as space is limited: call (613) 244-1188 to book.

Henry of Pelham Winemaker Dinner Celebrating Empire Grill’s 10th Anniversary
Wednesday, February 13, 6pm
Empire Grill, 47 Clarence Street, Byward Market, Ottawa
Come and celebrate Empire Grill’s 10th Anniversary with a special winemaker dinner featuring Henry of Pelham’s Daniel Speck.  Daniel will dig into his wine cellar to sample 10 year old wines alongside recent vintages to highlight the 4 course dining experience.  $110 per person (includes food and wine) plus tax and gratuity.  The line-up of wines is:  Cuvée Catharine Brut, Riesling Reserve (2006 and 1998 vintages), Merlot Reserve (2004 and 1998 vintages), Baco Noir Reserve (2005 and 1998 vintages), and Botrytis Affected Riesling (2005 and 1998 vintages).  Registration is required, as space is limited: call 613 241-1343 to book.

What is there to do in Canada’s Capital this winter?  Warm up to Winterlude with Taste of Winterlude January 24-February 10 2008.  We are helping with a few of the events and thought it would make sense to offer a guide on our blog. 

About Taste of Winterlude
The NCC and American Express are proud to present the 3rd edition of Taste of Winterlude, from January 24 to February 10, 2008.  Choose from exclusive prix-fixe menus, select fine dining experiences and other culinary delights at some of our most popular restaurants in Ottawa-Gatineau.

Chefs at some of Ottawa-Gatineau’s most popular restaurants have created special prix fixe menus. The three-course table d’hôte menus are available for $20, $30 or $45 per person.*

Key dates/events:

• January 14- 18: American Express® Cardmembers receive first chance to register for Prix Fixe menus for any date Jan 24-Feb 10.  View menus online and call restaurants directly to book.
• January 19: Anyone can start to book Prix Fixe Menus.  View the menus online and call the restaurants to book.
• January 29: Walkabout Winter Feast (SOLD OUT)
• February 1: Celebrity Chef and Sommelier Dining Experience, Chef Angie MacRae and Sommelier Stacey Metulynsky co-hosts and co-authors of This Food That Wine host a dinner with wine at the urban element.  $150 + applicable taxes.  Call (613) 722-0885.
• February 4: Chefs’ Collaborative Dinner, $137 + applicable taxes, includes multi-course menu and wine.  Call (613) 271-3555.
• February 5: Winter Wine Fair featuring VQA Ontario wineries at the Government Conference Centre.  $45 admission. Call (613) 715-9399.
• February 6: Cave Spring Winemaker Dinner at Restaurant 18, $75 plus applicable taxes, call (613) 244-1188.
• February 13: Henry of Pelham Winemaker Dinner and 10th Anniversary for Empire Grill, $110 plus applicable taxes, call (613) 241-1343.

>> Here’s a copy of the Taste of Winterlude Brochure (1MB, PDF) << you’ll see all over the city.

Do you know anyone who loves wine and food in a winter setting?  Send them a link to this page or point them to www.winterlude.gc.ca/taste/ so they can learn more.

* prices are before taxes and do not include beverage costs.

Join Chef Angie MacRae and Sommelier Stacey Metulynsky at the Urban Element for an unforgettable cooking demonstration and wine-paired meal featuring local ingredients and libations. While Angie demonstrates easy cooking techniques and shares fun chef secrets, Stacey gives easy wine pairing tips and tricks for each dish. They bring fun into the kitchen and heat up Winterlude with their engaging, spirited presentation. This dining experience includes a four-course dinner with wine pairings and a copy of the cookbook This Food That Wine, signed and personalized of course!

Date: Friday, February 1st, 2008
Time: 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Location: The Urban Element (424 Parkdale Avenue, Ottawa)
Tickets: $150 + tax, book by calling 613-722-0885 or email bookings@theurbanelement.ca

Check out the fantastic menu, featuring recipes from the book This Food That Wine:

Jerusalem Artichoke Soup - a simple but impressive soup prepared using locally grown Jerusalem Artichokes, a vegetable native to Canada.  Angie demos the tricks to making a velvety-smooth soup and shows simple garnish ideas.  Paired with an oak-aged Chardonnay sourced from our closest Ontario wine region – Prince Edward County. 

