Upcoming wine events in Berkshire County

Berkshire County is, once again, home to some incredible wine dinners at reasonable prices. As spring approaches and cabin fever is at its peak, wine dinners, like new leaves, begin to sprout.

On Thursday, Feb. 28, Alta Restaurant and Wine Bar, at 34 Church St. in Lenox (413-637-0003), will host a wine dinner focusing on wines from Alsace. Jim Kowalyshyn will speak about the Trimbach wines he will be pouring.

The dinner costs $55 per person and starts at 6 p.m. Contact Aurelien Telle at Alta to reserve your seat.

The menu consists of Flammekueche (carmelized onions and equinox arugula) paired with Trimbach Pinot Blanc 2008;  foie gras and duck confit terrine with juniper and dried plum jam and sesame tuile paired with Trimbach Pinot Gris, Reserve 2008; crispy-skin Atlantic salmon with stuffed savoy cabbage and sorrel sauce paired with Trimbach, Cuvee, “M,” 2008; fried walnut brie with sauteed pear and equinox arugula salad paired with Trimbach Pinot Noir Reserve 2010; and Linzer Torte carmelized pineapple, ginger, Tahitian vanilla and coconut sorbet paired with a Trimbach Gewurztraminer 2009.

Stockbridge event

On Saturday, March 2, Nejaime’s Wine Cellar will host a sit-down wine and cheese tasting at the Red Lion Inn. Donna Hutchinson will be presenting nine wines from Cynthia Hurley’s wine portfolio from 6-8 p.m. at the Hitchcock room of the Red Lion Inn.

Guests will taste three flights of three wines paired with exceptional cheeses from Nejaime’s. The cost for the event is $35 and spaces can be reserved by calling (413) 298-3454.

The first flight begins with wines from the Loire Valley: Lavigne Samur Blanc 2010, Domaine Vigneau Chevreau Vovvray “Cuvee Silex” 2010 and Couly Dutheil Chinon Blanc Les Chanteaux 2011.

The wines will be  paired with two cheeses, Crottin de Champool from the Loire Valley and Bonne Bouche from Vermont, and Olli Wild Boar Salame (Virginia).

Flight two focuses on Burgundy. The wines consist of: Eric de Suremain Rully Rouge “Preaux” 1er Cru, 2009, Paul Garaudet Monthelie “Cuvee Paul” 2010 and Chateaux de Chorey Choey-les-Beaune 2009.

The wines will be paired with cheese from Burgundy, Epoisse and Hudson Red from Ghent, NY., and salami, ‘Framani Salametto’ from California by Chef Paul Bertolli.

The final flight features wines from Bordeaux: Chateau la Roncheraie ‘Sereine’2005 Cotes de Castillon, Chateau Puy Galland 2010 Cotes de Frances and Chateau Biston Brillante 2009 Moulis, Medoc.

The wines will be paired with Mousse Pate de Fois Gras; Grafton Bear Hill sheep’s milk cheese from Vermont; Ossau Iraty, sheep’s milk cheese from France; and Guillame et Lesgards Black Cherry fruit spread handmade for sheep’s milk cheeses.

These wine events help the consumer, my readers, to better understand wine and food pairings at their best. Exposure to special wines and pairings of gourmet food products is what this industry is about.

Berkshire County has numerous resources to purchase all of the wine and gourmet products that make entertaining successful.

Posted by Phillip Kampe on February 21, 2013. Filed under Columns,Food,Opinion,Wine and Beyond. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry