We went to a food and wine charity event last night at The Stop. The event was coordinated by Danielle with funds being used to run their projects. Thirteenth St wines were served during the event with Peter from 13th along to enthusiastically talk to us a bit about the wines and the winery. The Stop has a greenhouse that provides all the herbs and some of the vegetables used for the evening. The food was prepared by a volunteer crew who were attentive and very friendly throughout the evening. The event was well done. Here was the menu for the evening:
Menu
Various Hors d’œuvre were served along with THIRTEENTH STREET JUNE’S VINEYARD CABERNET ROSÉ 2008 . I didn’t really think much of this wine. It wasn’t terrible, but not to my tastes. I’m really not a rose person, and a bubbly Rose is even less to my tastes.
· Braised rapini with a poached mini egg over a pickled garlic sauce
13TH STREET PREMIER CUVÉE BRUT 2004. I quite enjoyed this Brut which is made in the traditional champagne style. Lots of Chard flavors, just the right amount of bubbles. I’m not a big Champagne person but I enjoyed this one and would have it again. I would give it a 89 or so.
· Elk ‘PHO’ – Carpaccio of elk over braised cabbage with raw mushrooms and horseradish surrounded by spicy broth
Funk Vineyard Riesling 2007 (Not available in the LCBO right now). This is a quite nice semi sweet Riesling with a good varietal structure to the wine, some honey, some apricot. The sweetness was about right for a food friendly wine.
· Juniper scented risotto with hot ricotta and smoked prawns
Gamay Noir Sandstone Old Vines 2007 (Not available in the LCBO). This was quite an interesting wine. It was quite a fruit forward Gamay with some tannins and structure on the finish. There’s a fair bit of sweetness to the wine so one would need to be careful with the food pairing. This particular pairing was not bad but frankly I would have reversed the Riesling and the Gamay. I would give this one an 89-90. I quite enjoyed it.
· Crispy duck breast over celery root puree and mulled wine sauce
Meritage 2006. I must admit I am not a big fan of Meritage blends. This one was not bad displaying only a little of that “Niagara terroir” to it. I would give it an 87 or so. The fruit in it was fairly well done and the Niagara tannins were well under control. Medium in finish the wine seemed to go Ok with the duck.
· ‘Smores’ shooter
· Lemon almond cream cake with mascarpone mousse and a warm sage emulsion sauce
13 Degrees Below Zero Riesling 2008. I have to admit again, I am not a big fan of Ice wines. This one was pretty good to my tastes. It was not as sweet or syruppy as some. They were well under control. It made a nice finish to the evening.
All in all it was a nice evening, very well done by the whole crew at The Stop and Peter did a great job of giving us just enough information about the wines and the winery! He was very enthusiastic about what he does, was very knowledgeable and stopped by each of the tables during the evening to discuss the wines, the winery and anything else that might have been on our minds!
About The Stop Community Food Centre:
Located in the Davenport West neighbourhood in Toronto, The Stop works to increase people’s access to healthy food in a manner that maintains dignity, builds community and challenges inequality.
The Stop’s Green Barn is a satellite site of The Stop located in the Artscape Wychwood Barns at St. Clair & Christie. It includes a year round greenhouse, sheltered garden, bake oven, compost demonstration project, community kitchen, a classroom and a weekly farmers’ market.
