Stiletto Diaries™

I Wish I Had Written Down All The Funny Shit We Said

Posted on October 24th, 2007 in Are You Gonna Eat That?, Does All Her Own Stunts, Made In Ontario, Photos

In case anyone is curious, I had a wonderful time over the weekend. V and I had a lot of fun and excitement during her visit and I know at least a couple of you are interested in hearing all the details. I’m generally not one to disappoint, so I’ll get right to it. The re-telling will likely have to be broken into several parts, so read on!

V arrived very late on Wednesday night. After I picked her up from the airport and drive her back to our place we basically went straight to bed. After all, I had a busy schedule for us to follow.

Thursday morning we drove out to Niagara On The Lake. I took V to the historic downtown and we wandered a bit before having lunch in this charming little old school diner. We enjoyed the traditional architecture and decorative charm of the area. If you ever have the chance, go there, just to browse all of the interesting little shops, including the now-museum apothecary and the Christmas store, which feels (and looks) like the holidays all year round.

Scroll Over Images To See The Titles

I drove her down to a path on the waterfront of Lake Ontario so that we could walk off our lunch before the wine tasting, and take some photos. It was a gorgeous day, and the leaves are still in the height of fall down there. She and I strolled down the shaded path, chatting and snapping pictures of the amazing surroundings. It reminded both of us a lot of the interior of B.C, with the lush greenery and that fresh woodsy smell.

Once our meal had settled it was time to make our way over to Peller Estates for the food and wine tasting. Their winery is breathtaking. Beautifully appointed both inside and out. We stopped at the desk to reserve our spot at the tasting before wandering into the boutique part of the winery. There were so many amazing and appealing wines to consider. For a moment I entertained the idea of forking over $90.00 for a bottle of their Ice Wine, until I remembered that I am not a big fan of Ice Wine actually and moved on.

We decided to wait to purchase after the tasting, so that we would have a better idea of what we wanted. She and I sauntered past the restaurant and took a peek. Wow! I’d love to have dinner there sometime. Hopefully soon, at that. We also went out back and stood by the fountain and looked out over the expanse of grape vines. The interior of the winery was equally beautiful. Rick, dark woods and classic stone work. The bathroom was nicer than any room in my house, LOL.

The lovely hostess took out small group up to the tasting room, where little plates of canapés and empty glasses in several shapes sat waiting. Since the kitchen had prepared more food then we needed, we all got a little extra to go with the tasting.

There was aged cheddar cheese with a little mound of Ice Cuvee gelee on top. Followed by a creamy, herbaceous, salmon mousse. Finally a slice of pumpkin bread topped with a paper thin sliver of smoked squab.

The wines we tasted were the Signature Series Ice Cuvee (so fabulous I bought a bottle immediately afterwards) followed by a 2004 Private Reserve Chardonnay, finishing with a 2006 Private Reserve Pinot Noir.  We had a most enjoyable experience. The food was amazing, the wine was excellent, and our hostess was friendly, knowledgeable, and easy to talk to. Nobody liked the squab, except me. V referred to it as ‘Wild Blood Duck’ due to the strong gamey flavour.

Wine and food were finished, and then back to the boutique we went to pick up a bottle of Ice Cuvee, two bottles of the Pinot Noir, and a box of four Ice Wine chocolates.

As we were both feeling a little glow from the wine, we took a walk across the grounds to take some photos of the vineyards and the winery itself. It was a fabulous way to spend an afternoon, and I am certain it will not be my last tasting there. In fact Jack and I are planning to join their wine club quite immediately.

Quite content and ready to head home for more wine and tapas, we hopped in the truck and off we went. I got us hopelessly lost somehow and we ended up driving all over the damned province, in the dark, and fog no less! Eventually we found our way, although V was quite irate that I refused to phone Jack for directions.

We made it, at any rate, and I got busy in the kitchen fixing us some snacks for the evening. I made two small wheels of Camembert, wrapped in layers of phyllo brushed with butter, baked and then topped with a field berry coulis. There was also fresh, homemade brushetta, pork liver pate, and artichoke spinach dip. I toasted some big, thick slices of baguette, and opened a box of assorted crackers. We opened one of the bottles of Pinot Noir, as well as a bottle of Reisling I had in the fridge. Much eating, drinking, and merriment followed.

The three of us retired to bed late in the evening. It was such a perfect day, winding down to the perfect evening, and eventually a lovely sleep with my two favorite people in the world.

Day One was a smashing success and you will just have to wait patiently for the next installment to read about The Sex Show and the excitement that was Day Two.