What to know
- The event is free, drop-in, and unticketed.
- Local businesses are collaborating on special tomato-inspired dishes.
- A wine list will be available, with no corkage fee for bottles opened to stay.
- It’s all about celebrating Ontario’s tomato season at its peak.
Tomatoes and wine go hand in hand in so many of the world’s great food regions, and Ontario is no exception. With peak tomato season here, it’s the perfect time for a celebration and to pop a bottle — for free.
On Sunday, Aug. 2, Grape Witches is hosting a free, drop-in celebration dedicated to tomatoes and wine.
Why tomatoes deserve their own celebration
Working with local farm Broadfork Produce, the afternoon will feature tomatoes of every shape, colour and size, alongside a menu of limited-edition collabs with businesses near Grape Witches, including
- A four-foot tomato baguette sandwich from Robinson Bread.
- An exclusive tomato, basil & olive oil sorbet from Honey’s Ice Cream.
- Seasonal tomato dishes from Grape Witches’ resident chef, Rachel Booth.
- A by-the-glass wine list curated specifically to pair with fresh summer tomatoes.
Additional snacks are available for purchase.
Why is there an entire event dedicated to tomatoes?
Despite Grape Witches being a wine company, many of its wines and tomato products are the same. Ontario’s tomatoes are a favourite of the Grape Witches team, so they combined their fruit obsession with their work and made a tomato event, paired with wine.
“It’s such a luxury to be able to eat seasonal summer vegetables, and Ontario tomatoes when they’re at their peak season are like the most perfect fruit,” Lorein Codiamat, director of events and partnerships at Grape Witches, told Now Toronto.
“We thought, what a perfect way to celebrate it and knowing so many incredible wine regions in the world, tomatoes are a huge part of their cuisine,” she said.
For example, one dish combines the freshness of umami with the ripeness of tomatoes.
“We thought of an Austrian, really bright, round, fruited rose-orange to kind of pair with those in-between dishes as well,” Codiamat said.
What to expect at the event?
The unticketed event will feature two of Robinson’s breads: four-foot-long baguette-styled tomato sandwiches, which you can either have to stay or take away, a fountain pouring out red to remind you of tomato season, and more food and sweets throughout the experience.
If you enjoy any wine product and have a bottle to stay with it, the $20 corkage fee is removed.
“You get to enjoy all the beautiful retail and bottles at the retail pricing,” she explained.
Overall, the event is meant to lean into an Ontario summer.
“Enjoy incredible Ontario produce at the perfect peak season of it… and celebrate something as small as a tomato,” Codiamat said.
