Gold standard

Winterport Winery has released Winter Gold, a fortified apple dessert wine made in an ice wine style. According to tasting notes, Winter Gold is “wonderfully smooth, with long lingering flavors of ripe fruit, vanilla and spices.” It pairs well with soft cheeses or a warm apple tart. The wine costs $21.59 and is available at the winery on Route 1A in Winterport. Quantities are limited. For information, visit www.

winterportwinery.com or call 223-4500.

A delightful meal

Culinary Delights, the restaurant at United Technologies Center, will offer its last lunch of the season from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday. The end of the year buffet, prepared by culinary arts students, features pasta salad, cheese taquitos with salsa, yellowfin and vegetable sushi, soup, salad, French fries, risotto, barbecue pulled pork, roasted Italian sausage and chicken Alfredo over pasta, focaccia and assorted desserts, all for $7. UTC is located at 200 Hogan Road in Bangor. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. For information, call 942-5296.

Friendly fiddleheads

Next time you prepare this beloved springtime delicacy, remember this: There’s a reason why fiddleheads are usually served boiled beyond recognition. Eating raw or undercooked ostrich fern fronds could result in a very upset stomach. This doesn’t occur in every case, and most reference books state that they’re OK to eat in all preparations. However, the official Health Canada Web site states, “fresh fiddleheads must be properly cooked before being consumed.” Public health officials have yet to find a cause, but they believe an unidentified natural toxin could be responsible for sporadic outbreaks of fiddlehead-related food poisoning, the earliest of which was reported in 1994. Health Canada recommends washing fiddleheads in several changes of water, then boiling for 15 minutes or steaming for 10 to 12 minutes, or until tender. For information, visit www.hcsc.gc.ca and search for “fiddleheads.”

Tidbits is hungry for news about local food products and events. Send your Tidbits by mail to: Bangor Daily News, attn: Kristen Andresen, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402-1329; by fax to 941-9476; or by e-mail to kandresen@bangor

dailynews.net.