Articles
Ken Burford of the Ontario Wine Society (OWS) and John Adam of UCR were partners in organizing an afternoon fun tour west, north, and east of Toronto on Sunday, October 4, that concluded with dinner for 53 persons at the Crystal Fountain Banquet Hall in Markham.
Tour Itinerary:
•UCR and OWS members assembled at the PetroCanada Service Centre, Hwy 400 south of King Rd. for instructions and signing of insurance waiver. Then they received route instructions and they were off -- after a leisurely Tim Hortons coffee and perhaps a snack.
•Onward to Ted Fullerton’s home and art studio, north of Schomberg, for a talk and tour of Ted’s art work in his house, on his grounds and in his studio. The grass was wet but the rain held off. Sculpture and art were interesting – but what does it mean?
•A long country run to Ocala Orchards Farm Winery for a wagon ride through the orchard followed by a tasting of muscat, plum and raspberry wine. Though the rain came down heavily, we were under cover by that time. Besides wine, purchases included apples and giftware.
•Backtracking to Willow Springs Winery, Stouffville, for an nicely staged tasting of chardonnay, blended rosé, baco noir and superb merlot wines led by owner Mario Testa. Attractive winery. No rain, thankfully. Case discount for the excellent 2007 Testa Merlot was advantageous, so I bought one!
•Crystal Fountain Banquet Hall for a beef and chicken dinner with wine that surprised everyone with its quality. Before dinner, each person was handed a 21-question quiz sheet with prizes awarded to all afterwards. One table had at least three Crackberries running at full speed trying to determine the quiz answers. Though less that perfect, this table achieved the top score of 17/21.
After dinner, the crowd was enthusiastic in applauding a great day with a 167 km, nine hour, fun run through the early fall colours ending in a terrific dinner. Tired but happy, it was time to find our way home.