Volume 1, Number 10 | Toronto, Ontario| A Malcolm Jolley website | News & features from the good food revolution

LCBO Wine Under $15: Hecula Monastrell

At $13.95 Bodegas Castaño's 2006 Hecula Monastrell (LCBO# 718999) may be the best red wine deal at Vintages. Monastrell is what the Spaniards call Mourverdre and this lightly oaked and nicely aged wine displays the grapes violet and black fruit intensity without overpowering the palate. This wine from the Southeastern Spanish region of Murcia sits in the middle of New World bigness and Old World restraint and is perfect crowd pleaser and late summer barbecue wine. Click here to find it in a liquor store near you.

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Mary Beaton & Bill Bennett: 20 Years at Langdon Hall

More Good Food Revelation at our blog, GoodFoodRevBlog.

Click here.

In Season Now:
Concord Grapes

Kathleen Mackintosh is keen on Sovereign Coronation grapes: a hybrid of Concord strains developed in BC in the 1970s, and now grown and being picked in Ontario. "I just love their sweet interior and tart sour skin. They pop like little sacs of sweet jelly under the tongue! They are much much more flavourful than the traditional grocery store grapes we see all year round," she explains.

Culinarium, Ontario's Locavore Store, generously sponsors GFR's weekly seasonal produce report.

33 Things About Norm Hardie

Norman Hardie is a winery and a man. Good Food Revelation presents 33 things worth knowing about the sought after winemaker and his Prince Edward County operation. More>>

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Riesling with Tom Thai

Wine editor Anne Martin is in heaven when two of her favourite things arrive at the same table: the spicy complexity of Tom Thai's Asian fusion food at his restaurant Foxley and mineral and fruit smack of a fine German Riesling. More>>

Strawberries in
September?

Everbaring strawberries have been bred to give fruit twice in a season, and Culinarium's Kathleen Mackintosh reports that this year "they're way better than the spring ones this year." Late summer sunshine means the second crop, just coming to harvest now, is sweeter than the one in rainy June. It's a second chance at summer in Ontario.
Culinarium, Ontario's Locavore Store, generously sponsors GFR's weekly seasonal produce report.

Alida & Anthony's Garden Party

Alida Solomon, Anthony Rose and
Ryan Graham. Photo: M. Jobin

"Prociutto with everything" was the clarion call when Alida Solomon visited Anthony Rose reports Michelle Jobin. More>>

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Back to Cheese School

Cheese guru Andy Shay looks at new programs for producers and consumers alike. More>>

In Season Now: Chanterelles

The hot days and cool nights of August set the conditions for the short season of spontaneous outbreaks of chanterelle mushrooms in the forests of Ontario. Like the other so-called "gourmet mushrooms" morels and porcini (boletus), chanterelles cannot be farmed, and foragers like Jonathan Forbes depend on secret locations and a knowledge of the perfect conditions for the woodsy treat.

Culinarium, Ontario's Locavore Store, generously sponsors GFR's weekly seasonal produce report.

Is This The Future of Artisanal Food Production?
An Interview with Monforte's Ruth Klahsen

Ruth Klahsen's Monforte Dairy's new home in Stratford is a disused bakery in an industrial park on the outskirts of town. While the location and building may not be romantic, the spirit behind it and the plans for its future are. Malcolm Jolley talks to Klahsen about Monforte Rennaissance 2010, the CSA-inspired investment scheme she came up with to save her artisanal cheesemaking business and why she hopes it will be a model for sustainable food businesses across North America. More>>

Wine on the Rocks

Sommelier Anne Martin has a survival plan for the last sips of summer. Whether it's wine on the rocks or in the woods, Martin prescribes a bottle for all cottage situations. More>>

The Drake Cake Man

Roving reporter Michelle Jobin discovers serious cake-making and cake-taking at The Drake Hotel, where David Chow will sell you more than a slice. More>>

Savour Stratford: September 26-27. Click here. (Sponsored link).

And This Little
Piggy Had Pinot

Photo: Noelle Munaretto

How do you pair wine with pork? Master Sommelier, John Szabo, suggests matching wines with piggy dishes. More>>

In Season Now:
Hardneck Garlic

Stratford area garlic farmer Warren Ham of August Harvest Farm, tells Culinarium's Kathleen Mackintosh that his 'Northern Porcine Hardneck' variety of the alluvium is best tasting in the world, with it's own flavour, distinct (though accompanying) typical garlic heat and bite. Good thing, as the Kazakhstani variety loves our cold winters.

Culinarium, Ontario's Locavore Store, generously sponsors GFR's weekly seasonal produce report.

James Beard Award winner David Leite is best known for his recipe heavy food site, leitesculinaria.com. Fans of the website know he is a passionate defender of Lusitanian cuisine and the 250-odd pages of The New Portuguese Table may well give the West Coast of the Iberian Peninsula its deserved place in the Pantheon of European cuisine. More>>

ON Rosé Under $15
 

Pinot Noir rosé is quickly becoming a Niagara and Prince Edward County signature wine, as vintners use the grapes not quite up to their top labels for easy drinking pink wine. And so it should be. At $14.95, we love the  Flat Rock Cellars' 2008 Pinot Noir Rosé (LCBO# 39974) which blends typical pink wine strawberry notes with typical Pinot cherry ones. There's just a hint of cedar too. A sort of PN light, which works when chilled well and paired with a simple pasta of seasonal vegetables, garlic and olive oil. ON PN News: Jancis lauds Closson Chase and Clos Jordanne.

Chef John Lee blogs from Barcelona's Michelin-starred restaurants, GFR's gourmet media round-up (food stories from around the world) and More>>