On the weekend after next, the annual Toast the Season event will get under way on the Leelanau Peninsula of Michigan.
Toast the Season runs over two weekends—November 3-4 and 10-11—giving wine lovers two opportunities to sample the wares of 20 wineries.
Food pairings will be featured at the wineries, and attendees will receive a commemorative wine glass, a holiday ornament from the local vintners’ association and a gift bag (the contents of which presently remains a closely guarded secret—but it should be good stuff!).
Here’s a look at some of the food-and-wine pairings announced thus far…
- 2011 Bel Lago Auxerrois with light and lemony shortbread cookies.
- Black Star Farms Red House Red with pork and lamb cassoulet—a slow-simmered mix of beans, pork, lamb and pancetta.
- 2011 Blustone Winery Riesling with a caramelized onion and apple tart.
- Brengman Brothers Runaway Hen White Late Harvest and Rosso Red blend with cheese carmandy raclette and Moody Blue Cheese.
- 2011 Chateau Fontaine Pinot Noir with grapevine-grilled pork loin on homemade rosemary sea salt focaccia, topped with cherry apple chutney.
- Cherry Republic Cherry Red with BBQ cocktail meatballs and holiday cheese spread.
- 2011 Ciccone Winery Pinot Noir with Italian bruschetta with ripe tomatoes, fresh garden basil and garlic, served on a toasted Italian baguette.
- Forty-Five North Cherry Dessert or Hard Chapple with phyllo bites topped with blue cheese and dried cherries, sprinkled with candied pecans.
- Gill’s Pier semi-sweet Vignole/Riesling blend with slow-roasted pulled pork tenderloin, potatoes and peppers. (A different pairing will be featured on the second weekend.)
- Good Neighbor Gewurztraminer with a spicy Asian noodle dish.
- L. Mawby Blanc de Noir with local apple slices and Black Diamond cheddar.
- Leelanau Cellars Late Harvest Riesling with a sweet potato soup.
- Silver Leaf Fling Rose with beer-braised Swedish meatballs in Hunter sour cream sauce.
- Tandem Ciders Smackintosh Cider with raclette and roasted delicata squash crepes.
- Verterra Chaos Red or Unoaked Chardonnay with local smoked whitefish chowder with new potatoes. (A different pairing will be featured on the second weekend.)
- 2011 Willow Pinot Gris with French vanilla pumpkin squares with a butterscotch fondue.
The cost is $50 per person or $75 for couples, and up to eight wineries may be visited on each day of the selected weekend. For further information on Toast the Season, or to order tickets, click here.
