The Whelk in Westport will start serving LUNCH on January 15th! Lunch will be served Wednesday, Thursdays, and Fridays 12pm-2:30.
Saturday January 11 is Step Out at Stepping Stones Museum.The wine and food tasting supports the museum’s educational initiatives. It includes the Melting Pot, Nicholas Roberts Fine Wines, The Brewhouse, and more. 7-9:30pm. $40 and up per person. More info here.
Sundays are ½ off bottles of select wines at many local restaurants, including The Spread, Bar Sugo, and Bistro Latino.
On Tuesday January 14, learn how to braise at Barcelona Fairfield. Join Chef Helton and learn the art of braising and complementing it with a few vegetable side dishes. 4-7pm. $35pp plus tax and gratuity. http://www.barcelonawinebar.com/calendar.htm
Also on Tuesday, Caseus Fromagerie in New Haven is offering a class called “Relishing the Rind.” The class will explore categorizing cheese by types of rind. You will get to taste bloomy, ash, wash-rind cheeses ...and more! 6-7:30pm. Approx $37pp. Buy Tix Here.
Thursday December 12 at 7:30, Ancona’s in Ridgefield will host a high end wine tasting. Cost is $30/person. To RSVP please call (203)544-8958 or e-mail monica@anconaswines.com.
On Friday December 13 from 7:30-10pm, try out a class at Muse Paintbar, a combination between a painting studio and beer & wine bar in downtown Manchester, CT. 10 beers & 12 wines will help bring out the artist in you… and you’ll go home with a painting. $39pp. View more info here.
Every other Friday, Half Full Brewery holds an “Open House.” From 5:30-8:30pm, the taps are open and guests can try their hand at bags, life-size jenga, draw on the chalkboard wall, and hang out. $15pp. Details here.
Lidia Bastianich will be spending some time in Stamford on Saturday, 12/14 at Fairway Market. From 1-3 pm you can meet her at the store and she’ll sign your copies of her brand new book, Lidia’s Commonsense Italian Cooking: 150 Delicious and Simple Recipes Anyone Can Master. While there, you’ll be able to try out and buy some of Lidia’s pastas and sauces, too, with demos and tastings.
On Friday December 6, join 109 Cheese and Wine and Jim Morrison from Artisan Wines for some exceptional Italian red wines including Barolo, Brunello, and a few others. The event will take place in Ridgefield, CT and costs $55pp. 7-9pm. http://www.localwineevents.com/events/detail/507053
Saturday December 7 from 4:30– 6:30pm Amity Wines and the CT Craft Brew Guild will have a beer tasting. It will include Down East Appe Cider, Breckenridge Regal Pilsner, Green Flash Saison, Wachusett Larry IPA, Six Pints Global Warmer, Andechs Dopplebock, and more. Please RSVP to Kim or Tony directly at 203-387-6725 or tony@amitywines.net. Amity Wines Tasting Room: 65 Amity Rd, New Haven, CT 06515. http://www.amitywines.net/events/
Bishops Orchards in Guilford, CT conducts wine tours every Saturday this month at 2:00pm. Tasting and Tour combo for $10pp. http://www.bishopsorchards.com/index.php
Monday December 9 at 7pm, Harry’s Wine & Liquor Market, 55 degrees Restaurant, and Vias Imports present a “Piedmont Holiday Wine Dinner” with guest host Michael Petrizzo, Northeast Brand Manager. $89 plus tax and tip. 5 courses with wine pairings. http://www.localwineevents.com/events/detail/508378
Tuesday December 10, Barcelona New Haven will hold a “Spanish Holiday Dishes” cooking class. Guests can join Chef Frank as he demonstrates how to prepare Barcelona-inspired holiday and New Year’s dishes. 7pm, $25pp. http://www.barcelonawinebar.com/calendar.htm
Celebrate Black Friday with Val’s of Greenwich! Barhill Gin will be hosting a tasting to get us geared-up for the holiday season. This complimentary event will take place from 3-7pm on Friday November 29.
On Monday December 2, Buon Appetito Restaurant will partner with Super Cellar Liquors for a 4 course wine dinner. It begins at 6:30 at the restaurant in Canton, CT. $75 pp. For the menu and reservation information, see https://origin.ih.constantcontact.com/fs126/1102509927877/img/1248.jpg .
