Well, once again this year, the Grand Tasting was excellent. My sister came in from the States and it was terrific to be able to buy a ticket at the door. My sister had never been to a wine gala and, though I told her the crowd would be well dressed, I think she was surprised at how many people were in black tie attire. (I have to say – the women looked spectacular – the men, well, let’s just say they weren’t as consistently formal as the women.)

Walking into the Grand Ballroom was like walking into a beautiful dream. The room, which is basically black, was magically lit with vibrant purple and white lights shining on different food stations with chefs in their crisp white jackets and toques. And, in every direction you look there were magnificent floral arrangements.

Throughout the room there were seven oasis-like stations with six to eight wineries at each. Each wine station featured wineries pouring only reds or only whites. That made it easy to compare, and it also made it easy to find a wine to pair with whatever you were eating.

The 13 food stations (as well as a Canadian cheese station) were interspersed between the wine stations. At each station a myriad of chefs were carefully plating each dish. It was wonderful watching them lovingly layering each component. It’s clear that today’s chefs take the old adage that you eat with your eyes very seriously. They also take their ingredients seriously and because they were right there, you had the unusual chance to chat with them and ask them how they prepared the dish, or why they chose each component.

Hands down the biggest surprise for me and my sister was how delicious Chef Downs’ pickled tongue slider was. The tongue was cooked to perfection and the combination of the pretzel bun, the horseradish aioli and the fried egg was amazing. Chef Downs’s other entrée – rare seared tuna, chilled octopus salad, and pickled kumquat with chili-lime vinaigrette – was also a delightful surprise to me because it featured one of my favourite ingredients: sea asparagus. (You don’t see that too often around here.)

I also adored Chef Parsons’ wild boar sausage with braised leek, gold fingerlings, Sir Laurier cheese (one of my favourite Canadian cheeses) and black garlic gratin. My sister’s favourite entrée was Chef Tim Mackiddie’s fried veal croquette, which was served with snails sautéed in garlic and icewine. And both of us loved Chef Taylor’s pepper crusted bison tenderloin, served on a bed of parsnip puree with some king oyster mushrooms on top.

And of course, the desserts were the grand finale. It was hard to choose between the white chocolate-coated cakes, the Croque en Bouche, the truffles, and the torts. Fortunately, Chef Del Priore was only too happy to let you have all that you like. (My favourite was the white chocolate cake with the hazelnut filling.) Chef Vergalito’s gelato was also a hit – who ever heard of mojito flavoured gelato? Yum!

As you might expect when each winery is pouring the winemaker’s favourite, there were many lovely wines, and some interesting stories behind the selections. Josephs Estates’ winemaker, Katherine Reid, had an especially interesting reason for choosing their Chenin Blanc 2011. She explained to us that the 2011 vintage is the last one there will ever be from those vines because they were damaged over a couple of winters and they ended up tearing them out.

Pillitteri Estates Winery was pouring their Riserva Famiglia Appassimento Cabernet Franc 2010. This is the first appassimento style Pillitteri has made and given that they only label wines from their very best vintages “Riserva Famiglia”, you know that this is a very special wine.

In terms of our favourite wines that evening, my sister loved the Rennie Estate G Assemblage 2012, an appassimento style Bordeaux blend. My favourite wine of the evening was Kacaba Vineyards’ Cabernet France Reserve 2010.

And, just when we thought we had had had we could eat and drink, they opened a side room for the Apres Cuvee party. The after party featured a live band and two additional wine stations serving a variety of Ontario bubbly and Icewines. And, for those who had had enough wine, this year they also had stations serving Ontario craft beer.

The idea behind the wines served at the Cuvée Grand Tasting is that each winemaker serves his or her favourite. If you weren’t able to attend the Grand Tasting last night – don’t worry – you can stop in at any of the wineries and try them – and buy them – there.

Here’s a list of what each winery was pouring last night:

