On a recent visit to Applebee’s in Windsor it was nice to see that they are promoting some local wines. Table cards titled “Local Wine Features” were left on every table advertising Pinot Grigio and Merlot Reserve from Pelee Island Winery were available by the glass, litre, or bottle.
This is the first corporate type of restaurant that I am aware of locally that has made an attempt to offer local wines in their restaurant. I applaud them for doing this.
Applebee’s gets it while other corporate run restaurants are missing the boat. One of the main reasons I started the web site Essex Wine Review was on a visit to the downtown Windsor Keg I asked if they served any local wines. When I was offered the wine list the Keg believes that local wines come from the Niagara Region. They just don’t get it.
It was explained to me that the Keg’s wine list is set by head office out of Toronto and that while the local manager would love to serve wines from Essex County he couldn’t.
Just last evening (New Year’s Eve) on a last minute whim we decided to go out for dinner after a movie. Bed Time Stories with Adam Sandler was the movie in case you were wondering. Having no reservations on one of the busiest evenings of the year for restaurants left us with little choice. We decided to see if we could get into Tony Roma’s at the Devonshire Mall. We had been at the one in Banff and really enjoyed it.
It was busy there but our timing was good as they did have one cancellation and were able to seat us right away. The ribs were good, our server Ashley was fantastic but like the Keg, they do not offer any local wines. They also do not get it.
If anyone from the Keg or Tony Roma’s reads this and has enough power and sense to change this no local wines policy let me know and I will return to your restaurant. Until then, I am going to Applebee’s.
Happy New Year!
Gary Killops
2 Comments
Hello Gary,
I have been following your blog and site promoting LENS wines. I want to personally thank you for
creating this site and helping bring awareness to the great wines produced here in the great
region.
Also want to thank you for selecting Mastronardi’s Chardonnay as your xmas wine this year, knowing this makes
me and my MEW team very proud to be a part of your family celebrations. Also, thanks for
selecting MEW Cab Franc as January’s feature. FYI – That wine is on sale at the store and LCBO for
only $12.95/bottle.
I have one suggestion, if you could somewhere post a “contact us” section on your site where
an email would go directly to you would be awesome. Sometimes I have wanted to inform you
of various things that I know is happening around the region or at MEW that may help cross promote
what we are all doing.
In the meantime, keep up the great work and I look forward to meeting you on your next visit to the winery.
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Hi Eadie,
There are a few things I need to do to update the web site, thanks for your suggestion, i will add it to the list of things I need to do. promise I will get to it soon.
My EssexWineReview.com email is:
gary@essexwinereview.com
Thanks for the news that your Cab Franc is on sale at the LCBO and your winery retail store. What a great deal! Looks like I better pick up a few more bottles.
Your chardonnay was a big hit at our Christmas dinner. My sister who is ot a wine drinker tried it and really enjoyed it.
BTW, see the grapes pictures in the header of this blog …. that is a photo I took at your winery last summer at the annual SWOVA new released tasting event. What an event that was!
All the best!
Gary
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