Winter storm

The last couple of weeks I have really felt the need to be out walking in the quiet of the winter.  I think Ralph understood that and took me for a drive in the country last Monday.  It was nice and peaceful  and we were able to admire the beauty that comes with the snow.  I love winter, the snow, the way you feel when you step out on a really cold day.  Its the opposite of how Ralph feels.  He really dislikes it.  So, when we found a few nice areas to take pictures, he would sit in the truck and read his emails while I was outside enjoying the winter and taking pictures.

Kristen`s Swim

Last Saturday we had an opportunity to go and see Kristen swim.  Ralph and I, Ron, Fred and Anna all were there to watch.  She swam four races:

100 Meter Butterfly
100 Meter Individual Medley
100 Meter Freestyle

She did an amazing job.  We all really enjoyed watching her swim.

Erik's Swim

Ralph and I both enjoy being invited to watch one of Fred & Anna's children swim.  Today, Erik was swimming at the new pool that has been made for the Pan American Games.  We were up early (7:00) and headed off to the pool by 7:30.  A quick stop at Starbucks along the way help to fortify us with coffee and tea.  We met Fred and Anna at the pool and we were ready to watch Erik swim.  What an amazing complex.  There were 4 pools, a diving area and a full exercise area with a running track. It is quite a beautiful place.

Erik swam in 3 races today and did very well.  I was happy to have the opportunity to photograph him as he swam.

After Erik's swim we watched some of the diving practice that was going on.  All I can say is that it was amazing.  These kids are so brave to be diving off these towers.  Wow!!

Ice Wine Festival - Niagara on the Lake

On Saturday, Ralph and I along with Lawrence and Teresa and Harry and  Marian went to the Ice Wine Festival.  We started in Twenty Valley (Beamsville) and finished off in Niagara on the Lake. We visited a total of 9 wineries.  It was a fun day.

Our tour started at Flat Rock Cellars where we picked up our Discovery Pass. We enjoyed some smoked beef chili topped with zesty lime sour cream.  This was paired with the Flat Rock Cellars Gewurztraminer 2013 Late Harvest Wine.  Both the chili and the wine were very good.  Sadly the winery lost all of their Gewurztraminer grapes and they said that they would probably not be replanting them so we won't be enjoying this for much longer.

The next winery that we went to was Ridgepoint Wines.  Here we enjoyed a Tuscan meat pie  as well as a  crostini with gorgonzola and red pepper icewine jelly and finished with a chocolate truffle.  We a sample of 2012 Cabernet Icewine and a 2010 Reserve Merlot.

From here we drove to the Mike Weir Winery.  We enjoyed Tai Peanut Chicken Nacho's with a 2012 Vidal Icewine. It was nice to walk around see all the Masters memorabilia.

From here we drove to Fielding Estate Winery.  Here we enjoyed a roaster butternut squash soup with hints of ginger and maple, topped with toasted pumpkin seeds.  Our "snack" was paired with a 2012 Riesling Icewine.  The soup was amazing!!

We now are headed to Niagara on the Lake.  Our first stop was at the Niagara College Teaching Winery.  Here the wine is made by the students at the College.  We enjoyed a Duck Confit with Icewine apricot relish which was suppose to be paired with the Dean's List Prodigy Icewine.  Harry noticed that the icewine they were serving didn't match the writeup but I do not recall which wine we sampled.  It was still good.  

From the winery at the College we drove on to the Brewery to see what they had on tap.  The boys sampled a few beers which they thought were pretty good.

The next winery we went to was Between the Lines Family Estate Winery..  Here we enjoyed a Peaches & Triple Cream Brie Tartlet with the 2013 Vidal Icewine.  This was a small family owned winery. 

Before heading to the next winery we stopped at the Pie Shop in Virgil.  We enjoyed a coffee/tea and relaxed for a little while.  From here we would go to our last two wineries.

Our next stop was Hinterbrook Estate Winery.  Here we enjoyed some Maple oat crusted egg-free Icewine Creme Brulee with some Cabernet Franc Icewine.  

We are now ready to go to the last winery - Two Sisters.  This was quite a large winery.  It is owned by a family that currently lives in Vaughan.  Here we enjoyed some braised rabbit terrine along with two samples of Icewine.  We enjoyed a Riesling and Vidal icewine.

I know it looked like we ate and drank alot but we really didn't.   The drinks that you are served are about 1/2 ounce in the glass and the food is the size of a small appetizer etc.  By the time we had finished our tour, we were all thinking about dinner. The food was enough to satisfy us for lunch but a nice dinner was welcome.  We made a few more stops before heading to an Irish pub in Niagara on the Lake.  First we stopped at Trius where Ralph and I picked up a few bottles of Cabernet Merlot and then we stopped at Pelletieri to take some photo's of the frozen grapes.

It was a nice way to end a fun and very full and busy day!!