On Sept. 26, Restaurant International hosted its first wine dinner event of the season with a full house of eager wine tasters.
Located in the H-building you will find Restaurant International, one of the few places you can go on campus to make it seem like you no longer at school.
John Keane, a member of the Restaurant International team, mentioned that these wine dinner events are quite popular.
“We have people of all ages coming in to enjoy the wine tasting, from staff to students, and often our regulars,” he said that many come to enjoy Algonquin’s fine dining, even as outsiders to the school.
During this event, the tables were seated in groups of 10 or more in a family-style dining experience. This made it easy to make some new friends — especially with the wine’s help.
While the wine dinner itself is both inexpensive and gives a break from the everyday college food one would expect from campus life, it also gives students the chance to enjoy a five-star meal, with a one-star price.
Coordinator for the sommelier program, Marie-France Boudreault-Champagne, mentioned that the dinner series started last spring to give the culinary students and the hospitality students the chance to gain more experience with a busier environment.
“The difference is that every table has their own sommelier student to join you and your friends to talk about the wineries,” Champagne said. “Winemaking techniques and the wine served for that night, it is truly a unique experience for such a low price,” Champagne said.
Greg Nyman, a recent graduate of the sommelier program, who has since then turned into an instructor, gave the lesson for the evening. He talked about the basics of wine tasting, such as the winemaking, the storage of it, the flavours and smell and how it’s paired with the food.
Once the night has come to an end, one can expect to know just enough about wine to have a good idea as to which wine will pair best with dinner for your family’s Thanksgiving.
The next dates for the wine dinner event are Oct. 19 and 20. These newly established events feature a different, more premium evening. This is a regular-style setting where everyone has their own table for themselves and their friends.
Plus, $50 for eight glasses of wine and four courses, it’s a bargain of its own.