Fun Uncorked at the Gourmet Food & Wine Expo
Posted by Sheryl Kirby in beer, beverages, event reviews, events, events upcoming, wine on November 16, 2007 at 2:34 pm
To even attempt a complete list of the number of attractions at this year’s Gourmet Food and Wine Expo would be a futile exercise – there’s just too much on offer over the next three days to list it all. Even the press kit is huge.
This annual event attracts over 35,000 visitors and offers up over 1,200 wines beers and spirits for sampling. With Chile as the featured country this year, the focus is on the many delightful Chilean wines, with food and wine tasting, salsa dancers and even an empanada booth nearby.
The other main feature in the exhibitors area is the Travel South USA section, with exhibitors from southern US states such as Tennessee, Louisiana and Georgia on hand to offer cooking demos, food and wine tastings and culinary travel information. Most booths were offering samples of local food items – stop by the Tennessee exhibit for free GooGoo Cluster candies – I think we left a few for other people.
Of course, cheese goes well with wine, and the Dairy Farmers of Canada are set up in their regular corner, offering cheese tasting seminars through the day where participants can learn about how cheese is made as well as try samples of different varieties.
The Food Network Stage has something going on at all times throughout the three days of the expo, with demonstrations taking place hourly on the half hour. Presenters range from local chefs such as Ted Corrado (C5) and Mark Cutrara (Cowbell) who are part of the 9 of Dine Award Nominees, to cheese expert Gurth Pretty and Food TV personality Kevin Brauch.
Connoisseur’s Corner is another area within the main exhibit hall where attendees can learn more about various wines and related subjects. Featuring presenters such as Chris Waters of Vines Magazine, wine expert Tony Aspler and Slow Food Toronto’s Paul DeCampo, topics range from how to pair beer and cheese, sherry, the best food wines and features on various wine growing regions.
For visitors who want to expand their wine knowledge even further, the Tutored Tasting Series is available at an extra fee and includes the expertise of wine authorities such as Billy Munnelly, John Szabo and Zoltan Szabo, Gordon Stimmell and a tasting featuring the beers of Belgium lead by Peter Loparty of Esprit.
And while the focus of the event is most definitely wine, good food is absolutely on offer as well. Samples were available from restaurants such as Acqua, Batifole, Queenston Heights Restaurant, Rodney’s Oyster House, Turf Lounge, Embrujo Flamenco and EDO to name a few. Fine food purveyors were also on hand offering samples and items for sale. Vendors include Arvinda’s Spices, M&G Shortbread, Akropolis Pastries, Kozlik’s Mustard, Merchant’s of Green Coffee, A Taste For Chocolate and Olive-it Canada.
Personal hilights of the event included the Predra do Monte Cabernet Sauvignon Tinta Roroz (LCBO #565762), a Portuguese wine with hints of blackberry and chocolate, the Vignerons Catalan Merlot Rafale (LCBO #526897), a smooth velvety merlot from France, and the Blackstone Syrah 2005 (LCBO #740035), probably my favourite of the evening with its warm peppery finish. In the Chilean Pavilion, I’ve always been a fan of the wines of Santa Carolina and their Merlot Reserva (LCBO #234590) was a great treat. In terms of beer, Black Oak Brewery’s seasonal Nutcracker is a spicy holiday treat, and Nickel Brook Brewery’s Maple Porter was a definite delight.
My one disappointment of the evening was that no one at the France Pavilion seemed to have any of the new releases of Beaujolais Nouveau, but with so many other wines on offer, it scarcely mattered.
The Gourmet Food and Wine Expo runs at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre Friday from 2pm to 10pm, Saturday from noon to 10pm and Sunday from noon to 6pm. Admission is $15 and includes a tasting glass. Sample tickets are available at $1 each.
NOTE - Due to the fact that the comment string for this article has gone so far off-topic, we have chosen to shut down further comments on this post. We apologize for the inconvenience to any readers who wanted to voice opinions on the wines, the vendors or the demos, but I am tired of arguing a point that is, to me, common sense. Please note for next year - the event is 19+, leave the kids at home.
