We recently attended the Local Produce / Local Wine / Local Location dinner, which was hosted at the Grovewood Tavern up by E 170th and another great local place (for music that is), the Beachland Ballroom. But, this evening was less about music (although i must say the mix they had on was top notch), and more about blending the diverse selection of local produce and wines showcasing how rich the flavors we have at our dispense (within 75 miles). The produce was supplied by Trevor over at Fresh Fork Market, the wine by Debonne, and the location and cooking by the wonderful people of the Grovewood Tavern. Now, let me be the first to say that I have already been won over by the deliciousness that is cleveland+ produce. So far everything we've gotten from FFM has been outstanding. So, to say the least, I wasn't too worried about what I'd be eating. The wine on the other hand.....
I shuddered to think what might be presented to us this evening. And I say shudder because Kate and I have had numerous encounters with Ohio wines and been utterly disappointed. We've even gone on a romantic wine tour through the valley, hoping to find a surprise gem, and come up rolling our eyes back into our heads as the overpowering taste of pure sugar...yes, sugar, , drowned our taste buds. I'm not quite sure why, but it seemed that every person who was making wine had a love affair with sugar and attempted to top the brix scale or achieve some new record, because every...stinking..wine...tasted sugary, syrupy, and downright nasty to us. And as scientists, we didn't merely give up on Ohio wines. Oh no, we tested more, tasted the same winery's production again (perhaps it was an outlier or bad year), but even with an increased sample size, still the same result. Ick.
Well, the folks from Debonne (as with every wine dinner, a little sales pitch and description of each wine was done with each course) started off with the first wine. Raising the glass to my lips, I inhaled, took a small sip...and........would you believe it?! NOT...SUGARY!! Now, was the taste my favorite? Perhaps not, but I didn't care. It wasn't corn syrup! As the food begin to be served, different wines poured, I took a moment to look around at the crowd that had gathered. For some, this was their first time purposely eating local foods. For others, this was a way of life. For some, food is a "ehh" thing, a take it or leave it of flavors and tastes, for others, food and tastes are again...a way of life. But, it didn't matter. Here we were, a bunch of clevelanders+ that were enjoying eating and drinking local fruits of the earth, and hopefully, continuing the steps of seeing more families, communities, cities, living local and eating local.
At the end of the night, the wine was 3 for 5. Two iIjust didn't care for, one of them being an ice wine. I'm not a huge fan of ice wine, but I appreciate what it takes to make it, and am glad there are people who do enjoy it. The food, all around, was scrumptious, (we kinda expected it would be seeing how our CSA contents have been top notch) and afterward, we talked with Trevor about another local food dinner in August. We'll keep you posted!
I shuddered to think what might be presented to us this evening. And I say shudder because Kate and I have had numerous encounters with Ohio wines and been utterly disappointed. We've even gone on a romantic wine tour through the valley, hoping to find a surprise gem, and come up rolling our eyes back into our heads as the overpowering taste of pure sugar...yes, sugar, , drowned our taste buds. I'm not quite sure why, but it seemed that every person who was making wine had a love affair with sugar and attempted to top the brix scale or achieve some new record, because every...stinking..wine...tasted sugary, syrupy, and downright nasty to us. And as scientists, we didn't merely give up on Ohio wines. Oh no, we tested more, tasted the same winery's production again (perhaps it was an outlier or bad year), but even with an increased sample size, still the same result. Ick.
Well, the folks from Debonne (as with every wine dinner, a little sales pitch and description of each wine was done with each course) started off with the first wine. Raising the glass to my lips, I inhaled, took a small sip...and........would you believe it?! NOT...SUGARY!! Now, was the taste my favorite? Perhaps not, but I didn't care. It wasn't corn syrup! As the food begin to be served, different wines poured, I took a moment to look around at the crowd that had gathered. For some, this was their first time purposely eating local foods. For others, this was a way of life. For some, food is a "ehh" thing, a take it or leave it of flavors and tastes, for others, food and tastes are again...a way of life. But, it didn't matter. Here we were, a bunch of clevelanders+ that were enjoying eating and drinking local fruits of the earth, and hopefully, continuing the steps of seeing more families, communities, cities, living local and eating local.
At the end of the night, the wine was 3 for 5. Two iIjust didn't care for, one of them being an ice wine. I'm not a huge fan of ice wine, but I appreciate what it takes to make it, and am glad there are people who do enjoy it. The food, all around, was scrumptious, (we kinda expected it would be seeing how our CSA contents have been top notch) and afterward, we talked with Trevor about another local food dinner in August. We'll keep you posted!