Local is the New Black

Every once in a while a great bottle comes around, and that wine changes your life.

But wine lovers are never monogamous.

For many who appreciate a great wine, it may be possible to go through commitment phases, or ‘love affairs’ with a certain varietal, but most wine lovers can’t stay with just one for long.

One might think that they belong with a Pinot Noir, but than along comes a slightly chilled Beaujolais one day and it’s true love at first sip.

An affair can start in all sorts of ways – a self-professed California Cab-only drinker may take a trip to Italy and get hit on by all kinds of similarly big reds – Chianti Classicos and Brunello, and resist. But later, this person, will be handed a bottle of the beguiling Ripasso di Valpolicella. And while they may have entertained the potential of other wines, that Ripasso’s got a leg up. And as the second bottle of Ripasso is passed around the table, out comes the cork.

While some say they only drink one varietal, when a compatible new wine comes around, wine lovers can’t keep their corkscrew in their pants.

However, in burgeoning wine regions, such as the one we have here in Ontario, extravarietal affairs take on a different shape – while some wine lovers are lured away by a different wine, others are by a new region. In fact, the Niagara Wine Region is like the ‘Most Eligible Bachelorette’ of the world’s wine regions – in relation to older, more familiar regions it’s fresh to the scene and thus more “It” worthy, it’s had won numerous international wine awards, and with the rising notoriety of it’s sister city Toronto in pop culture, Niagara wines have never been more dateable.

Think about it this way – your love for wine is a dating show and there are three contestant bottles vying for your attention. Gewurztraminer, one of the most successful and exciting new wines out of Niagara, is going up against two famous others – a Gewurztraminer from Alsace,France and one from the Alto Adige region of Italy.

Dating Show Host: Let’s meet our contestants. Bachelorette Number One from Alsace. She is a celebrated woman of contrast – with a dry taste, but a rich aroma of rose, lychee and peach stone, this classic beauty has been well loved and rightfully so. But since Alsace is known to produce some of the finest expressions of Gewurztraminer, you HAVE dated her before…and so have all your friends.

Alsace Gewurztraminer: Yes I’ve been around the block, but only because I’ve been around for years. I’ve got a big rep for being the most delicious…

Alsace Gewurztraminer reapplies her slightly smeared red lipstick and drops her ‘little black book,’ the size of a Bible, on the table.

Dating Show Host: Bachelorette Number Two from the Alto Adige region of Northern Italy. This Gewurztraminer is a whole lotta wine; with aromatic richness and strength, this full-bodied wine tastes of fine spices and cloves with a gorgeous nose reminiscent of a full bouquet of roses. This powerful wine may overpower your dish as she commands the attention of your senses, but who needs to eat when you have a wine like her?

Bachelorette Number Two: I am a big, delicious Italian wine. Need I say more? No. I can be your lover, you’re only friend and your mother. Date me.

Bachelorette Number Two blows you a big kiss, then pulls ten bulging bags of luggage out, presumably containing everything she owns, and taps her watch.

Dating Show Host: And finally here is Bachelorette Number Three from the burgeoning Niagara Wine Region. She is a fresh face to the scene but will wow your palette with her remarkable taste and flair. Niagara, a famous producer of sweet wines such as Riesling, Vidal and Icewines, is a natural for Gewurztraminer. Allow your socks to be knocked off by this youthful and talented lady.

Bachelorette Number Three: Gewurztraminer is new to my region and for those who can’t pronounce it, I say to call me G-Wine. Until everyone recognizes me, I’ve been used as the special ingredient in bottled wine blends, and my honey coloured self is like the golden touch – add Niagara G-Wine to a VQA blend and it sells like hot cakes! My region might be young, but it is an ideal place to grow my vines and cultivate my perfect grapes. People try me and they’re like “OMG-Wine!” So what will it be – what region for G-Wine hits your G-Spot?

Bachelorette Number Three does three backflips, spins around a pole and twirls towards you , fireworks erupting around her…

Regardless if you are attached or not, when a great wine comes around, no ball-and-chain favourite bottle is worth saying no for. So sow your wild grapes, because love for wine is best for the open-minded, the swingers, the cheaters, and the just plain open-hearted.

In this case (or case of an amazing new wine), it will always mean something – something delicious!

Everyone knows a good apple after the first bite.

But who knows good from bad after a bite of a tomatillo, ramp, purple carrot or claytonia?  Lesser-known crops are harder for the average consumer to critique.

To crunch down on any of these goods, you’ll have to order up at a notable Toronto restaurant. For these are not often found at the farmers market, but instead are featured as star ingredients in unique menu dishes.

