Vineland Estates Winery Restaurant

My girlfrend and I are from the area and had never gotten around to visiting Vineland Estates until last night. The patio on a warm summer evening is incredible. The view streches to the lake and the rolling hills of vines frame the scene beautifully. Truly, this was by far the most impressive aspect of our dinner. We ordered the 5 course tasting menu with classic wine pairings... $110/ person so I would expect the kitchen to try to wow you. 1st: Micro greens, house-smoked trout, cherry tomato, snap pea, local berries. 2009 dry riesling pair. Greens were fresh but not seasoned. Trout was lacking in portion size (about half an ounce crumbled into small bits under the greens), but tasty. Good balance of salt in the trout with the wine (which was a little citrusy for a dry riesling). The half cherry tomato and unpeeled snap pea seemed a little out of place. 2nd: 2 small prawns on sauteed snap peas, cherry tomatoes (deja vu?), and shallots. Seasoning was good but the dish was very one dimensional as there was so much butter and not enough acid. Hoping for the next course has some colour or some kind of unique finish. 2010 unoaked chardonnay paired (which we enjoyed on its own but it didn't merry with the dish) 3rd: Seared lamb loin and lamb sausage on cippollini onion jam. It seemed odd to serve lamb as a 3rd course but both were prepared properly and were definately our favourite proteins of the meal. There was no sauce on the plate which again made it seem very one dimensional and not well thought out. The jam was very sweet as well, with a mushy consistancy that bordered on unpleasant. 09 Merlot paired. It was an odd pairing with the lamb. 4th: Sous Vide pork tenderloin with asparagus, stiff polenta cake, grilled zucchini and yellow pepper. No sauce on the plate and the pork was sliced tinhly so the plate wasn't hot enough to hold heat on the pork as it was brought to the table, so the outside was chilled by the time it reached us. No sear on the park after it;s waterbath, making it one texture without enough caramelized meat flavour. The polenta cake was dry and weakly seasoned. The veg (although well cooked and seasoned) seemed out of place without thought put into all flavours. 2010 cab merlot paired. Should have been paired with the last course and vice versa. 5th: Strawberry balsamic tira misu with strawberry pearls. The pearls had too much agar in them making the texture a little stiff but flavour was there. The dessert tasted like it had been sitting in the fridge for a while as the vinegar and overly-sugary filling had already made the biscuit inside turn to mush. late varvest vidal paired. The wine pours were generous. We only wish the food could have said the same. I peeked in the kitchen after the meal and saw 6 cooks including the chef! it was not busy...we were one of 5 tables there for over 2 hours! This was what blew my mind. The dishes really fell short in all categories and after seeing the number of bodies in the kitchen, I was very disappointed. All in all the portions were that of a 7 course meal rather than a 5. we left hungry and had to eat when we got home. Will not be back as it is too expensive for what you get.

Perfect End to a Day of Wine Tasting

We ended a day of wine touring at Vineland Estates. We were very pleased with the food. I had the tasting menu which consisted of a salad, squash soup (quite possibly the best soup I’ve ever had!), grilled shrimp on couscous, strip loin with vegetables and potatoes, and meringue with fruit compote (which I thought was rather ho hum). It was truly a “fine” dining experience and worth the $75 price tag. Others in our party had the pork tenderloin, the veal chop, among other things. Everyone was happy with their meal. I give the food 4 out of 5 only in relation to other restaurants at this price level, I can’t say it was the best I have ever had. The service was fine, but nothing special. The setting is beautiful; it would be fun to eat out on the patio under the tree. A very nice dining experience over all.