Friday, May 9, 2014

Niagara Food & Wine Expo 2014

The Niagara Food & Wine Expo was happening at the Niagara Convention Centre on the same weekend that I was down in Niagara on a girls weekend!



We went just after opening on Saturday, and stayed for 4 hours! From noon until 4pm.  None of us needed supper afterwards!

If you are looking for a fun afternoon or evening with some friends, this would be something to look into for next year.

Admission at the door was $15, but I scored us some tickets at $10 by using a discount code and buying them weeks ahead of time.

We each bought $20 of tickets to use within the show, so it cost us each a total of $30.

I think our favorite part of our time spent there was attending a wine tasting by Hernder Estate Winery.  The winemaker Lydia Tomek herself gave the presentation, and we tried 6 different wines.  The fact that she was a young, hip, woman was very cool in and of itself! It cost 4 coupons ($4) each to attend this tasting.

Wine tasting from Hernder Estate Winery at the Niagara Food & Wine Expo
My favorite was the one on the far left, which was a Sparkling Riesling.

Both friends agreed they loved the next one in, which was a Riesling.




I stopped by their booth after, and the Sparkling Riesling is the one in the opaque green bottle in the next picture.  

Hernder Estate Winery Selections at the Niagara Food & Wine Expo

















We also attended an "All You Need is Cheese" cheese tasting put on by Dairy Farmers of Ontario. 

There were two cheeses that were amazing. The first was a very smooth ricotta, that was served with a dollop of honey.  

The second was a Maple Cheddar, that was so delicious that I had to buy a block to take home!




I had some delicious food too!  I had a lobster grilled cheese, (YUM!) and I experimented by trying something new.  Asian Fusion Rice Balls, by Me.N.U. Food Truck (who had a booth there, and not a truck.) and they were so delicious I ate them and forgot to take a picture! Both of my friends went to buy some, and the other four people that we didn't know at the table we had sat down at all thought my rice balls looked so good, that they all went to buy some as well.  Everybody loved them!

We sat at a table to eat while listening to music by Cory Cruise, and followed by Blair Franklin, who were both fabulous musicians!  

A fun afternoon!