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Tuesday 30 June 2015

iYellow Wine Club - Niagara Wine Country Tour - By Fabulous Faith



 The iYellow Wine Club boasts thousands of members; located in Toronto, iYellow throws the hottest events sampling the most delicious wines.  Throughout the year they travel throughout Ontario’s wine country tasting and experiencing our best wineries.  These tours included chartered bus, a delicious lunch and all the wine you can drink!  On June 20th 2015, I was lucky enough to be a part of their Niagara Wine Country experience.

I woke up that morning grumpy as my “date” had cancelled due to a family emergency.  As a Chef I am used to working weekends yet I am totally spoiled in that my hair, make up and pretty clothes are not usually required for work. But on this Saturday morning I left my kitchen around 7 and headed back home to re-shower and get dressed up. Feeling pretty, I headed off for coffee and a sugary treat to pad my tummy as the invite I received said to eat breakfast in advance of arrival as we would be commencing an adventure to Niagara at 11am. 

I arrived downtown shortly later to see workers busily setting up for Toronto’s annual MMVA festival taking place that evening. I parked and wandered over to the meeting place on Queen West feeling drained and sucking back my coffee as quickly as possible.  As I turned the corner I saw friendly faces with iYellow Club t-shirts holding cute yellow gift bags filled with info about our destinations and snacks for the ride to Niagara.  I boarded the bus where I noticed lots of couples, families and groups of friends chatting and giggling, so as an introvert I headed towards the back of the bus to sit alone. 

As these wine-day-retreat-tours are quite popular my solo seat was requested by the gorgeous host Angela Aeillo and I was moved next to be social next to a charming man named John. Coincidentally his family was from the same town as mine on the east coast and he also worked in Africa and knew plenty about African cuisine so we had plenty to chat about.  He was brought on the tour by two other beautiful and entertaining ladies who were iYellow Club veterans and therefore, were familiar with adventures like these.  On the ride up we were served a delicious Shiraz Rose and champagne cupcakes which along with the pleasant conversation made the hour long commute seem like only moments.
Fabulous Faith at Rockway Glen Golf Course & Winery
Our first stop was a combination of golfing lessons and a wine tasting in the Museum cellar of Rockway Glen Golf Course and Winery.  We sampled several lovely wines and then ventured out into the sunshine where we were taught both putting and driving on the scenic golf course.  It was an excellent bonding experience for the group as novice golfers we laughed at our stumbling and could chalk-up any faults to the wine we had just enjoyed.  After a little while we piled back onto the bus and headed a short distance to our next destination chatting of our time golfing.
Fabulous Faith in Jackson Triggs Cellar
The second stop was at a much the much larger complex of Jackson Triggs where we were immediately lead into their ginormous cellar packed with barrels and reminiscent of Europe.  We were seated to our choice of wine and a buffet style lunch of pulled pork sandwiches with numerous condiments and local mixed green salad with in-house red wine vinaigrette.  After lunch I slid out from my seat and slipped into the kitchen to chat with the chef who filled me in on his garden out front (he used his own rhubarb for dessert!) and the local farmers who provided his ingredients.  Not sure if he could see how jealous I was of this (LOL) but for Chef’s this is the ultimate luxury and for “eaters” basically dream come true.  Lastly he utilized the rhubarb from the garden and served up an exquisite strawberry-rhubarb tart.  After the wine and food we were taken along for a tour of the facility. 
Fabulous Faith with the Chef at Jackson Triggs
As a wine lover it was very interesting to take in the steps from grape to awesome and learning about the processes that create the heavenly beverage we all know and love in such a hands-on way.  We finished off with a tour of the garden and had a few more samples and picked up some bottles to take home. 

Fabulous Faith at Jackson Triggs Winery
Up next we were in for a surprise a tour of the trendy hipster Oath House Brewery!  Just around the corner, craft beer was been produced in mass quantities and we were brought into the barn like brewery and shown the processes before being able to taste some of their beers. I don’t generally enjoy craft beer, the strong flavours are overwhelming to my palate but the rich, savoury flavour of their dark ale had me thinking of meat pairings and reminded of summer nights out on the patio downtown. A must try!
Fabulous Faith  at Oath House Brewery
Our final stop was at Vineland Estates Winery which was closed but the iYellow Club had the “hook-up” so we got a VIP private tour.  As the venue is beautiful we arrived to find a wedding take place which kind of adds a pleasant feel, maybe love was in the air? Possibly I drank too much wine at this point or a mixture of both hoping for the air-love though. 
Fabulous Faith at Vineland Estates Winery
We walked through production and down a large tunnel to find their private cellar (on a personal note if you are reading this please call me about that bottle xoxoxo) featuring a collection of beautiful bottles from decades past sat nestled in a brick cove, visually something out of a romance movie (although wine is romance in itself though.) After my tour (ok total bottle worship) we got more delicious wine and cheese and I pouted to myself about not being able to get the original bottle.  I stepped out into the vineyard and stared out into the forest; it was quiet no cars, no street lights, no neighbours and enjoyed a peaceful moment to myself.  In the city or really just in the hectic lives we create for ourselves there are too few of these moments so for this alone I am grateful for the experience. 

The ride home passed in a flash and before I knew it I was saying goodbye, jumping into my car and heading back home to my frenzied life.  An experience like this is kind of what the soul needs, new friends, great wine, great food and the opportunity to experience good energy with like-minded individuals.  Everyone who goes to an iYellow event comes out to have fun, to let loose and to try something new. So if this sounds like something you would like to do iYellow Wine Club is definitely for you.

For more information about upcoming tours or iYellow’s amazing wine school visit:

Tuesday 23 June 2015

Fabulous Faith teaches Healthy Snacks at ATP Morningstar

Fabulous Faith taught the students how to make guacamole, hummos & nachos!
Fabulous Faith and her awesome students
Fabulous Faith


Monday 1 June 2015

The Almighty Veganwich - A Vegan Sandwich Recipe Created by Fabulous Faith

Ingredients:

2 slices Sha Sha Bakery Co. Ezekiel Bread
3 oz. (85 g) Grilled Zucchini
2 Tbsp (28 g/1 oz)  Roasted Red Pepper
2 Tbsp (28 g/1 oz)  Classic Hummos
2 Tbsp (28 g/1 oz) Red Onion Sliced (Optional)

Directions:

Toast Sha Sha Bakery Co. Ezekiel Bread until lightly golden

Spread 1 tablespoon on Hummos on each side

Top with pepper, zucchini and red onion

The Almighty Veganwich - A Vegan Sandwich Recipe on Sha Sha Bakery Co. Ezekiel Bread.