Ontario Wine Society 6th Annual New Kids on the Block tasting will be held May 12 at 6pm at University of Toronto Faculty Club, 41 Willcocks Street in Toronto, Ontario. Ten wines from 6 of Ontario's newest wineries all under one roof including Alvento Winery, Cattail Creek Estate Winery, Cornerstone Estate Winery, The Organized Crime Winery, Riverview Cellars Winery and Sprucewood Shores Estate Winery. Admission is $38 for Members ($48 for Non-Members) of the OWS. For information, call Patricia Dinsmore at 416-9219798, e-mail patricia.dinsmore@sympatico.ca or visit http://www.ontariowinesociety.com/upcoming/wine_tasting_events.htm.

New Zealand Wine Fair will be held May 13 from 7:00pm-9:30pm at Government Conference Centre, 2 Rideau Street in Ottawa, Ontario. The New Zealand Consul General and New Zealand Winegrowers invite you to join us for this annual wine tasting event featuring over 115 wines from 29 wineries. Discover the pure, intense and diverse flavours of our most recent vintages, complemented by a sampling of fine food and cheese. Admission is Admission is $50.00. For information, call Joanne Harricks at 888-993-9927, e-mail jharricks@ketchin.com or visit http://www.nzwine-events.ca.

New Zealand Wine Fair will be held May 15 from 7:00pm-9:30pm at Design Exchange, 235 Bay Street in Toronto, Ontario. The New Zealand Consul General and New Zealand Winegrowers invite you to join us for this annual wine tasting event featuring over 165 wines from 42 wineries. Discover the pure, intense and diverse flavours of our most recent vintages, complemented by a sampling of fine food and cheese. Admission is Admission is $55.00. For information, call Joanne Harricks at 888-993-9927, e-mail jharricks@ketchin.com or visit http://www.nzwine-events.ca.

Uncorked will be held from May 27 to May 28 at Niagara College in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Wine industry professionals and academics from North America and around the world will tackle the challenges that face the grape growers and winemakers today and as they plan for the future. Topics covered: ecology, viticulture, marketing. Find out what's new and what can help you prepare for the evolution of your vineyard or winery. For information, call Sandra Ozkur at 905-641-2252 ext 4471, e-mail sozkur@niagarac.on.ca or visit http://www.uncorked.info.

Montfort Hospital Foundation 6th Annual Wine Auction will be held May 29 at 6 p.m. at Hampton Inn & Conference Centre in Ottawa, Ontario. Featuring a 140-year-old cognac. This Cognac Hardy Perfection, bottled in a Daum crystal carafe, comes with four crystal glasses, a colour lithograph and a certificate of authenticity. Several bottles of a Pomerol, Le Pin, and more. Admission is $40 (refundable with any purchase). Proceeds support of the New Montfort Hospital. For information, call Julie Briand at 613-746-4621, ext. 2009, e-mail jbriand@montfort.on.ca or visit http://www.fondationmontfort.ca.

Australian Wine Festival will be held May 30 at 7 pm at Willow Park Wines & Spirits in Calgary, Alberta. Australian vineyards are spread throughout 63 designated wine regions. Admission is $40. For information, call Julie Fitzsimmons at 403-296-1640 ext 221, e-mail julie@willowpark.net or visit http://www.willowparkwines.com/events.htm.

Ontario Consumers Riesling Challenge will be held May 31 from 11:30 am to 4:00pm at LCBO Store at 615 Scottsdale Drive in Guelph, Ontario. Come meet up to 14 Ontario riesling producers. Coffee, organic cheeses, local breads, local preserves and spreads. Admission is $10 for six samples. Proceeds go to a local doctor who is trying to raise $1 million for an AIDS clinic in South Africa. For information, call Orest Poluch at 519 -823-5080, e-mail orest.poluch@lcbo.com.

Importing Wine For Pleasure & Profit will be held June 14 from 9:30 am - 4:00 pm at The Old Mill Inn & Spa in Toronto, Ontario. Led by C. Steven Trenholme, a 28-year veteran of the Canadian beverage alcohol industry, with details on how to import wine, spirits and beer into the Ontario marketplace. Pre-Registration required. The cost is $295. For information, call C. steven Trenholme at 416-883-3580, e-mail cstrenholme@sympatico.

Saab Vine Dining 2008 will be held June 22 from 1 pm - 5 pm at Vineland Estates Winery in Vineland , Ontario. Theatre Aquarius, Hamilton’s Regional Professional Theatre, is celebrating the 16th anniversary of its annual fundraiser, Saab Vine Dining which has sold out every year for the past nine years. Saab Vine Dining is an unsurpassed gourmet feast and strolling picnic that takes guests though the picturesque vineyard and woods at Vineland Estates Winery. Leading chefs and caterers set up kitchens along the route and are interspersed among wineries who offer samples of their best wines, many not available at the LCBO. Admission is $125 (tax receipt portion of $75). The monies raised play an important role in preserving and improving the programs of distinction at Theatre Aquarius, the regional professional theatre; these much needed funds go towards the theatre's many programs including the Mainstage series, the all-Canadin Stage Write series, the Performing Arts Programme and Directions In Education. For information, call Phyllis Bendig at 905-522-7815 x 237, e-mail pbendig@theatreaquarius.org or visit http://www.theatreaquarius.org.

Boys' Night Out will be held July 10 from 7 pm - 10 pm at Fermenting Cellar @ The Distillery in Toronto, Ontario. There will be fine wines, gourmet food, live music, BBQ, games, cigars, oysters, cars, door prizes, live auction and much more. Admission is $95. Proceeds go to prostate cancer research at Princess Margaret Hospital. For information, call Pauline Fortier at 416-466-7049, e-mail paulinefortier@sympatico.ca or visit http://www.liffordwine.com.

The 2008 Riesling Experience will be held July 17 from 9:00-3:00 p.m. at Brock University in St. Catharines, ON. Olivier Humbrecht, a producer from Alsace, will be the keynote speaker giving a tutored tasting of four of his wines. Also featuring wines from Germany, Finger Lakes and Ontario. Admission is $75. For information, call Barb Tatarnic at 905-688-5550, e-mail ccovi@brocku.ca or visit http://www.rieslingexperience.com.

Cooking Classes at the Urban Element will be offered this fall at 424 Parkdale Avenue in Ottawa, Ontario. The Urban Element offers a variety of dynamic hands-on and demonstration style cooking and wine classes each month, available to the general public and taught by the city's leading chefs and culinary experts. All classes highlight organic, local and regional produce and change every four months with the seasons. Topics this fall include comfort foods, Asian tapas, Thanksgiving turkey, vegetarian dishes, pastry and bread, mushrooms, knife skills, and wines of Italy and Spain, among others. Most classes take place on weeknights from 6-9 pm, but a few are scheduled on Saturdays. Admission is $90 + tax per class. You can choose to take one class or several. For information, call Carley Schelck at 613-722-0885, e-mail carley@theurbanelement.ca or visit cooking classes.