So to determine the yum-factor of such atypical produce, it’s usually the chef’s call.

And that’s especially true now. Fall is up and for restaurants that means new menu time. That also means chefs have a new slew of fresh produce to try out and get inspired by. Like any industry there is always much to do to get ahead, or in this case, a good head of Winter Density lettuce.

Before harvest, common and not-so-common fruit, vegetables and herbs grow from GTA earth with promise, and smart Toronto chefs become like savvy investors and flock early to the city’s best farmer’s markets to stock their kitchens with the best fresh, yummy capital for new menus.

But there’s another way for chefs get their hands in the honey pot that is tasty produce – after the best of the locally-grown become ripe, these crème de la crème of crop yields can be shuffled through the alleys of Toronto’s restaurant districts. Samples of the finest produce, toted by farmers like gold coins in a dollar sign bag, are offered to chefs through the back kitchen door.

“Through the backdoor, we can get a lot of forgers,” said Anthony Rose, Head Chef at The Drake Hotel. “Like one of the guys we use mushrooms from, he was looking for business and really wanted to be at The Drake Hotel.”

Unbeknownst to most farmers market goers, there exists a black market of farm to table cuisine, and it requires street-sense from farmers to get their goods into the right hands.

The owner of one such pair is Chef Anthony Rose, mastermind of food offerings at The Drake Hotel, and notably nicer member of Toronto’s top chef mafia.

Famous chefs are an elite bunch who sometimes get a rep for laying down a hard law in the kitchen. And if you’ve ever been in a top restaurant’s kitchen, then you know – they may not be mobsters, but those ladle-wielding bosses are taking no prisoners during dinner rush.

To get their produce into the hands of a great chef, farmers need to think outside the market and think menu.

And get a little ‘hood.

Fictional mobster Tony Montana said, “first you get the money and then you get the power.” Obviously, a “little friend” to a farmer is more a weeder than a machine gun, but the desire to reap what you sow is a universal goal – true from the mean streets of New York to Toronto’s earnest back kitchen alleys.

The lucky thing for interested farmers, is that big timer chefs are actually more gentle giant then mob monster. Their love for food is what’s behemoth – it’s big taste, big expectations and big glasses of wine with meals. At the end of the day, it’s not a big power trip. It’s about delivering that real satisfaction to their guests.

It’s important for farmers to network as well to impress a chef, because even with the edibles crowd, it can still be about ‘who you know’. Attending food and wine events, coming in to eat  and schmoozing a bit at the restaurants of interest are all important measures to take. Cringe yes, but selling to a well-known restaurant not only pays well, but later, at the farmer’s market, the stand with a name recognized from The Drake Hotel’s menu, is gunna have a line-up.

“We’re a really good place to have farmers want their produce at, we’re a fairly big restaurant, high volume, high profile…and we sell a lot of food,” said Rose. “We also use a lot of farmers, but my favourite is Mark Trealout, who runs a cooperative called Kawartha Ecological Growers, using about a dozen or more people in his area,” said Rose. “Its amazing dealing with him because he runs his own farm but he is also dealing with so many other people that have fantastic things. Also, I like Andy George and his wife in in the Stratford area who run Soiled Reputation farm, and then from Prince Edward County, I love Vikki and Tim from Vikki’s Vegetables.”

For locally-focused Chefs, the farm and producer become integral sources of menu inspiration and are often credited.  For instance, on The Drake’s menu, Rose highlights his favourite local ingredients by naming the farm it’s from – “Markus mushrooms,” “Kernal peanuts,” “Tymek’s sour pickles,” and “Ezell’s slaw;” listed by name under the dish they inspired, the produce is that appreciated.

“What I like to do is what I call ‘Canadiana’, which is about using what’s good and what’s growing around here,” said Rose. “ Like for the past couple years, I’ve been loving these red peanuts from just around Lake Erie area…But no one really knows you can get local peanuts in Ontario…and it’s become something really amazing to showcase.”

“We try to get all these amazing products and the people who make them into The Drake,” said Rose “so more consumers can find out about local produce and enjoy it.”

GTA earth is ready for culinary success and farmers are the grassroots operation behind the success of our city’s best local restaurants.  Acknowledging farms on menus, bringing farmers into the kitchen and using local produce as menu inspiration are all big steps towards empowering Toronto as a culinary destination.

Nothing is more powerful than feeding someone properly. And with the help of Ontario’s great farmers, chefs can sure do that here.

