The Deacon Dines with Bond and Castro!

Yo Homeys! Wassup?

Well maybe not exactly Bond and Castro, but it sure as heck seemed like that...

As per usual, your humble Deacon is mixin' with the people that matter, today bein' no exsepshun! Oh, and by the by...before I forgets...

how about an expeshully loud "Wassup?" to all the pre-programmed, Yellow Tail drinkin', carborundum scrapin', backhouse washin', DIX out there who still tune in regularly, despite the fact that you'se still not really catchin' on!

Welcome anyway!

Dr. Fresh has just had (along with the Deaconess) one of the best Eye-Tie dinners of his frickin' life!

I'm talkin' Eye-Tie with a capital W! Man this was one lurch evening!

Your Deacon got the invite via Zoltan "007" Szabo to check out the food and wines at Sette Mezzo at 936 Eglinton Avenue West. Arriving with the gorgeous Deaconess, your humble Deacon was immediately apprehended, seated and greeted by none-other than the Moroccan Italian Tribesman and Proprietor Himself, Sol or Salvatore, Benarroch if you be so inclined. Sol is one kool dude who refuses to rush his patrons. He dropped us into a comfortable side table and immediately the food began to arrive, even with no sign of Zoltan Szabo. "Don't worry!" said Sol. "It's all arranged by Zoltan already, including what food and what wine." So we sat back and man, was it lurch! First a glass of Tawse Riesling to awaken the palate, along with garlic toasts, supplanted by jumbo shrimp in a Sambuca sauce. Sol joined us almost right away, and was one fascinating dude. This guy's been a marine biologist at Dalhousie University who blew out his eardrum after training and certifiying 200 divers, a Spanish and French major at York University, a Cuban cigar afficionado, who's smoked Cubans with Fidel himself, a record company exec, an immigration translator and is still a licenced optometrist (hence the photograph) as well as a restauranteur! He runs an Italian restaurant par excellence, and isn't even a made-man! Your Deacon was hugely impressed by Sol's ability to scope the entire restaurant, glad-handing those who needed the security and running everything from our table. Our amazingly attentive waiter, Raffaele (or Ralph) all swarthy good looks and Pepsodent smile, switched us over to Norman Hardie '04 Riesling, which was dryer and more to our taste, and set a huge platter of amazing antipasto in front of us. All the usual fare was there: shaved Reggiano, sausage, olives, mozzarella, etc., etc.

I immediately asked Sol who he'd fight in the Octagon. He said he'd like to fight one of Zoltan's babes, in mud for an extended period of time!

Then the mushroom risotto arrived...3 different mushrooms, to be exact, served with a fantastic Stoney Ridge 2004 20th Anniversary Pinot Noir that was redolent of violets and herbs. Man! Stoney Ridge is a winery your Deacon has never visited...he's just waitin' for the invite...Great stuff! This is a Pinot to your Deacon's taste...

Veal followed in a cream and mushroom sauce, with a delicious and fresh green salad that greatly refreshed the palate. Zoltan had chosen a Skouras for the pairing; a Greek wine with a lot of Cab that was mellow beyond belief and greatly fit the occasion. At this point, Croatian Uber-Chef Zlatko Maric emerged to press the flesh and meet the Deacon and Deaconess, just as the Hungarian 007, Zoltan burst through the doors, resplendent in red baseball cap and sweats. What is it about this homeboy that he's able to look lurch, no matter what the frick he's wearin'? Zoltan grabbed a huge bowl of pasta and a glass of the Pinot Noir I'd been drinking earlier. The evening was off to a great start. Sol and Zoltan are highly entertaining hosts, and the Deaconess and yours truly were in stitches much of the time. Especially when Zoltan told a hideous joke with an unrepeatable ending about terroir and geography. As Sol regalled us with ever more fascinating and true stories about Havana and Castro and the Cohiba and Partagas factories, Zoltan called for Barollo Chinato, an amazing red desert wine that I'd never tried before. It was rich and potent with lots of herbaceous notes. Then the dessert tray emerged, with the best Tira Misu any of us had ever sampled, fresh fruit, Dulce de Leche cheesecake, etc., etc., etc. Sol asked his Ace Barman Pepe for some cognac and the snifters arrived. The aroma was heavenly, but Zoltan made a face and said "This isn't cognac. This is aged rum!" And he was right, damn him! We were drinking 7 year old Havana Club Rum. My notes just say "Fanbloodytastic!"

