This was the dessert to our trip through Champagne in September (in a Ford crossover, but happy to report if anyone wants to hear about it).
Cath flew into Toronto Friday night; we departed Saturday morning along the 403 to the Grimsby area. From there we took King Street/Route 81 along the benches (which I believe are old glacial beaches). Leaves were turning and temp was running about 14C - perfect top down weather for the SLK.
First stop was Thirty Bench Winery. http://www.thirtybench.com/ It was just past 10AM and we were the third car in; I now know a different meaning to sticky tires. Poor old Kismet looked like she'd been to a tractor pull. The staff were very nice, super view of the vines and down to the lake. We tried a couple of whites and a couple of reds - all very good, so if you can find this brand in the shops get some.
Nearby is Organized Crime - quirky and very small. Run by a retired veterinarian and his rather vocal wife. We didn't get anything here, but a chat in the parking lot was informative.
Vineland Estates was ok - very commercial, and associated with Kevin O'Leary (big mouth, super rich, has a business segment on CBC). Nevertheless we got a couple of bottles of their white and a bottle of meungier (which is rarely seen alone - used in making of champagne; kind of pinot light..). Big Red Ferrari in the lot though; I made a point of parking across from it, top down, nose on!
Featherstone Wineries was nice, very small. They also do some fruit wines. Again a couple of bottles were jammed into the boot (SLK's rule! 2 rolly bags a couple of gifts and over a case by the time we were done).
Kacab (pronounced ka-sa-ba) was the best next to 30 Bench. We took a couple of fotos of Kismet on their own bailey bridge and will post soon. Great reds. Again a small house. However, while there we got some advice for lunch.
If you're anywhere near the area you have to go to About Thyme, it's just south of Kacab. A very small diner (in the summer there's a deck/patio). We wound up sitting with the couple we'd seen at Kacab (he's ret'd military and trained as a chef, so lots of chat). All the food looks fantastic. We had mussels with chorizo, a ceasar salad with warm goat cheese, and poutine. Now, poutine for y'all and our brit cousins, is usually fries, covered in fresh cheese curds, and topped with brown gravy (thereby melting said curds).
In this case there were double fried yukon gold potatoes, covered in duck confit and aged cheddar, and covered with a foie gras gravy/sauce. Freaking amazing.
As far as accommodation, I recommend staying away from the Casablanca Winery Inn (it is neither a winery nor an inn, but a converted Days Inn by the looks, and over priced) - go to BBcanada.com or Bedandbreakfast.com.
Cath flew into Toronto Friday night; we departed Saturday morning along the 403 to the Grimsby area. From there we took King Street/Route 81 along the benches (which I believe are old glacial beaches). Leaves were turning and temp was running about 14C - perfect top down weather for the SLK.
First stop was Thirty Bench Winery. http://www.thirtybench.com/ It was just past 10AM and we were the third car in; I now know a different meaning to sticky tires. Poor old Kismet looked like she'd been to a tractor pull. The staff were very nice, super view of the vines and down to the lake. We tried a couple of whites and a couple of reds - all very good, so if you can find this brand in the shops get some.
Nearby is Organized Crime - quirky and very small. Run by a retired veterinarian and his rather vocal wife. We didn't get anything here, but a chat in the parking lot was informative.
Vineland Estates was ok - very commercial, and associated with Kevin O'Leary (big mouth, super rich, has a business segment on CBC). Nevertheless we got a couple of bottles of their white and a bottle of meungier (which is rarely seen alone - used in making of champagne; kind of pinot light..). Big Red Ferrari in the lot though; I made a point of parking across from it, top down, nose on!
Featherstone Wineries was nice, very small. They also do some fruit wines. Again a couple of bottles were jammed into the boot (SLK's rule! 2 rolly bags a couple of gifts and over a case by the time we were done).
Kacab (pronounced ka-sa-ba) was the best next to 30 Bench. We took a couple of fotos of Kismet on their own bailey bridge and will post soon. Great reds. Again a small house. However, while there we got some advice for lunch.
If you're anywhere near the area you have to go to About Thyme, it's just south of Kacab. A very small diner (in the summer there's a deck/patio). We wound up sitting with the couple we'd seen at Kacab (he's ret'd military and trained as a chef, so lots of chat). All the food looks fantastic. We had mussels with chorizo, a ceasar salad with warm goat cheese, and poutine. Now, poutine for y'all and our brit cousins, is usually fries, covered in fresh cheese curds, and topped with brown gravy (thereby melting said curds).
In this case there were double fried yukon gold potatoes, covered in duck confit and aged cheddar, and covered with a foie gras gravy/sauce. Freaking amazing.
As far as accommodation, I recommend staying away from the Casablanca Winery Inn (it is neither a winery nor an inn, but a converted Days Inn by the looks, and over priced) - go to BBcanada.com or Bedandbreakfast.com.
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