Vino in Vermont
Toolbox
By Sylvia Fagin - Published: June 17, 2008
White or red? Dry or sweet? Italian, French or German? These are just a few questions to be answered at this weekend's Stowe Wine and Food Classic. Weekend wine drinkers and discerning aficionados alike will find something for their palate among the offerings at the Trapp Family Lodge.
In parts wine seminar, wine auction and wonderful party, the event is all about charity. The 10th annual classic benefits the Copley Hospital Foundation in Morrisville. Last year, the benefit raised about $33,000 for the foundation, which provides charitable patient care, according to Peter Anderson, a Stowe attorney who has organized the event since its inception.
Sunday's grand tasting and silent auction offers something for everyone. At 12:30, Chef Tom Bivins of NECI's Main Street Grill in Montpelier will present a cooking demonstration featuring local foods. Tony Campos of New England Cooks will host the demonstrations and introduce Oprah Winfrey's premier chef Art Smith.
Smith, who will present a cooking demonstration at 1:30, comes to Vermont via Campos' invitation.
"He'd never been to Vermont, and he loves 'The Sound of Music'," Campos explains. "He's a wonderful person, very gentle and soft spoken, and very giving." Charity events align with Smith's philanthropic philosophy; he was the 2007 recipient of the James Beard Foundation Humanitarian Award.
Fun while giving is the theme of Sunday's events, Campos emphasizes. More than 100 wines from around the world will be offered for tasting, and some 50 vintners will offer advice about pairing wine with food. Wine tasting seminars will discuss German wines, and compare grapes of the Piedmont region to those of Southern Italy.
Local restaurants will sample their best fare, including Montpelier's Restaurant Phoebe, Trattoria La Festa of Stowe, and Hen of the Wood in Waterbury.
Silent auction items offer something for everyone's taste, and everyone's budget. In addition to packages from local spas and meals at local restaurants, there are greens fees at the Copley Country Club, a luxury villa in Acapulco, Mexico, the opportunity for author Chris Bohjalian to visit your book club, and the chance to be a character in Archer Mayer's next book. (One presumes your character would be a wine expert, or perhaps meet an untimely end in a well-stocked wine cellar.)
Speaking of well-stocked cellars, the wine cellar at Trapp Family Lodge is the location of the weekend's first event. A Friday night wine tasting, featuring traditional and non-traditional Italian wines, will be presented in this intimate setting.
On Saturday evening, a gala dinner with a live auction and dancing will find at least 200 people kicking up their heels, and their auction placards. One-of-a-kind wines from the cellars of private collectors and participating wineries, including several signed bottles, will be offered at the live auction.
Austrian-trained Chef Jürgen Spagolla of the Trapp Family Lodge will present a five-course paired meal, and introduce each course. Carnivores will savor paprika-coffee rubbed beef tenderloin on two-tone potato cake with foie gras sauce and baby vegetables, paired with Château de Lancyre "Grand Cuvée" 2001 Pic Saint Loup. A complete vegetarian menu is also offered, featuring fire roasted tomato artichoke ravioli with sautéed young spinach and red wine shallot reduction, paired with Sélection Laurence Féraud 2006 Châteauneuf de Pape.
"The whole weekend is a wonderful experience," Campos enthuses. "Trapp is a beautiful location, there are great auction items, and the wines are wonderful."
Anderson couldn't agree more, amused by how what he and his friend Jack Sykas of Waterbury began as a weeknight charity cocktail party has grown into a weekend-long wine auction and gala party.
"We're both wine aficionados, and this is a way we can indulge a pleasure for a good cause," he says. "The event supports the hospital and gives back to the local community. It's a great party!"
Sylvia Fagin writes about local foods and food producers. Contact her at sylviafagin@yahoo.com.
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