Y'all gots to check out Sette Mezzo at 936 Eglinton West. To be honest, they don't need your patronage. People in the know are already going there... The food's incredible, the staff's attentive and engaging, and the wine-list is hand-picked by Zoltan Szabo, the Hungarian 007 himself! Not a damn one in the LCBO!

Y'all check it out! This is Lurch with a capital "L".

Thanks Sol, Zoltan, Raffaele and Pepe for a spectacular evening!

Deacon Dr. Fresh

Supporting real people everywhere

And yes, you peckerdines heard me!

Deacon and Billy in Niagara - Part 2!

Yo to all my fanz and a special Wassup? to all the dix out there, who don't have a clue what I be rappin' bout, but can't resist tunin' in anyway!

Let me say from the outset that Blogspot's kinda screwed up today. That means it won't let me upload any of the kool pictures I had in mind, namely me and Billy in the Rolls. If it fixes itself at a later time, I'll upload them then.

It was a very hot day from the get go, and your humble Deacon and his homey, Billy Munnelly, climbed into the pilot and navigator seats of the Silver Shadow with the girls drivin' from the back seat, and headed to Jackson Triggs. JT is easy to find if you've got a GPS. In fact, it sits within' small arms range of Stratus Estate Winery. (Coincidence? You decide...) As per usual, I roared into the parking lot and made a stylish entrance as befits the Deacon. (We had actually been to Inniskillin first, but the crackah's didn't recognize yours truly, what with all the construction and stuff goin' down. So we headed to JT as I previously alluded...) What a reception for the Deacon and Billy! Jenni Mudge-Winters literally rushed out the door with a huge smile and ordered a junior to park the Deacon's ride. Now that's frickin' service! Jenni's a lovely young woman, and quickly had Billy, Kato, me and the Deaconess set up in a private tasting area with Chrissy, a hot little number, who kept the good stuff flowin'. "So you're the Deacon! I've longed to meet you!" were the words I heard again and again.

Now here's the bad news:

I can't find any of my voluminous tasting notes for Jackson Triggs. I remember loving a Sauvignon Blanc which I think was a little less grassy than last years offering. The JT Gewurtztraminer is as floral and pleasing with Thai food as an Alsatian wine and deserves frequent revisitings. Now I could be a typical mofo here, and phone Billy and axe him for his notes and try to pass them off as my own. That ain't your Deacon's style though. So I will say this: I loved the bubbly we tried and was impressed enough with the other wines that I recall saying "I'll pick up a bottle of that and that and that when I get back to Toronto", the car being a little full by this time. So the bottom line is: you're going to have to check out JT yourself. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at even the general listing wines they have to offer. Let me know what you think. Your Deacon always wants feedback.

We dropped off a bundle of Billy's excellent books (if you don't have it yet, buy it now while it's still current), and said a fond but sad farewell to Jenni. We'll be back, and next time I'll hang on tighter to my tasting notes. Jackson Triggs maybe one of the big players but man, what a facility! You got's to check this winery out. They're makin' the real-deal, Jack!

From the huge to the boutique-style, we headed to one of your Deacon's other faves: Coyote's Run Estate Winery. Apart from having a totally lurch name, they actually do have coyotes on their property, but no roadrunners that I'm aware of. We were greeted warmly by President Jeff Aubry and his beautiful wife Patti who handles marketing and sales. Jeff is a very cool dude with an engineering degree in semi-conductors. As you know, the engineer drives the train and the conductor takes your ticket. I guess a semi-conductor only takes half your ticket but it's nice to know that Jeff can drive the train too, if he has to. He also has an MBA, but didn't answer when I asked "What in?". The wine was poured and as usual, your humble Deacon was very impressed with the skill of winemaker David Sheppard. I've always liked Ontario Cab Franc, and Coyote's Run makes an admirable product that reflects the essential character of this noble grape. As Jeff pointed out, Niagara Cab Franc has in a good year, a very distinctive flavour in the form of an herbaceous under-note that's reminiscent of mint or eucalyptus. Think of herb tea and you get the idea.

