Since I’ve been extremely busy lately, this post is about a week late.  I hope you all forgive me!

Last Saturday, WindsorEats hosted our last award winning Wine Trail Ride of the season. The weather started out absolutely beautiful and everything was as hyped in previous posts about October Wine Trail Rides.

We had a fun, eager and excited group for this ride and we were on the Chrysler Greenway for 90% of it.  The riders were absolutely surrounded by the beauty of nature as the colours on the trees and in the field engulfed everyone on the trail. The winery owner at the first stop, William of Black Bear Farms & Estate Winery, mentioned to us that they had just bottled some fresh new wines (plum, gooseberry and a strawberry/blueberry mix to name a few) and offered them to our group to sample.  They didn’t even have labels on the bottle yet!  I sampled the plum wine and let me tell you…PHENOMENAL! It was so smooth and had a touch of sweetness to it, but, not too sweet. Our intern Kristin quickly purchased a bottle of it. If you have time you should read her version of the Wine Trail Ride as it was her first.

Our next stop was Mastronardi Estate Winery.  On the trek to MEW, the sun decided to hide so the temperature did drop a little, however, the ride was still comfortable and fun. We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived to have winemaker Lyse LeBlanc on site along with our regular MEW guide, Pamela. Both shared some great information about the vineyard and the wine making process. Lyse was even preparing a batch of crushed grapes and we were able to sample the non-fermented juice of the Cabernet Sauvignon and watch as Lyse began the fermentation process. We were even able to sample some of the grapes fresh off the vine.

Our final stop was Aleksander Estate Winery where Izabela, Mark and the gang welcomed us with open arms. After seeing that the temperature dropped just before our arrival, they quickly prepared for us a nice batch of mulled wine. Oooooo-weeee it hit the spot!

Mark prepared an unbelievable pulled pork, but, just saying prepared is putting it lightly.  He spent practically 24 hours smoking the pork and getting it just right. The pulled pork was served with a great homemade sauce, some sweet potatoes and yams, carrots and of course, some fantastic AEW wines.

Pina and I would like to thank everyone who has come out on our Wine Trail Rides in 2009.  We hope you had a truly great and unique experience.  We would also like to thank all our participating member wineries for the great work they’ve put into making a great product and for putting on some fantastic interactive tours. Last, but not least, we would like to thank our guides Chris (“Chico”) and Manny for their tireless work and effort in ensuring all riders are safe, secure and having fun.  We couldn’t have had the success we’ve had without all of your help.

Here’s looking forward the beginning of another spectacular Wine Trail Ride season in May 2010!