November 16th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
I find your comments on Tennessee wines so interesting. I’ll confess I’ve never had any, but I’ve been reading tons about them in the blogosphere lately; so much that I feel an itch to head to the hills (or vineyards) of Tennessee!
I do love off-the-beaten path choices when it comes to wine AND wine-related travel. But there’s still something of a purist in me, because you can’t beat good ol’ Sonoma for their combination of vineyards and restaurants. There are some Chilean destinations that come close, but my Spanish isn’t that good!
November 17th, 2007 at 8:26 am
The Tennessee booth didn’t actually have wines on offer. The whole section was more of a culinary tourism display to promote the south, as opposed to the traditional sampling exhibit.
November 17th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
After reading this my wife and I bought tickets for the Gourmet Food and Wine Festival online. We hauled our four-month-old twins and their big ass stroller onto the street car and made our way to Yonge and Queen then we walked to the skywalk and made our way to the south convention center.Folks with babies know that the effort it takes to to take public transportation and make your way downtown with strollers - now imagine a double stroller. Workers at the convention center were very nice and helped us on and off of the numerous elevators. About an hour after we left the house we got to the willcall . … two woman their gave us our tickets and sold us 10 bucks worth of sample tickets. They both commented how cute our babies are. Then when we finally made our way to the event entrance we got a big surprise.
A security guard told us that we could not enter with our twins. He told us there was a no infant policy. This really ticked me off. No where on the website to purchase the tickets did it say this. The people at the willcall had no problem with our twins- in fact they kept telling us how cute they were. The workers who helped us around the convention center didn’t say anything. Now we had dragged these babies across town for nothing.
The security guard suggested that we ask to sign a waiver the event organizer’s office. But the the fools who ran the event said there was nothing they could do. It really pissed me off bacause there were four people in the office an none of them could give me a straight answer of why we couldn’t bring the twins in the event.
Finally one lady was like “Its an LCBO law. No children are allowed at wine tastings”
This is bull. . I responded “.I’ve brought my kids to a few Ontario wineries and
no one has ever had an issue.” in fact Ontario wineries and breweries are very accommodating when you bring kids. If they have any class or understanding or what wine/beer sampling is they realize that your not there to get trashed or giving your kid booze. . . .its a tasting.
Anyways then the woman started saying how “surprised she was that we would bring our babies to an event with alcohol. . ” What an ass.
Even worse was that as we were leaving we saw a whole family of like 6 people. with one baby in a stroller entering the elevator in the convention center. They were holding tickets. They got REALLY upset too when we told them about this surprise policy. They marched their way to the office, and i can only hope they gave them hell too
Ironically, we went across the street to Steam Whistle Brewery. They make a mean pilsner and they had no issue letting people who have children try a sample.
November 17th, 2007 at 10:54 pm
John,
I’ve got to be honest and tell you that my first thought upon starting to read your post was the same as the woman you refer to as an ass - why *would* anyone take two babies to a wine tasting event??? Maybe you didn’t plan on getting drunk, and no, you wouldn’t give wine to your babies, but by 9pm on Thursday night, there were enough people in the place who were well on their way that it’s no place I’d want kids to be.
Also, the event is tightly packed when it’s busy and a stroller of any size would definitely be difficult to manoeuvre up and down the aisles.
Events like this fall under different laws (and different insurance rules) than wineries or breweries., Having worked in event planning and concert production for years I can attest to the fact that Ontario’s liquor laws are mote than a titch peculiar. That’s why you were able to go across the street to Steam Whistle and have a sample with your kids in tow, but weren’t permitted to bring them into the Expo. It’s got nothing to do with “class” or “understanding”, and everything to do with not wanting to get shut down because you chose to bring your infants with you.
I’ll agree that the event website should make the 19+ policy a lot more clear, but perhaps they simply think it’s common sense, that most people will know. And I *know* that all the ticket booths had the 19+ policy clearly posted.
Finally, I understand that you’re angry about the situation, but I’m not really sure what you expect to achieve by posting your rant here. I can’t help you get satisfaction over this issue, especially because I agree with the decision made by the Expo organizers. An event like that is not a place for kids.