Tip: Coyote's Run '04 Cab Franc was very flavourful and well worth the coin. But watch out! Your humble Deacon is predicting that Coyote's Run '05 is gonna be a real bag-kicker (which is a good thing). The '04 worked out just fine, despite lousy weather. The '05 should show what this grape's really capable of doin'! I'll say it again for those homeys who are hard of hearing and for all you deff dix out there: Watch out for Coyote's Run '05 Cab Franc. You gonna thank the Deacon for this heads up. Also check out in the general listings section of your LCBO, the '05 Cabernet and also Coyote's Run '05 unoaked Chardonnay. You'll be glad you did. We also got to sample (and picked up a bottle of) Coyote's Run Bob Izumi Red. For those of you who don't know, Bob Izumi is the consummate Canadian fisherman. His signature wines reflect his committment to the environment and continuation of sport fishing in Ontario. Jeff wouldn't tell us what was in the Bob Izumi Red, but it burst with berries in both mouth and nose. We also grabbed a bottle of Coyote's Run '04 Riesling Icewine, certainly one of the best ever. Expect lots of apricot fruit flavours and warm, wild honey on the nose with a finish that goes on forever.

Here's the website:

http://www.coyotesrunwinery.com/index.html

Check out Coyote's Run Estate Winery. You won't be dissappointed. Say Wassup? to Jeff and Patti and tell them the Deacon sent you. This little winery's doin' great things. (It was Tony Aspler himself who put me on to them over a year ago, and he was right.)

We switched on Jeeves, the GPS and programmed in the coordinates for Creekside Estate Winery and our appointment with heavy effing hitter, Rob Power. We were runnin' a little late due to our extended stay visiting the Aubrys, but the welcome was warm, nonetheless.

We descended with Rob and Aussie winemaker, Craig into the depths of the Creekside cellar. The entrance is reminiscent of a bomb-shelter, which might be handy, the way the frickin' world is going! Anway...we all sat around an enormous table with dozens of glasses, and the wine pouring started, the Deaconess constantly telling me I'd had enough and had to drive. She forgot about the GPS though. The whole point of satellite navigation is you can drink all you want. All you have to do is focus on the road and do whatever it tells you. Any moron with even half a neuron can do that!

Rob was delightfully adult ADD; alternately opening and pouring bottles and climbing onto a precarious perch to syringe gorgeous sleepy reds from their barrel hibernation. (Note to Rozeen and the South Central Wine Posse: This is the only syringe you jokers need!) I greatly enjoyed the Creekside '05 Sauvignon Blanc, even though it was grassier than I'm used to. That's because the fresh-cut lawn aroma was balanced by a nice gooseberry tang and a touch of the tropics that's surprising for Niagara. We also sampled their '04 Shiraz which at first I didn't get at all. I'm a huge fan of the giant boom-box in your face, Down Under Shiraz. Creekside's didn't taste like that at all. But my Mentor Billy Munnelly straightened me out right away. He said "Who says the Australian version is the only correct one? This is what Shiraz tastes like in Niagara". He was right of course...By the way: I'll be writin' an article real soon about that wombat urine called Yellow Tail. For those of you who think the Deacon don't say nothin' bad, stay tuned...

Anyway...It was a fantastic two day extravaganza. We experienced fantastic hospitality and met some really kool people. Stay tuned for the Deacon's vist to Henry of Pelham and Penninsula Ridge...

You heard me.

Deacon Dr. Fresh

Winin' and dinin' with the Starz

Billy and the Deacon Descend on Niagara - Part 1!

Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Red!

Happy Summer, Homeys! Yo to Y'all and the usual special greetin' to all you couch-comfort, water spider, paper sack, tree surgeon, cracker Dix who keep tuning in, but still don't get it!

Your humble Deacon is online to bring you all the latest wine news that's fit to electronisize and get y'all up to amphetamine speed on my travels and triumphs...

A couple of daze ago, me and the Deaconess picked up the Deacon's mentor, Billy Munnelly, along with Billy's bodyguard Kato at a secret location in Toronto's West End. With the Deacon at the controls, and Jeeves, your Deacon's state of the art Garmin GPS handin' navigation, the Rolls Royce Silver Shadow rolled onto the Gardiner Expressway and we were Niagara bound!

The weather was fine and we roared to Jordan and our first planned stop of our 2 day wine wash. Cave Spring was the first winery on the list and the GPS took us right to their door, where we were greeted warmly by former Navy Seal, Tom Pennachetti, the VP of Marketing and Sales. Within a minute, we were ushered into a private (read "no mofos") tasting room and Tom began his informative and fascinating presentation. Now some of you know how much your Deacon loves Colio reds. I think their winemaker, Carlo Negri does a phenomenal job in creating lush, robust reds with Ontario grapes. Well let me say that the Italians have done it again, and I ain't only talkin' 'bout the World Cup...What Colio has done with reds, Cave Spring does with whites. These were truly some of the freshest, lurchest most indikative whites your humble Deacon has sampled in Ontario to date. (There's a strong German familial connexion with the Pennachettis, so they only have to find a Japanese winemaker and they've got the Axis Powers covered!) The Cave Spring '04 Riesling (Dry) VQA Niagara Penninsula was fine indeed. There was a little petrol on the nose as you'd expect from this grape and it was clean and racy. Even better was the Cave Spring '05 Riesling Reserve VQA Niagara Penninsula. This wine comes from 20 year old vines and is left on the lees for 3 months. It's drinkable now, but has great aging potential. I loved this wine! It's sparkling clean in the mouth, with an almost crystalline, piercing purity. Check it out at Vintages - a steal at only $17.95! Also look for Cave Spring '03 Chardonnay Reserve VQA Niagara Penninsula. Originating with 13 to 27 year old vines and fermentation in Hungarian oak, this is a beautiful example of what Niagara Chardonnay can be. At only $19.95 at Vintages, give this a chance over your usual Chard. You'll be impressed.

It was a great visit and we actually sampled 20 wines as the photograph attests. The whole Village of Jordan has been revitalized by the careful ministrations of the Pennachetti family, and Tom took us all out to lunch at their Tavern and Inn up the road. It was devilishly hot that day, so we actually drove the 400 yards. I had corned beef on rye with some of the best fries of my life, all washed down with some icy Cave Spring bubbly, which is a sparkling Pinot Noir; and a great antidote to the furnace outside. We all chowed down while Tom regaled us with tales of his military training at Paris Island and the 2,000 chin-ups he does every morning while hanging by his baby-fingers from a razor-sharp copper eavestrough, 30 feet above the ground. In return, I told a few stories about my night-time recon missions in the jungle of the Mekong Delta back in '72, and then the Deaconess recounted a particularly harrowing trip to the Winners store in Ancaster, when she couldn't find a thing she liked and was forced to leave empty handed.

We had to move on though; there were other places to see and people to visit. Billy had an appointment at Niagara College, so the Deaconess and I dropped him and Kato there and headed into Niagara-on-the-Lake to kill a couple of hours. NOTL was as hot as the rest of Ontario and my primary concern was avoiding dehydration and skin cancer. After wanderin' among the mofos and tourists for awhile, we drove back and picked up Billy and Kato. We was amazed at how fast time was flyin' and had many stops still to make. We programmed Stratus Winery into the GPS and were soon flyin' down the road again, Billy in a constant "discussion" with the satellite navigation, interspersed with the Deaconess "commenting" on my driving. I roared into the parking lot of Stratus, which was surprisingly empty. It was about 5:30 by now and they were obviously closed for the day. Kato, not to be denied Stratus' incredible offerings, rang the bell and pounded on the door. Once they saw it was both Billy Munnelly and the Deacon, the red carpet was rolled out and we were greeted by our hostess, the lovely and lurch Director of Hospitality and Retail, Suzanne Janke. (Note: That's Janke, not "jank"!) We were ushered into a private tasting room in the ultra-lurch, ultra-cool, ultra stratispheric Stratus Winery. The four of us sat with Suzanne and J.L. Groulx, the Albert Einstein of Wine, in both appearance and ability. J.L. specializes in "assemblage", the art of blending whatever grapes did well that year, and creating unique whites and reds that will vary greatly in composition, every year. Suzanne gave us some 2005 Wild Ass Riesling that was absolutely electrifying and a steal at 19 bucks. (Wild Ass is the Stratus series that nestles just a level below their ultra-premium Ontario wines.) We also sampled the 2003 Wild Ass Red. It had nice acidity and at 19 bucks again, was another great deal, and I don't think I've ever heard an attractive blonde say the words "Wild Ass" so often, or so sensuously for that matter...I asked Suzanne who she'd fight in the Octagon, but she needs time to answer, since I stipulated it had to be someone in the wine industry and therefore couldn't be Bill Shatner, her first choice.

As usual, the Stratus wines were exsepshunal. My favourite was the Stratus '02 Riesling - an explosion of lime that hit the palate like a chilled butterfly knife! Despite the fabulous wines and cheeses and the great company and hospitality of Suzanne and J.L. Groulx, eventually it was time to leave. Suzanne walked us out to the Rolls and your humble Deacon donned his leopard skin hat and purple shades and blasted AC/DC as we roared out of the parking lot, causing Suzanne to double over with laughter.

We barrelled through the heat, the airconditioning on overdrive. Billy and Kato had made our plans for dinner and we headed to the restaurant where we were "expected".

The Stone Road Grille is situated at 17 Lower Canada Drive, Niagara-on-the-Lake. As soon as you approach, it strikes you like someone's made a horrible mistake. From the outside, it's nothing to speak of; sort of like the kind of place you find in a strip-mall in Scarlem. Once you step through the door, it all changes! The interior is cosy and colourful, with large original paintings and high-backed booths and tables. Billy was immediately recognized by the staff and some of the patrons and drew the usual rockstar attention that's typically reserved for the Deacon. Billy chose the wines, of course and much of the evening remains a pleasant blur. We started with some huge red cocktails that we didn't order; they just arrived. We followed with a very large half-litre of excellent Malivoire Rose and moved on from there to an Inniskillin '03 Pinot Noir Montague Vineyard. The food was truly amazing! Uber-Chef Ryan Crawford started us with appetizers, consisting of smoked salmon sushi, and then served us a gynormous charcuterie plate that included chicken liver mousse, smoked duck breast, cured Canadian pork lonzina, bison bresola, cranberries and stewed rhubarb, along with blackened cod and delicious duck confit. I think I can say without exaggeration, I was more completely stuffed than most of the shirts you see down on Bay Street. You HAVE to check this place out! It's one of the best meals I've had in the last year. Even the Deaconess loved it, and she's a food snob. Go have dinner at the Stone Road Grille and make sure you say the Deacon sent you. Here's their website:

http://www.stoneroadgrille.com/

Say "Hi" to the owners, Heidi and Perry who've done a great job in their 3 years runnin' the place. You'll love the attentive and hilarious staff too.

We paused for a photo-op with the staff, and then burst out into the refreshing relief of a much overdue Niagara downpour. It had been about 6,000,000 degrees all day, and the rain was very welcome, but made driving difficult. Billy attempted to get us back to the Inn in Jordan, but the torrential, near monsoon rains and pitch darkness made it difficult. After nearly knocking over a skinny black dude in a suit who sat playing a beat up guitar while he waited for someone at the crossroads, I decided to turn on the GPS again, despite protests from Billy. It locked onto the American military satellites within about 20 seconds and flawlessly directed us to our hotel. Perhaps we had too much wine, because the computerized voice seemed to have taken to mocking Billy's Irish brogue.

We arrived at the Inn quite late, but thanks to Tom, they had waited up for us and were still holding our rooms. The receptionist handed us flashlights, "just in case" which kind of creeped me out. The Inn and Tavern go back to the 1840's, and as we crept up the stairs in the storm, I prepared to deal with any Empire Loyalist ghosts via my usual method: a punch to the face. We retired to our respective rooms and the Deaconess and I were pleasantly surprised. Our accom was very pleasant and equipped with an air bath, decorative fireplace, flatscreen tv and most importantly, an airconditioner. There was a brief moment of terror when the power went out and the smoke detector screamed like a banshee. Otherwise the night passed quietly, the only phantom being a youngish Empire Loyalist woman in a bonnet who was writing letters at our desk with a quill pen. She was quiet though and ignored us, so I left her to finish her correspondance.

Morning came quickly and was shockingly bright. Breakfast was included and the Deaconess and I enjoyed a pleasant walk to Inn on the Twenty. After dining on delicious pastries, Kenyan AA coffee (arguably better than Jamaican Blue Mountain or the insanely overpriced Hawaiian Kona), juice, fruit, and Eggs Benedict, we walked back to the hotel to pack and check out. As we were loading the Rolls, a tallish, good-looking man with perfect teeth and glasses approached and asked me "Are you a shrink?" It was an unusual question, and I slipped safety off the Glock in my pocket and answered that I wasn't. "Are you the Deacon then?" came the thoughtful response. I said that I was, and he introduced himself. To my relief, it wasn't a hitman or psychiatric patient. It was Cave Spring's grape-grower, and the Wizard of the Beamsville Bench, Len Pennachetti. He was as welcoming to the four of us as Tom had been, and we expressed our gratitude for the excellent wines, accommodation and wonderful hospitality of Cave Spring and the Pennachetti family

Here's a thought: Buy some Cave Spring white wine! You'll be glad you did.

I packed the Deaconess, Billy and Kato into the Silver Shadow Rolls and left the overly sarcastic and argumentative GPS turned off for Billy's sake. And then we were on the road again, doin' what we do best: Bibbin' fine wine and stuffin' our stomachs with amazing food.

You heard me.

Part 2 to follow...

