The Gouda Life

Celebrate Italian Culture, Food & Wine at La Vendemmia!

Today is another small departure from business-as-usual around here. But fret not, it’s for a very good reason!

If you’re new to Ottawa or perhaps living under a rock and haven’t ventured into the newly beautified Little Italy, you’re missing some of the cities best culinary vendors, markets and shops. This September marks their 15th anniversary and the Preston Street BIA is hosting their annual event to celebrate La Dolce Vita!

[photo courtesy of foodiePrints]

La Vendemmia is a 4-day culinary festival held on Preston Street celebrating the traditional Italian grape harvest. As is customary with Ottawa’s La Vendemmia, the harvest festival will feature a vast array of free and ticketed events including cooking demos, food & wine seminars, wine tastings that will celebrate the wines of Italy, and, because no Italian festival is complete without one, a traditional grape stomp with 100% of proceeds going to support the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation.

As previously mentioned, Little Italy is home to some of the cities most vibrant venues ranging from high-end restaurants to traditional trattorias to cozy pubs and lounges, many of them family-owned for generations.

[Photo courtesy of Stoneface Dolly’s]

Kicking off the events tomorrow is the ever-popular Movable Feast. Groups of 12 will make their way up Preston stopping in at different Italian and International Restaurants where chefs and owners will have their signature dishes prepared just for you. Each dish will be accompanied by a glass of wine that’s been thoughtfully chosen by the Saavy Company’s team of Sommeliers to pair perfectly with your dish. For ticket information, please click here.

[Photo courtesy of foodiePrints]

While I recommend making an effort to attend all the exciting events at La Vendemmia, I especially wish you’d visit on Sunday for the Satko Corporation’s Grape Stomp Sunday September 25th at 11am to help raise money for the Cancer Foundation. Last years event raised over $19,000 to help fund research and for those of us who have had our lives touched by cancer, we know that every cent counts. For more information on how you can sponsor teams (and might I put my vote in for Team foodiePrints) please click here. If you can’t support the stomp financially, they are just as pleased to see your smiling faces supporting the cause in person and cheering the teams along as they stomp grapes to stomp out cancer!

[Photo courtesy of foodiePrints]

Another very awesome event to check out is the Divino 20-20-20 on Friday September 23rd from 6-9:30pm. This event celebrates the wine, culture and cuisine of Italy’s 20 regions. With each region comes a bite of authentic regional cuisine with Chef Cristiano Lepore, an overview of the region with DiVino’s owner Antonio Mauriello, and a 1oz wine tasting of an authentic grape with wine director Eric Diotte. Repeated..you guessed it, 20 times!

Divino Wine Studio will also be hosting an olive oil tasting on Sunday, September 25, 2011 2pm to 5pm where you can get an in depth look (and taste!) of oils from different regions while you chat with producers and experts to understand the different cultivars, flavours and price points.

[Photo courtesy of foodiePrints]

That’s just a small taste of what you can expect at this year’s La Vendemmia Italian Harvest Festival. We hope you’ll join us all in celebrating La Dolce Vita with friends old and new, a glass of wine and a bite (or 10) to eat!

[Photo courtesy of foodiePrints]

For more information please see the following links:
http://savvycompany.ca/team/?tag=la-vendemmia
http://lavendemmiaottawa.com/

Buon appetito!