Join Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson for a magnificent harvest experience. Enjoy breakfast aboard a private train from Toronto’s Union Station as we travel to one of Canada’s notable vineyards at the award-winning Tawse Winery, nestled in the gentle slopes of their 32-acre vineyard, where we will all pretend that we’re wine makers for a few hours! Renowned Chef David Lee, of Nota Bene and Splendido, will prepare a gourmet Vintner’s Lunch alongside the handcrafted Tawse vintages. Participate in the excitement of a silent auction and other special surprises at the winery while experiencing some of the finest wines produced in this region. This is an informal yet intimate event where your love for wine will benefit the humanitarian actions of Grapes for Humanity.

This exclusive event is limited to 50 people.

Date: Round trip departs Union Station at 9am Saturday Sept 26th – return trip late afternoon
Tickets: (Tax receipts provided*)
Donate $750 per person and get the Full Monty! (Includes train travel, winemaking, lunch, wine and more!)
Donate $1000 and be Alex Lifeson’s BFF for the day (Include BFF t-shirt, photo-op and sit at his table for lunch!)
Donate $1500 or more and be invited to an additional private tasting with Alex and Geddy

Here is Tony Aspler’s blog report on Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson’s Grapes Under Pressure Harvest Picnic at Tawse Winery:

The Grapes Under Pressure Team

Saturday, September 26: Up at 6:45 am to walk Pinot the Wonder Dog and grab a quick breakfast before taking the subway down to Union Station. Have to be there by 8:30 am for Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson’s Grapes Under Pressure Tour for Grapes for Humanity.

A series of volunteers, each wearing a wine-stained T-shirt, guide us to the VIA Rail lounge. Fifty of us are given “backstage passes” in order to board a train that will take us to Grimsby, where we are picked up by buses to drive to Tawse winery in Vineland for a harvest picnic.

The train to Grimsby

When we arrive at the winery (the driver got lost) we are handed a glass of Gaston Chiquet Champagne 1999 and are given T-shirts and ballcaps with the Grapes Under Pressure logo. Moray Tawse welcomes us and introduces the group to winemaker Paul Pender and consultant Pascal Marchand. We are divided into two groups for a tour of the vineyard, where we harvested Chardonnay for Tawse’s sparkling wine. The Mexican pickers who come up every year can harvest 7 to 8 11-kilo boxes of grapes an hour. When we get ours to the sorting table Morey says, “Is that all you got? 12 boxes?” We then take a turn at the sorting table to weed out leaves and unripe grapes.

A decision is taken to lunch outdoors although rain had been threatened in the forecast. A silent auction has been set up on the patio, including such items as a bass guitar autographed by Geddy, “2 hour doubles game with world No. 1 ranked doubles players Daniel Nestor and Geddy Lee,” as well as a week stay for four couples at Villa Via Monte in Argentina (donated by Anne Sperling and Peter Gamble).

Amateur Sorters

Over lunch, Alex Lifeson takes the mic to encourage auction bids with an impromptu and hysterically funny rap performance. Chef David Lee of Nota Bene prepared a terrific lunch: slow whole roasted vine fed Tawse spring lamb with chilled ratatouille, served with Tawse Robyn’s Block Chardonnay 2004, followed by Cumbrae Farms rib eye steak with pommes purée, with Tawse 17th Street Pinot Noir 2007 and Tawse Cabernet Franc Wismer Vineyard 2007 (which had just won the gold medal at the Canadian Wine Awards). Dessert: strawberry sorbet with chilled Icewine, served with Tawse Late Harvest Barrel Fermented Chardonnay 2008. Just as we are about to board the buses to take us back to Grimsby station the rain starts. The god of wine smiled on us. More 1999 champagne on the bus before boarding the train back to Toronto. A highly successful and very entertaining day.

Chef David Lee and Geddy Lee

Ana and Donald Ziraldo and Melissa Prusky

Moray Tawse scores an auctioned bass guitar

Alex Lifeson rapping