I had a blast at the Wine and Spirits Gala hosted by Local Connections Halifax the other night at the Halifax Club.
As soon as I entered, I was given a wine glass and a set of red and silver beads. The instructions were to give your red beads to the best food you’d eaten, and the silver beads to the best drink you’d sipped. Seemed easy enough at the start but I seriously had to mull it over before I crowned my winners.
My first stop was the Sweet Paradise Room, where Dee Dee’s Ice Cream, Scanway Catering, Ironworks Distillery, and Java Blend Coffee were located. Those who know me know how I much I love macaroons, so Scanway impressed me right off the bat with their macaroon pops. I tried the passion fruit, which was absolutely delicious. Ironworks Distillery had two cocktails prepped, so I tried the Au Courant, a black currant and ginger cocktail that was very tasty.
Then it was onto Dee Dee’s Ice Cream – which is my go-to for hot summer days. It was difficult to choose between White Wine, Pear Red Wine Sorbet, Blueberry Lemon Sorbet, and Vanilla, but I ultimately decided to go with the Blueberry Lemon Sorbet and it did not disappoint. I’ve yet to try an ice cream flavour at Dee Dee’s that I didn’t immediately love.
The Wolfville Magic Winery Bus Room was amazing because it was filled entirely with wine – it was also completely packed. There was a quartet performing as I milled around this room, which featured wine from four Wolfville vineyards: Luckett, L’Acadie, Domaine de Grand Pré, and Gaspereau. I did a lap around to try all the white wine, then a victory lap later to test the red. I’m not much of a wine drinker, but that room proved an excellent persuasion.
The Craft Brewer’s Room was next on my list: Boxing Rock Brewery, North Brewing, and Propeller Brewing were all on hand, as were Brooklyn Warehouse and The Stubborn Goat. I’m a beer novice, and given how Halifax seems to have become a craft beer haven in the past few years, I decided to try samplings from Propeller and Boxing Rock. I liked the Propeller sampling, but the Hunky Dory beer from Boxing Rock was great. I grew up about 30 minutes away from where Boxing Rock Brewery is located, so I appreciated the down-home touch. I decided to give my drink beads to Boxing Rock.
The food in the Craft Brewer’s Room was absolutely delicious. Brooklyn Warehouse had ramp crusted swordfish Carpaccio with vegetables on the side; and The Stubborn Goat had the most amazing grilled cheese I’d ever had, with Oulton’s smoked bacon, spiced apple compote and basil Greek Yogurt. I went back for seconds and then quickly gave my food beads to The Stubborn Goat.
The atmosphere was great inside The Halifax Club and it was packed with people edging in and out of rooms. This is definitely an event I could see myself going to year after year.