On Tuesday December 3, Luca Wine Bar and Visco Wines will partner with Harry’s Wine & Liquor to present a wine dinner called “The 4 Big B’s of Italy.” It will feature four of Italy’s coveted wines: Barbera, Barbaresco, Brunello di Montalcino, and Barolo. They will be paired with 4 courses including homemade crepes, ravioli, veal shank, and poached pear for dessert. $98 pp, all inclusive. Please call Luca Wine Bar for reservations: (203) 286-5617.
On Monday November 25, Barcelona in West Hartford will offer a Thanksgiving Prep cooking class. Guests can learn to make chorizo stuffing, red chimchurri for the turkey, and more. The class starts at 7pm and costs $35pp, plus tax and gratuity.
Tuesday, November 26 Fairway Market will partner with Fox Radio to hold a food drive to benefit the Food Bank of Lower Fairfield County. 8am-7pm.
On November 30, Breckenridge Beer Company is partnering with the Craft Beer Guild of CT for a wine and cheese class. The class is $20/person, limited to 12 people due to size. Class begins at 4PM at Grand Vin Fine Wines of New Haven 28 E. Grand Ave. More information here.
On Saturday November 16, Nicholas Roberts Fine Wines will hold its annual Harvest Tasting to benefit Turning Wine Into Water. The event will take at The Avenue Gallery in Norwalk, CT and last from 5-8pm. Suggested donations range from $35-$500 depending on which portion of the events guests wish to attend. Click here for more information or to reserve a space.
On Tuesday November 19, New Canaan Wine Merchants will offer a wine & cheese class titled “Seasons Cheesings! Owner Jeff Barbour will team up with Erin Hedley of Artisanal cheeses to let guests learn and taste holiday pairings. It lasts from 7-8:30pm and costs $25 a person. Sign up or get additional information here.
Harlan Social is holding a wine dinner on Wednesday November 20. It will feature: Wines from Celani Family Vineyards in Napa, California; Cocktail hour at 6:30pm; 5-course dinner at 7:15pm. Seats are limited and available for $175 a person. To see the menu, make a reservation, or find out more, visit http://www.harlansocial.com/index.html.
On Wednesday September 18, 2013, I had the opportunity to attend a farm-to-table dinner presented by the Friends of Boulder Knoll, a group focused on educating the local community about agriculture and sustainability. I was invited by Tim Crakes of South End Wine and Spirits, a boutique wine store in Cheshire, CT, that would be providing the beverages for the event. I wasn’t sure what to expect; in fact, that is a part of the state I seldom frequent. While I take Metro North into New York City on a regular basis, I have never stepped onto it in the opposite direction. What I found was a gorgeous small town and vibrant farming community. Both Tim and the Friends of Boulder Knoll provided me with total access to an evening of purity, totally untouched by the pace of the city and daily life.
Join the wine specialists from Stew Leonard's Wines of Norwalk as we celebrate harvest season with an October Wine, Whiskey and Craft Beer Tasting! More than 50 wines and beers will be featured, as well as a special Compass Box blended whisky tasting, and a menu of seasonal fare freshly prepared by Stew Leonard’s culinary team.
The event takes place on Thursday, October 24, 2013 from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. at Stew Leonard's food store, located at 100 Westport Avenue in Norwalk. Tickets are $40 per person and all proceeds will benefit The Norwalk Exchange Club, which will use the funds raised to benefit local community organizations in the City of Norwalk.
Stew Leonard's Wine specialists have hand-picked a selection of more than 50 wines that complement the flavors of the fall harvest season.
Ridgefield's best source for artisinal cheese and wine, 109 Cheese & Wine has recently expanded its footprint and education offerings. The shop, located at Ridgefield's Marketplace, has posted an impressive and fun line-up of events throughout the summer. Classes include: Red Bee Honey Pairing, Home Brewing and a Bar B Cue, The Champagne Diet, East Coast Craft Brews and Artisan Cheese & A BBQ Throw Down Wine vs. Beer. See complete listings below. Advance reservations are recommended as class size is limited, call 203-438-5757.
