2015 Wine & Food Classic Grand Tasting at Tanglewood
Norma Probst, director of marketing at Cranwell Spa & Golf Resort in Lenox, chats with tasting patron over Cranwell's offerings of fish tacos, raw tuna ceviche and fresh figs with smoked mozzarella. |
LENOX, Mass. — About 500 guests each paid $90 to while away the hot afternoon at Tanglewood's Wine & Food Classic Grand Tasting, according to Sam Brewer, Boston Symphony Orchestra public relations associate.
A host of happy Tanglewood volunteers handed each attendee a large, stemmed wineglass as he and she entered the first of the two large Hawthorne Tents. Then, for the next three hours, guests strolled from table to table, sipping wines from many wineries, distributors and shops; and nibbling tidbits like Paul Tawczynski's Wicked [fresh] Tuna Salad or his Heirloom Green Tomato Gazpacho from Taft Farms in Great Barrington or a morsel of duck confit from Boston Gourmet.
Debra Morris served some reds, some whites and some ciders at Furnace Brook Winery & Hilltop Orchards of Richmond's table.
"It was a good crowd," winery and orchard owner John Vittori said. "Debra estimated there were 850 people. Most of the people came from out-of-town. It's good to be part of that kind of upscale tasting."
"We've done it when it was started by the Nantucket Wine Festival people [Denis Toner]," Vittori said. We haven't taken part for the last few years. Now, we're glad to be back."
"We didn't have all our wines and ciders there but we should have and we will next year. We had our Apple Ice Wine and some of our ciders."
Vittori and his sister Wendy started their winery in 1995 and began making their Johnny Mash Cider in 1997.
"They go hand in hand," he explained. "You need to be a winery to produce cider. There's only one way to produce cider which is like wine. There are some ciders that are mixed with beer but in order to ferment fruit you need a wine license."
Most Furnace Brook wines are made from grapes but they do make their Ice Wine from apples — which have been "pressed at Christmas time and their juice is then kept outside in the freezing winter cold." And they produce a white mead "from locally harvested 100 percent organic honey."
Local wine and spirit shops, Nejaime's Wine Cellars of Lenox and Stockbridge owned by Joseph Nejaime and Spirited Wines of Lenox owned by Jim Nejaime, both took part in Tanglewood's Grand Tasting. Both shops sell quite a bit of party food: excellent cheeses, patés, olives and condiments, breads and crackers, and their own family's prepared Lebanese delicacies such as walnut pie, baba ganoush, hummus, and unusual salads.
In addition the their wines, beers and ciders, Spirited featured local artisanal foods such as Maggie's Round cheese from Cricket Creek Farm in Williamstown. Wine merchant Jim Nejaime spent the afternoon sharing his knowledge of the world of international wines and local foods.
Wandering Star Craft Brewers, which opened its doors in Pittsfield in 2011, although not a winery, brought its beers as a local artisanal exhibitor. People walked around the tents with semi-full wine glasses of their brews and looked pretty happy to be tasting.
Philip Kampe of Pittsfield, wine editor of the Berkshire Beacon, enjoyed tastes of more than one of their beers. Kampe thought, from having attended all past Tanglewood Wine & Food Classics, that there were fewer people at this one but did not give a number.
At one point, Kampe and his wife, Maria Reveley, discussed the finer points of a good rosé. Reveley had been given a nine-shade chart for rosés by a winery and told that the lighter the color the finer the rosé. Kampe preferred roses two or three shades darker on the chart.
Kampe said he chooses which wines he will taste by picking the bottle by size, heaviness and position in the tasting lineup.
"Better bottles are larger and heavier glass," he said. "And they are arranged from least to best quality. The biggest and heaviest bottle is Blantyre. The others, Stop & Shop."
Berkshire Mountain Distillers brought samples of all their spirits and new tonic mixes. Their bourbons were the only alcohol I drank at the event. I tried the three they brought: their original five year aged Berkshire Bourbon Whiskey and two cask finished four months longer; one in Sam Adams Utopia's barrels and one in stout barrels.
The original is smooth, velvety. Both cask finished whiskeys are more biting and aggressive but taste quite rich poured over ice.
Harney & Sons Fine Teas of Millerton and New York, NY, one of the Grand Tasting's sponsor's, had little tea outposts around the tents and offered paper cups of ice over which to pour their various teas. It was a lovely day in the mid-80s so this was a great kindness and the teas were refreshing and varied: raspberry herbal, Sencha green, Paris (a mixture of a Chinese black tea and black currant) and more.
The cups of ice were great with Berkshire Bourbon, also. Refreshing on a hot afternoon in a different way from tea.
For palate cleansers and coolers, the Nestle company had Poland Springs and San Pellegrino waters and sparkling waters and sodas. Also, thoughtful and useful at this large-scale drinking event on a hot summer's day.
Interestingly, no one was seen acting giddy or loud or unsteady, even at the end.
And then there were fun Berkshire foods to pair with the wines.
Richard Bourdon brought a variety of his Berkshire Mountain Bakery sourdough breads including his rather new Polish rye, half rye, half wheat with a smooth texture and mild flavor. He brought his simple peasant bread and variations on it: his ever-popular bread and chocolate with big chunks of melty Callebaut chocolate in unsweetened, chewy sourdough base; the same base for his sour cherry pecan bread. And he brought his semolina which is a totally different, light color, flavor and texture.
He sliced small, thin pieces and chunks, a good foil for the rich patés, salamis, lardo, duck, cheeses, even the rich salad combinations. Not to mention, for the wines, beers and spirits.
Canyon Ranch offered rich, if healthy fare. A shrimp and black bean salad on a corn cake with baby arugula sprouts. And a tiny round of utterly chocolate, flourless chocolate cake topped with a large fresh raspberry.
Joshua Needleman brought his dark chocolate for a wine and chocolate pairing: tiny pieces of his fresh raspberry ganache in dark chocolate Raspberry Love; olive oil-infused dark chocolate sprinkled with sea salt, his brand new Ah-Love; and cocoa-dusted soft raisins, surprisingly memorable.
Chef and owner, Dean Corbett, came up from his restaurant, