Taste cultivates big hit with first Farm and Artisan Market

A few thousand visitors celebrated Taste the County’s 10th annual gastronomic adventure Saturday.
Set against the backdrop of Picton’s historic Crystal Palace, it’s a feast for the senses that emphasizes locally grown and handcrafted fare. Visitors Mingled with chefs, winemakers and merrymakers while mouthwatering aromas tempted their taste buds and the sounds of live music filled the air. This year will also featured a Farm & Artisan Market featuring the finest local vegetables, meat and artisanal products alongside regionally-made crafts, body care, home and garden products.
This year more than 60 booths included 19 restaurants, eight specialty food providers and 20 wineries pouring more than 60 wines from the Prince Edward County DVA – Ontario’s newest Designated Viticultural Area. More than 2,000 visitors attend the event each year. A host of week-long programming continues.
Events include:
– Harvest Experience Tours at The Grange Friday, September 23 to Monday, September 26 Tours at 12pm and 4pm at The Grange of Prince Edward Vineyards and Estate Winery
www.grangeofprinceedward.com
– The Shape and Colour of Music at Oeno Gallery – Friday Sept. 23 7:30 pm, 2274 County Rd. 1, Bloomfield.  Music in the Gallery: Supernova String Quartet

Beethoven: Quartet in C major, opus 59 no 3 Sokolovic: Blanc dominant, for string quartet  Ravel: String Quartet. Also showing new work by Sylvain Louis-Seize
– Wine & Food Pairing in the Huff Estates Vineyard Friday, Sept. 23 at Huff Estates Winery and Inn. www. huffestates.com. Learn about wine and food pairings with our sommelier Brian Hanna all amongst the vines at Huff Estates! Cost is $10/person
– Art, Wine, and Song Saturday, Sept. 24 3pm to 6pm at Oeno Gallery
Sylvain Louis-Seize: New landscape paintings. Huff Estates launches Sculpture Series Sauvignon Blanc, paired with Fifth Town cheeses. Special musical guests in the sculpture garden 4-5 pm.
Full listing of the week’s events here: http://www.tastecelebration.ca/weeklong.html

The new Farm and Artisan Market set up Saturday in the Curling Club celebrated ‘regionally made, regionally grown’ specialty foods, meat, fruits, vegetables, cookbooks, artisans, home and garden products. The market, sponsored by the Waupoos Winery, also featured seminars on fall gardening with Vicki Emlaw, of  Vicki’s Veggies; a cheese seminar with Stepanie Diamant, of the Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Company and Composting Conundrums with David Riley. Proceeds from products purchased at the Harvestin’ The County booth were donated to the Picton food bank – thanks to donations from local farmers, Slow Food Prince Edward and Farm Credit Canada.

“Taste! continues to improve with age,” says Grace Nyman, director of partnership and sales, at Taste The County, the organizational body behind the event. “Guests were encouraged to bring their own plate, or purchase a reusable plate on site. We have a stronger focus on composting and recycling and our vendors will be encouraged to creatively use zero waste presentation. all of these efforts will contribute to the overall eco-footprint of the event.”
This year, programming has been extended to include five days of wine, food and art events from Friday, Sept. 23 to Wednesday, Sept. 28. A multitude of wine tours, live entertainment, book readings and art exhibits are being featured.
Taste! is again named a ‘Top 100 Festival’ by Festivals and Events Ontario. isVisit www.tastecelebration.ca or call 613-393-2796.