John Brown has been a wine and food columnist in West Virginia since the 1980’s. His regular columns appear in the Charleston (WV) Gazette-Mail under the title Vines & Vittles and in The State Journal - a statewide business weekly
Wine Odds and Ends: Bistro Wine Dinner and Italian Fest Homemade Wine Contest
____________________ EVENT: Bridge Road Bistro Wine Dinner, Aug. 25, 2008 Those of you who enjoy the culinary artistry of Chef Paco Aceves of the Bridge Road Bistro and the lovely wines produced by locally-owned Napa Valley winery – Falcor – are in for a treat.
A special multi-course dinner with accompanying wines from Falcor will be held on Monday, Aug. 25 at 6 p.m. Ryan Bee, assistant wine maker at Falcor, will provide commentary on the wines. Check out the menu below:
Broiled Blue-point Oysters on the Half Shell, Spinach & Pickled Red Onion Salad, Bleu Cheese Foam
Spiced Duck & Porcini Mushroom Country Terrine, Baby Lola Rosa Greens with Heritage Farm Sour Cherries, Champagne Citrus Vinaigrette.
Slow Roasted Beef Short Ribs, Carrot Mousse & Smoked Asparagus, Truffled Potato Pirogue, Sauce Demi-Glace.
Chocolate Marquis, Vanilla Pear & Ginger sauce, Walnut Brittle.
SPACE IS LIMITED and reservations are required so if you’re interested in attending, you might want to call the good folks at Bridge Road at 304-720-3500.
____________________ EVENT: Italian Heritage Festival Wine Contest Wine has always been a part of my hometown’s (Clarksburg) Italian Heritage Festival and one event at the festival is near and dear to my heart: the home wine making contest. As a matter of fact, yours truly actually won first prize in the “dry red wine” category several years ago.
If you’re a home wine maker or if you just love the sometimes “unique” experience of tasting home made wine, you should boogey on up to C-burg for this fun event. Even if you don’t like the wine, it’s worth the trip to sample the incredible variety of Italian edibles at this wonderful fair.
The Homemade WineContest will be held Saturday, Aug. 30 at 1:00 p.m. at Washington Square on Washington Avenue. This event is sponsored by the W.Va. Department of Agriculture and Washington Square. If you want to participate in the contest, contact the Festival (304-622-7314) for details. WEBSITE: www.wvihf.com
