After years of anticipation and planning, Tinhorn Creek Vineyards opened a new restaurant at the winery on April 1 The restaurant, aptly named Miradoro, roughly translates to “Golden View” in Portuguese. This originates from Miradoro restaurant partner Manuel Ferreira’s (of famed Vancouver’s Le Gavroche) Portuguese background. Miradoro will serve market cuisine in a relaxed fine dining atmosphere. It seats 65 people inside with a 65-seat patio offering superb views of the scenic South Okanagan Valley. Ferreira has secured two exceptional individuals to run the restaurant whose knowledge and experience will make Miradoro a destination restaurant for tourists and locals alike. […]
Restaurant Wine Lists
BYOB 1
A Happier Happy Hour for Your Wallet Want to grab a drink tonight? How about meeting at… my place. In the tough economy, a night out drinking is looking like an indulgence. Liquor sales were flat at $18.7 billion in 2009, and volume shifted. While sales for home consumption rose 2.2%, sales for restaurants, bars, hotels and nightclubs fell 3%, according to the Distilled Spirits Council. Another reason people are drinking less: because bars are pushing pricey premium liquors and complicated cocktails. “The best bars are charging a premium because the cocktails take a while to make,” says Noah Rothbaum, the founder of […]
Sending Back a Bottle
Anyone who’s ordered a bottle of wine at a restaurant knows the ritual. The server brings the wine to the table, displays it for the customer’s inspection, then uncorks it with a flourish. A small portion is poured for the diner to sniff, taste and evaluate. If there’s something wrong with the wine, this is the moment for the taster to send it back. But few do … Natalie MacLean, editor of one of the largest online wine newsletters, at www.nataliemaclean.com, said 5 percent to 10 percent of wines are “corked,” or tainted by a chemical compound introduced by a […]
Steakhouse Wine Lists
Don’t be surprised if it’s easier this month to get a reservation at Smith & Wollensky. The reason: With the economy in decline and expense accounts under increased scrutiny, businesspeople may be skipping the steakhouse–and the overpriced wines that flow there. That appears to be what’s happening at Morton’s and Ruth’s Chris. In the last year, Morton’s stock has dropped 75%. Ruth’s Hospitality Group, which owns the Ruth’s Chris chain, has followed a nearly identical downward trajectory. In Depth: Most and Least Pricey U.S. Steakhouse Wine Lists “There are two major problems facing both of the steakhouse operators,” says Chris […]
Ottawa Restaurant Lists 2
What’s that aroma wafting through the city? Is it poutine? No. Is it beaver tails? No. It’s the scent of a well-stocked passion. Ottawa used to be better known for hot chocolate than for wine, but a vinous Group of Seven is changing the dining landscape: seven local restaurants recently won Wine Spectator Magazine awards for their wine lists. Waiting for the awards to be issued is like waiting for Moses to come back down the mountain: first a lot of speculation, then everyone scrambles to see what’s on the list. The chosen few this year are: Juniper, Medithéo, Trattoria […]
Ottawa Restaurant Lists
Five years ago, I needed a drink just to read a restaurant wine list in this city. Most offered Kraft Dinner wines at Pétrus prices served in golf ball glasses with layers of detergent aromas. I’d like to say, “All that’s changed now.” But I can’t. Of the 1400 licensed restaurants in the region, there are about twenty-four superb wine lists or 2%. That leaves room for improvement. But rather than be a grape grump, I’ll focus on those who are doing it right — and save this magazine some legal fees in slander suits. Ottawa oenophiles are driving recent […]
BYOB
When a medium-fancy friend of mine recently joined me for dinner at a medium-fancy Bay Area restaurant, she recoiled when our waitress told her the price of certain Syrah: $8 a glass. Her horror wasn’t at the cost — although it certainly could have been. Instead, she was realizing that since many of this restaurant’s wines were in the $10-15-a-glass range, this $8 glass might very well have been a dollar-store special of dubious quaffability. Now, this same friend regularly — and happily — purchases bottles of wine for $8 or less. “If it tastes good, I take great personal […]
Canadian Wine Lists
Which restaurant boasts the largest collection of Amarone wines in the world? Here’s a clue: It’s not in Italy, or even New York. It’s an old-style Italian joint called Via Allegro Ristorante, in a generic strip mall across from a Home Depot in western Toronto. Top Restaurants For Canadian Wine-Lovers Don’t let the plebian locale fool you. Its wine list–which, at 5,000 selections, is one of largest in the world–has earned the prestigious Grand Award from Wine Spectator each year since 2003. Bistro a Champlain, about an hour outside of Montreal on the road to Mont Tremblant, easily boasts the […]
Star Sommelier Reveals Wine Pairing Secrets
Here’s my second profile of a star Ottawa sommelier from the current issue of Ottawa Magazine, the sister publication of Toronto Life. You can read about the first sommelier, Grayson McDermid here. Janet Fraser Allium Restaurant 87 Holland Avenue 613-792-1313 What made you decide to become a sommelier? I was lucky enough to get a job bartending two nights a week at Beckta Dining and Wine in 2005. I always had a great passion for wine and food. I realized quickly that I was completely out of my comfort zone and how much I wanted and needed to […]
5 Star Sommeliers Reveal Wine List Secrets
Which wines are most popular these days? How do you choose a great wine from a restaurant wine list? Who has all the answers? Sommeliers. They’re the ones on the front lines and they see how our wine community is changing before we do. For my column in this month’s Ottawa Magazine, the sister publication of Toronto Life, I asked five of Ottawa’s best sommeliers their opinions on various vinous issues, as well as for some insider tips on pairing wine with food and selecting great wines from their lists. Here’s what they said … Grayson McDiarmid Play […]