November 18th, 2007 at 12:08 am
I don’t know what I expect to achieve Sheryl - apparently the question was completly obvious to you. For my wife and I and some other wine and food enthusiasts who showed up with strollers it wasn’t common sense. It WASN’T posted on the section of the website where one buys the tickets OR at the ticket booths where they has no problem giving a couple with a stroller tickets. We were not the only people who brought babies there. Beleive it or not people with children enjoy food and wine too.
If another couple with kids gets a babysitter before attending- i guess I’ve achieved something.
November 18th, 2007 at 8:24 am
John,
I have no doubt that people with kids enjoy food and wine. The question is - do the kids enjoy it?? There was absolutely nothing at the Expo for kids, because it was created with the intention of being an adult-only event. WHY would anyone want to take a kid - especially an infant - to an event like this?? It certainly wouldn’t be fun for the kids, and likely would put a damper on the event for the other patrons. I know I wouldn’t be too happy about having to climb over a massive stroller to get to the wines.
I’ll agree with you that the website should definitely have 19+ info clearly posted, but there were absolutely 19+ posters on every single ticket booth on Thursday night. Not sure why they wouldn’t still be there the rest of the days.
November 18th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
Sorry John, but I completel agree with Sherly here (I was about to say the same thing before I read her post)…
A wine show in Toronto is absolutely no place for kids…infants, 7 years, 12 years, etc. Not merely because there is so much alcohol being thrown around that you can almost smell it off the carpets, but by late evening there are a lot of inebriated and inconsiderate wanderers (I got bumped several times, wine spilling a few).
Also, coincidentally, I had 3 friends who wanted to take their wives to the show this weekend and they were very meticulous about finding a proper babysitter before heading out. All 3 couples acknowledged that it was no place for kids.
Sorry, common sense.
Oh, btw, this should rest the debate;
http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:RAvA7fpwUIoJ:www.ticketmaster.ca/event/10003F09C2358580+gourmet+food+and+wine+19%2B&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=ca
“No Minors. Must be 19 years or older with government ID to attend. ”
If you can’t view the cached page, just simply google “gourmet food and wine 19+” and open the 2nd link in cache mode.
November 18th, 2007 at 9:41 pm
Thanks for the link Suresh.
As a matter of fact, despite John’s insistence to the contrary, it ***DOES*** clearly state the 19+ rule on the main page of the website. It just happens to be at the very bottom of the page. I didn’t look myself; I took his word for it, but given our contrary opinions on the signage at the ticket booth, I just took a look again.
“Must be 19 years of age or older. No children or infants permitted. Please do not drink and drive. ”
It’s the most frustrating thing about the Internet - that so many people work so hard to put information out there that will help others and nobody even reads it.
November 19th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
The bottom of the main page is more clear, but buried. The ticketmaster link is unclear. I assumed he and his wife are over 19 and are not minors.
November 19th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
Hi Sheryl,
First let me say that with the greatest of respect, I think your assumption that this event should some how automatically be percieved to an infant-free zone is wholly unreasonable.
Though I attended this year, without an issue, I had the same problems as noted above, last year.
LAST YEAR, the 19+ was not on the website, and with my niece in her stroller, in front of the volunteer, then the ticket-seller, we bought tickets, only to be turned away at the door.
The reason its on the website this year is a very strongly-worded conversation I had with the organizers last year. Clearly they only did the absolute minimum though, in informing consumers, which means they again, missed the point.
Most places and events at which alcohol is served or sold are in no way limited to adults. Nor would anyone assume it should be.
I have yet to be turned away at a restaurant, or a brewery or a winery, simply because I had an infant in tow.
In fact, most pubs/bars have highchairs, and a kids allowed till 8/9pm policy.
While their may be a (tenuous) argument for resticting access to teenagers (due to need for age/id requirments etc.)
There is no such argument for an infant in a stroller!
Nor, I might add was this some tawdry pub with drunks all over the place!
I didn’t notice a single person showing signs of drunkeness or excess consumption as an attendee this year.
Nor would I expect too.
There was no reason in evidence that an infant could not be present.
As for the event requiring entertainment for children???? For heaven’s sake, they would sleep through the whole thing in the stroller.
