Wrapped Up in the Valley

This past weekend we went on a wonderful wine pairing tour called Wrapped Up in the Valley, just outside St. Catharines, Ontario. You buy a passport with 25 wineries on it, and at each one you get something small to eat that is paired with one of the winery's wines. It was lots of fun, and we probably bought way too much wine! Somehow we managed to fill a whole case. Oh well, it will be enjoyed!

We ended up visiting 13 wineries on the Saturday! That's a lot of wine for one day! We were thinking of doing the rest on the Sunday, but we were kind of wined out, and ended up doing some shopping in Niagara-on-the-Lake instead. It was a great way to spend a cold Saturday. 

Favourite Wines of the Tour

At Hernder Estate Winery we got to enjoy a wine made out of rhubarb. It was paired with, of course, a strawberry rhubarb tart. The two went together so well, definitely the best pairing combo of the day for me. Usually, I enjoy both the food and wine, but don't really understand why one wine goes better then another. But these two really did complement each other. The wine is very crisp and light, quite different then a normal white made from grapes.

This winery, Sue-Ann Staff Estate Winery, is located in an old house that the family winery has stood on for 200 years. We were given a delicious grilled cheese sandwich, with apple-smoked cheddar and pear on it, and a glass of their riesling, called Loved By Lou. Both were amazing! We ended up tasting some of their other wines, and I was particularly taken with the 2012 rosé. Somewhere in between a sweet and dry; a little on the sweet side, but not overly sweet like some rosés, but also a little bit dry. It will be an easy drinking bottle, I think!

The very last winery of the day, when we were quite tired, was a big surprise! The service was great and friendly, and the wines were excellent! This winery is Kacaba Vineyards. Set in a beautiful, old style county house, and when we arrived it was gently snowing. Amazing setting! We enjoyed a bite sized snack of flatbread, with pork tenderloin and a tomato jam on top, paired with this cabernet sauvignon. Both were very tasty, and we ended up buy a couple of their other wines as well. All of them were terrific. Overall, it was a fabulous day of indulgence.