Wineing . . .

I never liked wine . . . I was a beer person, until my son suggested one day, that the reason I didn’t like wine, was because of the 'crap' wine that Regis drank. He suggested that I should try a nice robust red wine instead of the sweet bubbly stuff Regis favoured. He was right, and once I tasted nice Shiraz, Cabs, or Malbecs, I found I did actually like wine. Now, my son and I do not agree completely on wine . . . He thinks I buy cheap wine, and I must admit, I find it hard to spend too much on a bottle of wine. Where I look for the sales or interesting labels , he goes for the slightly higher levels in vintages. On one of his trips to Dartmouth, a case of wine arrived at our door prior to his visit, so he would have “his wine” when he got there. This system works out pretty well, because with both of us purchasing bottles, the wine rack is always well stocked. And I do get to taste some of his “better” wine from time to time, but I still do not notice any real difference. 

That bottle is empty

I like coming to visit here in Toronto, because the wine in the LCBO outlets are all a couple of dollars cheaper than in Nova Scotia because of lower taxes, and I can usually find bottles unavailable back home. There is one particularly nice LCBO location in a restored train station with an amazing selection of wines from all over the world that I like to visit at least once every trip. During this visit to Toronto I bought a case of wine there with a nice variety of interesting reds, whites and bubbly (for Regis). Back at the condo, I unpacked my purchases and put them in a wine rack that Ryan was not using. 

Then at dinner a couple of evenings later I pulled out a bottle to have with our meal. I checked the label, a 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, but as I had bought a number of bottles, I also checked with Ben if it was one of mine or his. He assured me that it was not one he bought so I opened it and tasted it - a very nice cab, and poured glasses for myself and Ben. Ben uses a wine app on his phone to record wines he has tasted so he took a photo of the label to enter this bottle into his records. As he looked at the reviews, he said “That’s odd, the app says this wine is worth $45?”. I immediately apologized for opening one of ‘their’ wines, but Ben insisted he had not bought this one, and I knew I certainly had not chosen a $45 bottle of wine. I decided to check the LCBO receipt to be sure, and there it was . . . somehow I had picked up the wrong bottle and put it in my cart. It was not actually $45 but was still $41.95. I will admit I am not very careful about checking my receipts so I had not noticed the total was higher than normal, as there were also some very inexpensive wines in the case. 

OOPS

As Ben and I were laughing at my mistake, we both refilled our glasses and when Ryan got to the table and found out we were enjoying a $42 bottle of wine, he was very willing to accept a glass as well. And, I do actually think that it was a bit better than my normal $20 bottles.  

The Maple Leaf Gardens

As a proud Canadian, I apologize for my lack of interest in our National sport of Hockey. As a young fellow, most of my friends were devoted hockey fans, so I felt I really should be a fan. I tried to watch the games and develop an interest in it, but I just could not find much to interest me. I have been able to develop an interest in football, and by helping coach my daughter’s softball teams, I did learn to like the intricacies of baseball and fastball . . . . . .but hockey not so much . . . . . sorry! 

BUT, this post is about a proud hockey institution, the Maple Leaf Gardens. This famous hockey arena was built on the corner of Carlton St and Church St. In 1931 to provide a place to seat the Toronto Maple Leafs’ many fans. It became the home to the team for over 60 years from 1931 to 1999 when the team moved to the Scotiabank Arena. 

The gardens under construction in 1931

When my son and his partner purchased a condo in downtown Toronto I discovered that it was just blocks from this historical institution. I was however, surprised to discover that it is now a Loblaws grocery store. Like many “historical” buildings this one was converted to a more current use but the original facade was maintained. Apparently there are still multi-use sports facilities on an upper level that is used by Ryerson University, but the main section of the building is now a grocery store with a LCBO and a clothing store above it. It is a large, attractive well designed grocery store but it is odd to enter the old Maple Leaf Gardens to buy your milk and bread.

 The main entrance to the store is interesting in that they have left the inside of the original facade in place so you can see some of the original colours and the outline of the seating areas. As well, above a nice new escalator taking you up to the LCBO they have attached a jumble of the seats from arena in the shape of a huge blue maple leaf, and scattered throughout the store are murals and signs displaying information about the original facility.

Unfortunately, the only ice to be found is keeping the seafood fresh, and the only leaves are green in the form of vegetables. 

Lots of old seating - now a maple leaf

A mural all about the old Gardens

The main entrance to the store

One of the information plaques

Loblaws Grocery Store

The Original Facade