Local Artisans and Chefs Share Wine Tips for Thanksgiving Celebrations

    
                       Ideas from Ontario Wine Country
    

NIAGARA, ON, Oct. 1 /CNW/ - Thanksgiving is the traditional festivity of celebrating our harvest and what better way to live up to this tradition than by including local Ontario VQA wines, crafted by our talented winemakers and made from 100% Ontario grapes grown right here at home, this holiday season.

Local artisans, featured on the goLOCAL Meet Ontario's Talent microsite, offer up their delicious culinary ideas for Thanksgiving and suggest great Ontario wines to pair with them - celebrity chefs Anna and Michael Olson , artisan baker Ruth Anne Shriefer, renowned chef Michael Potters and artisan dairy Fifth Town Cheese.

"Ontario wines come from the same soils as many of the ingredients that are part of a traditional Thanksgiving meal and by hosting a celebration that includes both food and wine from the same place, it brings back deep-rooted traditions of celebrating our land and what it produces" says Ed Madronich, chair of the Wine Council of Ontario and proprietor of Flat Rock Cellars. "It's so exciting to have these local artisans, dedicated to local ingredients, inspired to talk about the connection between Ontario foods and wines."

Celebrity Chefs Anna and Michael Olson , owners of Olson Foods at Ravine, recommend including a dish of local carrots, parsnips, celery root and delicata squash and pairing it with a local Riesling "The inherent sweetness of roasted root vegetables creates a festive backdrop to any roast. Serving a crisp Ontario Riesling captures that earthy sweetness and coaxes aromas that remind us of autumn spices."

Baker extraordinaire Ruth Anne Shriefer of the Pie Plate loves making pumpkin pie from local sugar pumpkins but suggests something as a unique alternative to this traditional Thanksgiving dessert "Sovereign Coronation local grapes, available right now, make the perfect ingredient for a classic grape pie. This dessert provides a delicious compliment to the rich complexities of an Ontario Icewine made from red grapes like a Cabernet Icewine."

Renowned Chef Michael Potters , owner of Harvest Restaurant and Pinch Gourmet is looking forward to cooking for his family and friends "There isn't another holiday that lends itself to local as much as Thanksgiving - virtually everything on the plate can be seasonal and local. And, just like so many things, great tasting turkey starts on the farm. I often source ours from Lyons Turkey Farm and trim it with my family's traditional Potters stuffing. The earthy, smokey flavours match perfectly with Pinot Noirs from Ontario."

Andrew Laliberte of Fifth Town Artisan Cheese, Premier's Award winner for Agri-Food Innovation, says "Today's Ontario artisan dairies are making cheeses that pair beautifully with any Ontario wines. Surface ripened bloomy rind cheeses, such as mature Fifth Town Counting Sheep (sheep's milk), fully ripened Operetta (goat's milk) or Upper Canada Cheese's Comfort Cream (cow's milk) are terrific matches to buttery, well-rounded Chardonnays from Ontario. All three of these cheeses express the unique terroir of their region with minerally, complex flavours that enhance the vibrant fruit and lush mouth feel of fine Ontario Chardonnays and are a perfect compliment to any Thanksgiving celebration."

Shop for Ontario wines at winery retail stores or LCBO stores where the goLocal promotion is going on right now and during the Thanksgiving weekend. It's the LCBO's largest-ever annual promotion of Ontario-produced where 104 VQA wines (100% Ontario) will be featured throughout stores across the province.

Ontario wines have a beautiful natural acidity and are at their best when served with food. Whatever the variety or style you prefer, a bottle of Ontario wine will make your Thanksgiving meal a true celebration of the fall harvest.

The Wine Council of Ontario is a non-profit trade association that represents Ontario's four wine regions - Niagara Peninsula, Pelee Island, Lake Erie North Shore and Prince Edward Country . These regions grow 75 per cent of the grapes used in Canadian wine production.

For further information: Media contact: Magdalena Kaiser-Smit, Director of Public Relations - Marketing & Tourism, Wine Council of Ontario, www.winesofontario.org, [phone] ext. 228, [email protected]