Deacon Dr. Fresh

Visitin' wineries so you can stay at work and not have to...

The Deacon and Deaconess Dine with the Dean and Deborah!

Yo Homeys, Hoze and Winebibbers!

Wassup?

And a real special "Hi, and Bite me!" to all you crackerdine moisture-missile donut-gobblin' cedar brains who still just don't get it, but tune in regularly anyway just to find out what His Excellency has been doin' and what starz he's been sayin' wassup to!

Now perhaps you're wonderin' exactly what category you fit into...Y'all might be thinkin' "Am I a homey or a crackerwood peckerdine? I'm not sure..." Well honey, if y'all gots to axe a question like that, rest assured you'ze a mofo bagscratch saltine crackerwater and there aint no hope for you!

Some of y'all have had a little trouble with the Deacon's rich wine argot, so I direct all you newcomers to my Unabridged Dictionary to bring y'all up to speed. Check it out while you still gots a brain cell left...

http://deacondictionary.blogspot.com/2005_11_01_deacondictionary_archive.html

Now the update:

A few weeks back your humble Deacon attended an invitation only dinner at the Aspler Mansion. The Deaconess was as up about it as I was, 'cause a free barbecue will always get the Deacon's attention; besides, she was eager to meet Pinot the Wonder Dog, the Aspler's expeshully lurch Wheaton Terrier. It was a balmy evening, so I decided to take the Aston Martin. I didn't want to arrive too early, as I knew the Dean was gonna be flyin' in from BC where he'd been givin' some lurch and timely advice to the homeys on the coast. Fortunately, we arrived pretty much simultaneously, which for the illiterate crackers means "at the same moment in time". We had a real lurch dinner! Tony's lovely and elegant wife Deborah whipped up a ton of food in short order. We sat out on the deck and consumed delicious, rich tapenade with fresh breads and Sumac Ridge Pinnacles Brut 2000, a very clean, sharp and refreshing bubbly. Tony fired up the barbecue and I sat in the shade, alternately watching Tony expertly battling the 3 foot flames and Pinot the Wonder Dog wandering in and out of a neighbour's house. We hastened indoors for the main course, and I could go on and on about the delicious dinner served in impeccably decorated surroundings, the Mountain Road Barrel-Fermented Chardonnay 2002 and Arrowood Grand Archer Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 from Sonoma, but what's the point? Y'all gets the idea. It was an amazing evening, the Deacon and Deaconess were invited, and you weren't.

But here's the point of the update:

Tony's just completing his most ambitious book yet; and it's one you crackers and homeys alike, have gots to grab a copy of. As you can see from the picture on this posting, its a wine atlas. And note that it's not an atlas of Napa or Tuscany or Bordeaux. It's a Wine Atlas of Canada! I'm tellin' y'all, I got a good look at the proofs for this baby and it's the real deal. As my loyal readers know, the wine industry is exploding in Canada and it's almost impossible to keep up on who's growin' what and whether it's lurch or jank! Well, the Dean has risen to the challenge and has gathered a plethora of fantastic information to make the formidable Canadian Wine Scene comprehensible to even the most jaded jankbucket. This veritable tome is richly illustrated and a delight to browse. It will make a great addition to any budding winemaster's cappuccino table. Look for The Wine Atlas of Canada (published by Random House) in stores on October 28th. That's just in time to make a great Hallowe'en gift, or stock up in time for Christmas! Y'all check it out. I know I will.

Thanks Tony and Deborah. Your humble Deacon will reciprocate. Either dinner or lunch or a book on armlocks and neckcranks.

This just in...Your Deacon has received notification from "a usually reliable source" that the LCBO are gonna outsource their infoline to Bombay! From now on, when you call (416) 365-5900 you'll be rappin' with a dude or dudette in India. I ain't sayin' this is good or bad. I'm just sayin' it's so. The operators are being chosen for their ability to sound Canadian, with an affected Ottawa Valley or Owen Sound accent being the preference.

You heard it here first.

Another tidbit for you: What's hip-shakin' Latina babe Shakira up to these days? Your Deacon has it on very good authority that she can be found waitressing at Amaretto Restaurant in Stouffville. Don't take my word for it. Check her out for yourself. She works Friday night for sure.

http://mygourmetguide.com/index.cgi?/Canada/ON/Whitchurch-Stouffville/Amaretto_Restaurant1072716946.html

You heard me.

Deacon Dr. Fresh

Bringin' the only wine-news that matters and ejucatin' the masses