The Connecticut Wine Festival will be returning this year for its fifth year of showcasing some of Connecticut’s best wines. It is a reflection on the growing popularity of Connecticut wines, which are quickly gaining a reputation as quality vintage worthy of attention from wine lovers everywhere.
This year, the Fifth Annual Connecticut Wine Festival will be staged again at the Goshen Fairgrounds in Litchfield County, on Saturday and Sunday, July 27th and 28th. Sponsored by the Connecticut Vineyard and Winery Association (CVWA) and presented by the CT Wine Trail, the festival features fine wines from a wide variety of local vintners, making it one of the “must attend” events of the summer. The festival also features wine classes, specialty food vendors, artisanal crafts, as well as a variety of live musical entertainment.
Ridgefield's best source for artisinal cheese and wine, 109 Cheese & Wine has recently expanded its footprint and education offerings. The shop, located at Ridgefield's Marketplace, has posted an impressive and fun line-up of events throughout the summer. Advance reservations are recommended as class size is limited, call 203-438-5757.
Exploration into Italy: Cheese and Wine
Friday, May 17 @ 7pm, $55 Explore a great evening of Italian Cheese and Wine, their relationship and how to pair them. Class will start with some wonderful small bites and a glass of Prosecco, then continue with a tasting and comparison of 5 cheeses and wines. Something sweet will end this evening.
Sarah Wine Bar & 109 Cheese and Wine Dinner Sunday
May 19 2013 at 5:30 pm Special Guest Henryk Teraszkiewicz, Director of the Woodcock Nature Center Menu
It seems that Wednesdays are officially becoming synonymous with wine! In addition to our “Winesday” column, you can now enjoy an array of vino-based festivities at Mohegan Sun’s latest weekly event, “Wine Wednesdays.” The evenings embrace the acclaimed restaurants and lounges already present within the casino, but present them with an emphasis on wine. Four course pairing dinners unfold every Wednesday at both Bobby Flay’s Bar American and Todd English’s Tuscany. Casino guests can also relax with a glass of champagne and smooth jazz rifts at the Vista Lounge starting at 8pm. The first Wednesday of every month, though, has a special offering: “Tasting and Tapas” at Todd English’s Tuscany. I had the pleasure of experiencing the affair (which has an impressively alliterate title, I might add) earlier this month.
Tasting and Tapas unfolded on the beautiful “patio” in the front of Tuscany. Tuscany has an indoor restaurant with the kitchen, bar, and tables, as well as a front portion looking out on the casino. Mohegan adopted the motif of a night sky, so guests sitting in that area feel the illusion of eating dinner under twinkling stars on a summer’s evening.
“Are you here for the wine dinner?” asked a smiling gentleman as I entered Elm Restaurant in New Canaan, shaking snow flurries from my coat. Before I knew it, he was whisking us away behind the bar, past a few tables, and into a smaller dining room tucked away in the back. The area felt cozy and intimate. Four glossy walls framed the small space and a table set for eight sat in the center. Nearby stood a countertop, where a few more guests could perch while looking into the bustling kitchen.
“We want people to feel like they are at our homes,” explained Chef Brian Lewis. “It’s like the feeling of having close friends over for dinner.”
“What’s going to come next- a sandstorm?” asked my friend as we stared out at the never-ending expanse of snow in front of us.
This season certainly has seen its share of weather anomalies from Hurricane Sandy to the recent blizzard that hit some parts of Connecticut with more than 30 inches of snow. As I assessed the damage and tried to get my daily routine back in order, I couldn’t help but consider how these extreme storms have affected the wine industry. A wine’s quality depends on a host of climate factors including the length of the growing season, temperature, and composition of the soil. Even a small deviation can alter an entire bottle. What happens to production in the wake of such monumental weather upheavals?
In order to find the answer to my question, I turned to Andie Martin, Tasting Room Manager, and Chris Moore, Vineyard Manager, at the Jonathan Edwards Winery.
There’s a lot to wine about at the Mohegan Sun Wine Fest. I watched in horror as my printer spewed out 16 pages of wines that would be featured over the course of the weekend. The annual event is an exercise in diversity; exhibitors bring everything from the commercial to the exclusive, the traditional to the innovative. There are wines with long-lasting legacies and bottles that haven’t even hit shelves yet.
