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quote: Originally posted by Adam10:
I just scored free tickets for the Friday. Ever been? Any good? Any tips? Anyone going as well?
Cheers.
If you are talking about the gourmet food and wine show, with only a few exceptions the food is crap and the wine is mostly low-level production wines. There are a few good opportunities to taste a few things. Some of the tutored tastings are good. If you like Bordeaux you have to go back in time a few years...the former 'growing up first' tasting of all 5 first growths ended after 2004. Price has not gone down, but now you get a taste of 1 first growth and 4 other wines for $130 (on top of your free ticket). Maybe some of the other tastings are worth it.
"No TV and no beer make Homer...something, something"
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| Posts: 731 | Location: Toronto, Ontario | Registered: Apr 07, 2007 | |
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Skip the tutored tastings. Most of them are crap also. Save the money and buy a couple decent bottles instead. If you insist on going, many people are absolutely hammered come the end of the night and some people pass out and nap on the couches in the common areas. I'm not joking. Edit: Not to mention the samples of anything decent are expensive. $1 per ticket, and anything decent starts at 5 tickets and can go upwards of 50. Anyone else want to pay $5-8+ for a one ounce pour of decent wine?
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Blog: http://www.cellarandtable.com
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| Posts: 9185 | Location: Toronto, Canada | Registered: Apr 17, 2002 | |
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It all depends where you are on the "food and wine curve" so to speak. I'm guessing fairly new. In which case you will have a great time. I would highly recommend a tutored tasting if you haven't done that sort of thing before. Although you get free admission when buying a tutored tasting ticket. So it defeats the fact you have free tickets. The Argentina and Chile tastings look like reasonable value. Keep in mind Futronic is a highly seasoned food and wine connoseur who would need a tasting led by the Conterno family with food provided by Mario Battali to get excited.   Just check out his blog. Great blog by the way Fut. The earlier you go the better. I would say 4-8pm would be a good time. Have fun. And welcome to the boards. |
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| Posts: 315 | Location: Mississauga | Registered: Nov 10, 2006 | |
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quote: Originally posted by WineDaddy: It all depends where you are on the "food and wine curve" so to speak. I'm guessing fairly new. In which case you will have a great time. I would highly recommend a tutored tasting if you haven't done that sort of thing before. Although you get free admission when buying a tutored tasting ticket. So it defeats the fact you have free tickets. The Argentina and Chile tastings look like reasonable value. Keep in mind Futronic is a highly seasoned food and wine connoseur who would need a tasting led by the Conterno family with food provided by Mario Battali to get excited. Just check out his blog. Great blog by the way Fut. The earlier you go the better. I would say 4-8pm would be a good time. Have fun. And welcome to the boards.
Ditto to this..... I loved this early on in my food and wine curve but at this point I find it a bit of a waste of time...... I attended the First growth tastings from 200-2004 which was nice at the level that I was at but at this point I agree with Futronic....I prefer to just buy some great bottles with that money and and drink them as opposed to having someone else show me through them. In my mind, the auction tasting (which I have been going to over the past 4 years and will attend this year as well) is the best bang for the buck as you get to taste wines that are off the charts...... Importer tastings are also great but you need to buy cases to get invited. I am attending the Halpern one at the end of the month here. |
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| Posts: 132 | Location: Kitchener, Ontario | Registered: Apr 28, 2009 | |
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If the question boils down to whether I would go again if I got free tickets, after going twice and being largely disappointed (03 first growths were fun, until some show bigwig ran off with the half-full bottles while people were still getting to sample at the end of the tasting) I would say no.
"No TV and no beer make Homer...something, something"
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| Posts: 731 | Location: Toronto, Ontario | Registered: Apr 07, 2007 | |
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Sounds like maybe things have gone downhill in recent years, but the 2001 Bordeaux Odyssey tutored tasting back in 2004 still stands out as one of my more memorable tastings.
Punch it , Chewie!
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| Posts: 368 | Location: Edmonton | Registered: Jul 15, 2008 | |
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Thanks Adam. To be honest, I don't really have a "list" but of the places I would go to again (and have), Loire and Nota Bene are at the top. I've enjoyed multiple meals at Simple Bistro on Mt Pleasant, including a set menu that I arranged when people were visiting in June for the Italian offline weekend. Black Hoof is great if you're into charcuterie and cocktails. The food at Biff's is consistently solid if not otherworldly. Haven't made it to Splendido after it re-opened under Victor and Carlo's ownership. As you can tell, none of these places are "Italian." Hope that helps.
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Blog: http://www.cellarandtable.com
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| Posts: 9185 | Location: Toronto, Canada | Registered: Apr 17, 2002 | |
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Sweatred, Nota Bene does corkage, period. $40 per bottle but they waive the corkage for one bottle if your reservation is after 9pm.
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Blog: http://www.cellarandtable.com
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| Posts: 9185 | Location: Toronto, Canada | Registered: Apr 17, 2002 | |
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