• 2027 Cellars Ltd. – Wismer Vineyard “Fox Croft Block” Chardonnay 2012
• Big Head Wines – Chenin Blanc 2013
• Cave Spring Cellars – Riesling CSV 2012
• Chateau des Charmes Wines Ltd. – Merlot 2012, St. David’s Bench Vineyard
• Colaneri Estate Winery – Insieme 2012
• Coopers Hawk Vineyards – Cabernet Franc Reserve 2012
• Cornerstone Estate Winery – Cabernet Franc 2012
• Coyote’s Run Estate Winery – David Sheppard Vintage 30 Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
• Creekside Estate Winery – Broken Pass Syrah 2011
• Domaine Queylus – 2012 Pinot Noir Reserve 2013
• EastDell Estates by Diamond Estates Winery – EsatDell Estates Black Label Riesling 2013
• Flat Rock Cellars Ltd. – The Rusty Shed Chardonnay 2012
• Foreign Affair Winery – Petit Verdot 2012
• Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery – Chardonnay, Speck Family Reserve 2013
• Inniskillin Wines – Riesling Reserve 2013
• Jackson-Triggs Niagara Estate Winery – Grand Reserve Merlot 2012
• John Howard Cellars of Distinction – Megalomaniac – Megalomaniac Grounded Reserve Merlot 2010
• Josephs Estate Wines Inc. – Chenin Blanc 2011
• Kacaba Vineyards Inc. – Cabernet Franc Reserve 2010
• Konzelmann Estate Winery – Cabernet Merlot Family Reserve 2012
• Lailey Vineyard Winery – Impromptu 2012
• Lakeview Cellars by Diamond Estate Winery – Lakeview Cellars Sauvignon Blanc 2013
• Le Clos Jordanne Wines – Village Reserve Pinot Noir 2012
• Legends Estates Winery – Semillion Terroir 2013
• Magnotta Winery Estates Ltd. – Enotrium Gran Riserva 2011
• Malivoire Wine Company – Stouck Meritage 2011
• The Marynissen Estates – 2013 Pinot Gris
• Mike Weir Wine Inc. – Chardonnay 2013
• Niagara College Teaching Winery – Balance Pinot Noir 2013
• Nyarai Cellars – Cadence 2011
• Pelee Island Winery – Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot Vinedresser 2012
• Peller Estates – Peller Estates Private Reserve Gamay Noir 2013
• Pillitteri Estates Winery Inc. – Riserva Famiglia Appassimento Cabernet Franc 2010
• Pondview Estate Winery Ltd. – Bella Terra Pinot Gris 2013
• Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery – Ravine Vineyard Chardonnay 2013
• Reif Estate Winery – Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2012
• Rennie Estate Winery – G Assemblage 2012
• Ridge Road Estate Winery –  Riesling 2014
• Riverview Cellars Estate Winery – Angelina’s Reserve Gewurztraminer 2013
• Rockway Vineyards – Wild Ferment Red 2012
• Southbrook Vineyards – Triomphe Chardonnay 2013
• Stoney Ridge Cellars Ltd. – Riesling 2013
• Strewn Inc. – Strewn Cabernet Sauvignon Terroir 2012
• Sue-Ann Staff Estate Winery – Fancy Farm Girl Frivolous White 2012
• Stratus Vineyards Limited – Stratus White 2012
• Thirteenth Street Wine Corp. – Gamay Noir Sandstone Vineyard 2012
• The Thirty Bench Wine Makers – Thirty Bench Small Lot Pinot Noir 2012
• Trius Winery at Hillebrand – Trius Grand Red 2012
• Two Sisters Vineyards – Cabernet Franc 2010
• Vieni Estates – Chardonnay Reserve 2012
• Vineland Estates Winery Ltd. – Cabernet Franc Reserve 2012
• Westcott Vineyards – Estate Chardonnay 2013

And remember – Cuvee continues all weekend with:

Cuvee en Route – a passport tasting program with over 30 wineries serving special themed tasting flights.

Cuvée en Route Dining – with the following restaurants serving special prix fix menus created especially for the weekend:

• Benchmark Restaurant – the restaurant at the Canadian Food and Wine Institute, which is on Niagara College’s campus.
• Peller Estates Winery Restaurant
• Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery Restaurant
• Trius Winery Restaurant
• Kitchen76 – the restaurant at Two Sisters Vineyards

Cuvée is all about showcasing the best of Ontario wine and food, and the Grand Tasting on Friday night (Feb. 27^th) is undoubtedly the highlight of the weekend. It’s a given that the wines will wow – the winemakers are pouring their favourites.

Getting the wow factor right in the food department is a bit trickier, but a welcome challenge for the 13 chefs who will be serving up their special creations at the gala. In the next few posts I’ll talk a bit about what a few chefs who will be at Cuvée have to say about the event.

“Cuvée is one of my favourite events,” says Chef Giovani Del Priore of Criveller Cakes. “It’s work, but I enjoy it. People are beautifully dressed, it’s very glamourous, the whole atmosphere is special. It’s a chance for us to showcase our work,” says Del Priore, who will be responsible for all the desserts. Del Priore, a veteran of Cuvée, is delighted to be returning. (To ensure and promote variety, the general rule is that chefs are not invited back for a few years. But, the Cuvée organizers have made an exception for Del Priore and his Criveller Cakes team — no doubt because they do such an amazing job.)

Chef Del Priore talked about the challenge he and his team face. “We have one of the largest stations – only the Fallsview Casino’s station is bigger. The reason ours is so big is because pretty much all the guests eat dessert, while they might not try something at all the stations – most people eat at least one dessert,” says Del Priore.

Last week a friend and I dropped in on Criveller Cakes and Chef Del Priore showed us around and talked about Cuvée. Click here to watch a short video of Chef Del Prioe talking about Cuvée. Warning: your mouth may water and you may find yourself craving chocolate.