Fortunately, I carefully siphoned through all of the offerings to bring you a report of the very best the event had to offer. Armed with my 16 page list, I diligently worked my way through the tables, asked questions, and sampled the wines. (Don’t worry, there was a significant amount of spitting involved!)
It’s difficult to compare wines, especially with such an extensive range available. How can one compare an expensive Napa Valley Cab to a fruity white made for casual drinking? To solve the predicament, I broke my explorations down into categories.
In this first installation, I feature Robust Reds, Wonderful Whites, and Wines to Watch. In Robust Reds and Wonderful Whites, my aim is to focus on quality. Some of these wines might come off as a bit of a monetary splurge, but they drink beautifully. Wines to Watch also hinges on quality.
As I strolled into the SunWineFest before the doors opened to the public, the ballroom appeared almost peaceful. Exhibitors casually erected their stands and freely moved about the space. Within an hour, that all changed. People stood packed shoulder to shoulder and attempted to elbow their way through the throng for tastes of wine. The crowd surged with energy, and my heart raced with excitement.
For some, the Mohegan SunWineFest is one giant party: an excuse to get buzzed with friends, blow off steam, and sample as many wines as physically possible. For others, the event is a valuable opportunity to find exceptional bottles.
Calling all cheese lovers! The Working Lands Alliance will proudly host the inaugural Nutmegger Cheese and Wine Festival, a fundraiser to protect Connecticut’s farmland and to support quality childhood nutrition. The Festival will be held on Sunday, September 23from noon-4 p.m. at the Jones Family Farms, located at 120 Beardsley Road in Shelton, CT. It will feature samples of Connecticut’s best cheeses and wines, vineyard tours, hayrides, cheesemaker talks and book signings, and include special guests who will talk about cheese. Participating Vendors Include:
Stew Leonard’s Wines is getting into the Olympic spirit. They will also be hosting a “Wide World of Spirits” on Friday, July 27 from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, July 28 from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. featuring four drinks from four continents.
Westport's new wine shop, BottleRocket will host several events this weekend. If you haven't stopped by yet, this top notch wine haven is worth a taste. Thurs, July 26: Magic Hat Elder Betty beer (seasonal, weiss-style and super refreshing), 4-7pm: Fri, July 27:Mer Soleil Chardonnay from California, 4-7pm & Sat, July 28: Laxas Albarino (refreshing summer sipper from Spain), 1-4pm
Hartford's City Steam brew pub, already distributing their Naughty Nurse pale ale in bottles at retail, is rolling out bottles of their Innocence IPA in the coming weeks. We've asked, and we'll update you when we know Ffld. Co. locations.
Dressing Room in Westport is hosting a few events this Spring that are worth that cost of that baby sitter. The first is a special wine dinner with Dutch Henry Winery on Wed April 18thfeaturing guest speaker Deborah Bazzano-Banhos of DoValle Wines. Dutch Henry Winery specializes in small lots of Handcrafted wines producing 5,000 cases annually, and was named one of the “top five” wineries to visit while in Napa by the Wall Street Journal. These wine dinners are informative and the pairings are impeccable. Check out the delicious menu below courtesy of Chef Jon Vaast:
If you're in the neighborhood and like your bubbles, don't miss the "Cheers to CAVA Wine Dinner" on Thursday, April 12th at Barcelona Restaurant in West Hartford, 7pm.
Champagne is one of the world’s most profound and expensive wines, usually only drank in times of celebration. However, Spain has its own popular sparkling wine created in the exact same style as its French counterpart, called Cava. While never bearing the generally high price tag as to Champagne, Cava is just as enjoyable and inspiring. As a self-declared “bubble head,” Gretchen Thomas, Wine & Spirits Director for the Barcelona Restaurant Group, is throwing a wine dinner showing off her favorites from several Spanish regions and their uncanny ability to pair well with even the heaviest and most flavorful dishes - a good thing since their Executive Chef, Adam Greenberg, is known for his creativity. This promises to be one of the most eye-opening food and wine pairing event of the season.
$45 per person, plus tax and gratuity.
For reservations, email gretchen@barcelonawinebar.com
