Toronto: Wine tasting at Peller Estates Winery, Niagara-on-the-Lake

The 2nd Annual CUAA Wine Tasting took place on a perfect late-summer day in wine country reminiscent of the rolling hills of Tuscany.

The event was a sell-out, with 37 Concordia alumni making the coach trip to the Peller Estates Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Alumni included Peter Silverman, long-time host of a popular Toronto consumer-advocate TV show, and Joe Mardini, vice president of Bell Mid Market Sales, and his wife Marianne, who celebrated their 22nd wedding anniversary with us in style.

Activities at Peller began with a tour of the Merlot and Cabernet Franc vineyards. Our guide invited us to sample the ripe grapes straight off the vine, which were very sweet due to the hot summer. We then toured the barrel cellar and learned all about the science of wine-making and the technique for properly tasting wine.

By then, we’d worked up an appetite and the meal waiting for us was impressive: a three-course gourmet lunch prepared by executive chef Jason Parsons, who also appears on the Food Network. The day at the estate wrapped up with a delicious lesson on pairing wine and chocolate.