If you need a time when you desire an absolutely infant-free zone, a zero-crying guarantee (though with the din in the place it would hardly be noticable), then an after 8pm rule like most pubs and bars use would surely suffice.
The idea that this is some din of iniquity where kids should never be, comes across as rather puritanical, and the idea that families who put their children in care on weekdays already, while they work, can’t spend some time with their kids and save a few bucks while sampling Black Oak and a Kobe Burger is just indifferent to the needs of families.
As a final note, the onus is on the organizers to clearly denote no-infant policies (which make no sense) in clear, un-abashed ways in every mode of advertising they pursue and at signage and through informed staff at all points of sale for tickets.
It is not the responability of the consumer to read the fine print to ascertain odd-ball rules, the onus lies with the organizers to properly train staff and to create proper add and sign copy.
I will comment separately on my event experiece this year.
November 19th, 2007 at 6:10 pm
In terms of this year’s event.
I thought there would many good things to say about the vendors.
My favourite for food were Rodney’s Oysters, who I haven’t tried in five years plus as my partner is not a seafood fan……
Yum, with the shallot vinaigrette!
Wine wine, I was most please by a Chilean Carmenere and by moderately high end Shiraz (59 a bottle) that I tasted at the Vintages Counter.
The beer from Nickelbrook was also a great find.
My biggest disappointments were:
The profierole w/ratatouille from Batifole
The wine-tasting sessions (non-tutored):
Very disorganized, the session (mid-afternoon) started almost 20 minutes late, in addition many people who lined up diligently and were never told they line was too long, were turned away at the last second as they ran out of capacity.
Capacity was 40 I believe, and they allowed well over 80 to line up, at no point telling the crowd there were too many people or that some might not get seats, nor did they offer the courtesy of explaing why they were running so late.
In what seems like a previous lifetime, I was an usher at a movie theatre during my college years, and I have to say if we just let a crowd stew in line till more than 20 minutes after the listed start time of a movie, they’re would have been a riot.
This speaks to the issue in my post above on age. The organizers were not very organized.
They did not properly train staff on communication or time-management.
Most unfortuate, as it marred an otherwise decent event.
OVERALL
This event is a good one, but I think to the extent it is successful, the vendors deserve all the credit, and the organizers none.
November 19th, 2007 at 7:01 pm
Hats off to all vendors who participated in the show. The KABAN Tequila booth was rockin!
November 19th, 2007 at 7:10 pm
Sorry Joan, I can’t take your argument seriously. That *anyone* would think this an event that is appropriate for children just completely **boggles** me.
Yes, children are allowed in places like pubs and restaurants where alcohol is served - but the licensing is different. Are you aware that letting a child into the event could get it not just shut down but possibly discontinued? And that the decision is not that of the Expo organizers but the Alcohol and Gaming Commission? Show organizers can’t change the rule, even if they wanted to. And really, why should all the vendors and attendees have to miss out on the experience because someone can’t bear to be parted from their kid for a few hours?
I’m also **really** not swayed by your whole “needs of families” argument. No one is forcing John or you or anyone with kids to attend a wine expo. And the expo organizers are in no way beholden to ensure that their event is family-friendly.
As someone who attended the event, I for one would have been upset if there had been children there. Not because I think it would warp their little brains, but because I shouldn’t have to deal with other people’s kids in a place where kids are not expected (or allowed) to be. I don’t want to climb over John’s double-wide stroller to get to my merlot, and I don’t want to have to listen to infants crying while I’m sipping some reisling. It actually is okay to occasionally have events for grown-ups only.
“As a final note, the onus is on the organizers to clearly denote no-infant policies (which make no sense) in clear, un-abashed ways in every mode of advertising they pursue and at signage and through informed staff at all points of sale for tickets”
Actually it’s not… as long as the organizers post the notice somewhere on their web site and somewhere at the ticket sales booth, the onus is actually on the customer to ensure that they have all the information. And every single ticket booth had a full 8-1/2 x 11″ piece of paper that said 19+ only. What are they supposed to do, stop everyone at the bottom of the escalator and explain the policy in detail?
It is absolutely the responsibility of the consumer to know the rules before arriving, and the rules are right there on the website. And the Expo organizers are absolutely right to ban children and infants from the expo floor.