Pan Seared Maple Trout with Apple Turnip Compote – Angie puts together a truly Canadian dish featuring a trout, apples, turnips, and maple syrup.  Stacey pairs it up with a uniquely Ontarian Vidal as the perfect complement to Angie’s delicious dish.

Saskatoon Berry Sauce – food doesn’t get anymore Canadian than this!  Angie takes the fear out of cooking game meat and introduces everyone to the delicious Saskatoon Berry.  Stacey goes west for her wine pick, with a delicious Meritage blend from British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley.

Ricotta Fritters with Apple Ice Cider Glaze – Angie uses locally produced cheese to create a sinfully delicious doughnut, while Stacey pours some Quebec Apple Ice Cider into a pot of simple syrup to create an intensely flavoured glaze.  Angie shows how easy it is to make your own doughnuts and Stacey chats about how to pair wine with sweet food. 

David Lawrason is a renowned wine writer who recently launched is own web site www.davidlawrason.com.  He will be hosting a four week wine course which we highly recommend.  One of our staff members attended the last session he hosted and she gained a lot of tasting experience not to mention direct access to David`s expertise over four weeks.  Read more about David`s wine course.

Stacey recently had lunch with David to discuss her new book.  David blogs about this and a couple of other wine books on the Toronto Life Wine Blog.

Catherine Jheon of Food Network Canada’s "Food For Thought Blog" recently interviewed This Food That Wine authors Stacey Metulynsky and Angie MacRae during their book tour in Toronto. Have a look at the post on Food For Thought. The blog post covers some wine and food pairing tips and also mentions a contest where you can wine a copy of the book!  While you are there have a look at the wine and food pairing tool (Stacey and Angie contributed to the wine and food pairing content).

If you love great meals that just happen to be inexpensive then you need to have a look at Cheap Eats.  Alexa and the crew at Cheap Eats just posted full details about the This Food That Wine book signings (much appreciated!). 

Don’t forget to pick up a copy of the Cheap Eats Guides for Ottawa and Toronto when you visit their blog!

Ron Eade, Ottawa Citizen Food Editor, covered the Futuristic Wine and Food Pairing Dinner we did with Chef Marc Lepine at the Courtyard Restaurant.  Have a read to see what he thought were the highlights. 

If you missed the Futurisic dinner and are interested in a similar event we are running in April at the urban element, check out our public event schedule.  Book early to avoid missing out!

This month, we caught up with the very busy Daniel Speck, Vice President and Director of Sales for Henry of Pelham Winery - he was actually on the road and chatted from his Blackberry!  Henry of Pelham is a premium estate winery located on the Short Hills Bench at the base of the Niagara Escarpment in St. Catharines, Ontario. Its 170 acres have been owned  and operated by the Speck family since 1988, on the premise that fine wine is grown, not made. Dan spoke about the role the winery has had in his life and some of their signatures wines.

Henry of Pelham Wines to Try:

Cuvée Catharine Rosé Brut
LCBO 004051 $30.15
An award-winning bubbly made from traditional Champagne grapes Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. This wine is crisp and refreshing with a lovely balance of citrus and berry aromas and flavours, with a touch of toastiness. Perfect with seafood, including oysters and caviar.

2005 Baco Noir, Reserve
VINTAGES 461699 $24.95
This classic Niagara grape gives its best expression in this wine. It’s deeply coloured with rich, jammy blueberry and blackberry flavours, perfectly balanced with crisp acidity and a rich, long finish. Paired up with sausages or game meat like venison and you’ve got yourself some perfect Canadian comfort.

2002 Cabernet-Merlot, Speck Family Reserve
WINERY ONLY
An excellent choice for your cellar, this Cab blend offers concentrated dark fruit aromas and flavours, especially black raspberry. Produced only in vintage years this wine will age for at least 10 years. Can’t wait to open it? Decant and serve with a rich meal of braised lamb shanks.

My new book, co-authored by Angie MacRae and Chris Knight, will be released in a few weeks time and is an easy, fun guide to wine and food pairing, including more than 100 recipes with wine pairings. You’ll see it in bookstores across the country starting in mid- November 2007, and it’s also available for pre-order online at chapters.indigo.ca.

But if you can’t wait until then and need some help with wine and food pairing ASAP, check out this nifty on-line pairing tool that I helped put together for Food Network Canada. It’s a great way to find new recipes to pair with your favourite wine styles, or to help you figure out what to serve at your next dinner party.