Last season, on November 9, 2009,Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance (OCTA) made like harvest and gathered together some of Ontario’s most vital farmers, distributors and producers for a feast of the foodie minds – the Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance Summit.

The event began with a discussion between three titans of culinary tourism, Jason Parsons, Head Chef, Peller Estates Winery Restaurant, Arlene Stein, Director of Events at Hart House and Mike Whittamore, Producer, Whittamore Farms.  The lively debate, moderated by Kevin Brauch, host of The Food Network’s “The Thirsty Traveller,” moved down a food chain of topics relevant to culinary arts activists.

One major topic served up was the importance of relationship building between local farmers and chefs – a key connection to improving the quality of food served in Toronto.

Local growers should feel confident in their expertise and extend offers to educate chefs on the quality of their crops.

“Chefs are like rock stars now,” said Brauch, noting the rising status of those behind some of the city’s most revered restaurants.

But despite an intimidating status, “It’s important for farmers to face the fear and knock on the kitchen door of restaurants and get chefs to taste their produce,” said chef Parsons.

Basically when it comes to initiating culinary tourism, the real ‘rock star’ should always be the food. And according to one of best in Ontario growing it, Mike Whittamore, it is.

“Ontario has some of the best soils in the world,” said Whittamore, “and that means our province also grows some of the best crops.”

According to research by Local Food Plus (LFP) a non-profit organization working to build a market for local sustainable food, 79 per cent of Central Ontarians recognize this and prefer to buy locally grown food.

“The driving force behind this preference is both the anxiety of bioterrorism and the desire to buy good food with a good story attached – people like to support hometown heroes of the culinary world,” said Rebecca LeHeup, Executive Director of OCTA .

Next to the stage was the Ontario Minister of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs Leona Dombrowsky, who rallied the crowd towards measures for agricultural success.  “When agriculturalists innovate, that’s when culinary tourism get an edge,” said Dombrowsky.

The Minister stressed the importance of the culinary arts community not resting on their laurels. She also stated that a profitable future for Ontario farmers requires producers to stay ahead of culinary trends. By tailoring crops to chef requests, using the most advanced and environmentally safe farming methods, and expanding their customer reach, farmers can start putting more forks in their produce.

OCTA started that trend at lunchtime, by inviting all guests to a meet and greet lunch hosted by Green Belt Canada.  Attendees were treated to lunch supplied by local chefs and farmers, as well as a room full of Ontario food samples. Hungry for both snacks and opportunity, fresh produce and business cards were handed around like hors d’oeuvres.  The meet and greet was a excellent way for local-minded guests to network and exchange tasty treats and tips.

For the afternoon portion, the crowd was led back into the conference to learn about “Mapping a Culinary Destination,” three representatives from emerging culinary destinations were given the floor to discuss their plans, successes and challenges for putting their regions on the foodie map. Rebecca LeHeup moderated the discussion between Danielle Broadhagen of Savour Stratford, Kerri King of Durham Tourism, and  Jaimi Ruoho-Long of  Peterborough and Kawartha Tourism.

After a lively chat regarding issues surrounding the local food movement, the representatives counted down a top ten list of solutions:

1. Create local food ‘clusters’ in your region
2. Work closely with growers associations’ agricultural action committees
3. Support and fund local initiative that links farmers to consumers
4. Educate consumers and food service providers about how to use and source local products
5. Advocate for a Local Food and Farming Act
6. Advocate for a Local Food Procurement Policy
7. Encourage regional farming strategies
8. Compile regional food action plans
9. Establish agricultural enterprise zones
10. Initiate multi-sector food and farming councils

The last talk of the day was given by communications expert Barry Martin of Hypnotic. Martin laid out a recipe for success through social media. He discussed how a local farmer and/or producer can cook up business by becoming a dynamic presence on online culinary communities. Martin suggested the regular use of Twitter, writing a personal blog and expanding contacts online as vital ways to help local foodies stay connected.

Finally, the OCTA Summit closed out with a Taste of Ontario Reception and a pairing of the day’s stew of helpful information with some award-winning VQA wines.

The main dish of the day was certainly the theme of “farm to table” cuisine.  But like any great meal, there must be several courses served up in order. The first step for Ontario farmers and producers to promote the “farm to table” movement is taking their local goods out on the town. Promoting local edibles to busy shops and restaurants, respected chefs, and popular urban spaces is a sure-fire way to make local cuisine the hottest plate around.

After all, it only takes an amuse bouche of local produce, before the rest of the world becomes hungry for Ontario’s culinary arts.