Lynn River Farm

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Last evening (Thursday) the local Beefsteak and Burgundy wine club (St Marys Stonetown #227) held an evening members and guests dinner event outside at Lynn River Farm. The location is slightly north and east of Stratford not too far from Shakespeare. A big yellow school bus had been chartered to get us safely there and back  as we don't want any DUI drivers. There were a little less than 20 of us; we would have liked to have a few more.

There had been a similar event here last year. I'm not sure how/why I missed that one. In any case, although the weather leading up to the event had been cool, it was a lovely warm night for us (last year it had been quite cool). We ate outside under a tent overlooking a pond (actually a gravel pit that had filled in with water). There was a small sail boat docked on the water. There's some livestock wandering about, including some geese, and some turkeys penned up/fenced in. It's a well tended rural environment that handles special events. It's advertised as a "Countryside Dining Experience".

As the evening progressed we saw a hot air balloon pass by in the distance and enjoyed a clear night with a lovely orange sunset. 

We had a lovely 4 course dinner prepared on site with locally grown ingredients. Each course had a matching wine our wine steward for the club (Jere) had selected. For the main course, a lasagna pasta, a red wine was served blind and the game was to determine what the wine was, what it cost, etc. Tom had select the wine which turned out to be a reasonably priced Chianti Classico Reserva by Melini which matched well with the pasta. I guessed that it was a Sangiovese, didn't catch that it was a Reserva, and therefore missed out on the price point. The winner of the game is tagged to do the same at next years event — i.e., he would have to select a wine and speak to it next year.

For the dessert our president Claire had selected a brandy that he thought was particularly tasty and a good value. I'm not usually a brandy drinker, but he was right on both counts.

One of the very nice things about the location and the evening was the ability to have a conversation not only with your immediate neighbors but also with chums across the table and further away. Many times restaurants are far too noisy to be able to have a conversation — flat walls echo noise, music is cranked up, etc. Outside at the farm conversation flowed easily.

With Jere's help here's the menu and wine pairings we had that night

• We started with a Burrata Board served with dry Tawse Sparkling Riesling (Vintage 370361): homemade sourdough and focaccia; whipped herb butter; fresh burrata with hot honey; fresh tomatoes and ground cherries from the garden with balsamic carrot top pesto.
• Salad course was Roasted Honey & Lentil Salad served with VQA Burnt Ship Bay Sauvignon Blanc (LCBO 517185)
• Entree course was a Sausage & Beef Lasagna, home made pasta, on a alfredo and pesto sauce. Served (blind) with the Melini Chianti Classico Reserva (as above) and an Antinori Pèppoli Chianti Classico (Vintages 606541)
• Dessert course was a sticky toffee pudding with a homemade hone ice cream. Served with a brandy (as above)

I recall the Burnt Ship Bay being particularly impressive and good value. The meal was excellent with lots of locally sourced products. 

Many thanks to Lynn River Farm, Claire, Jere, Tom and others for organizing a great evening. I'll be back ...