WINEMAKER DINNER
at Hilton Hotel and Suites
Niagara Falls/Fallsview

Article and photo by Anna Cavaliere

Maya
Brasa Brazilian Steakhouse at the Hilton Hotel and Suites Niagara Falls/Fallsview (Ontario)

What do you get when you match Brazilian fare with Italian wine?  A spectacularly fun ‘winemaker dinner,’ that’s what.  The first winemaker’s dinner, at Brasa Brazilian Steakhouse at the Hilton Hotel and Suites Niagara Falls/Fallsview (Ontario), was a big hit.

Diners coming in from winter’s cold weather quickly warmed up with the seasonally decorated ambience and live entertainers. Of course, a selection of 70 salad and seafood items on the scrumptious buffet went a long way to satisfying one’s appetite for food.  Note of caution: pace yourself, and be sure to leave room for the main entrees, prepared by Grillmaster Ricardo Zanona. The savoury various cuts of pork, sausage, lamb, beef, and chicken are slow cooked on large skewers and turned over an open flame, then sliced at your table. The meats are served by gauchos (dressed as typical cowboys of Brazil’s southern region), and you decide on how much, when, and how.  Diners are given a paper ‘disc’ with one side ‘red’ and the other ‘green,’ so when you want to pause you simply turn the red side of the disc facing up.  When you want to resume eating, flip the disc to green. How cool is that?

Brasa is open for dinner Sunday to Thursday from 5:00 - 9:00 p.m. with dinner costing $39.95 per person. Friday and Saturday, the restaurant stays open until 11:00 pm and the cost is $45.95.  Call 905 353-7187 for reservations, or go on-line at www.brasaniagara.com.

Accompanying Brasa’s meat selection were wines from Italy’s Chianti region, specifically the Badia a Coltibuono Winery. Charming winemaker, Emanuela Stucchi Prinetti, presented them and stated that “their wines are an expression of the vines.”’  We were served the 2008 Trappoline (50% Chardonnay, 50% Sauvignon Blanc); the 2007 Chianti Classsico, (20,000 bottles available in Vintages; and the 2005 Chianti Classico Riserva.  The last variety was aged in wood for two years, with 37,000 bottles produced, and still shows lovely tannins. The 2004 Vin Santo, traditionally harvested in September and crushed in December, is fermented six years in barrel and was an absolute delight.

We will definitely be back to both the hotel and restaurant, no matter what season of the year.  The next time you are in the area, why not make it an evening or weekend getaway? 

ABOUT THE HILTON HOTEL AND SUITES NIAGARA FALLS/FALLSVIEW
This superb hotel has undergone a $150 million expansion that saw the building of a 53 storey, 500-room all-suite-tower. In 2010 the hotel was ranked as one of the world’s best hotels on Expedia® Insiders’ Select™.  Brasa Brazilian Steakhouse boasts a 2,000 bottle walk-in wine cellar that contains some hard-to-find vintages in addition to popular brands. For more information, go to: www.niagarafallshilton.com.

ABOUT THE BADIA A COLTIBUONO WINERY
Operated by the Stucchi Prinetti family since the 1800’s, the wines are created from hand-picked organically grown grapes that are vinified with indigenous yeast. Situated in the heart of Tuscany, the winery is not just a producer of three different Chianti Classico wines and one made from Sangiovese. The wine resort is also known for amenities available to visitors that include bed and breakfast, accommodation, a popular restaurant that features local regional cuisine, and a cooking school. To learn more about the winery and its wines, go to www.coltibuono.com.

 


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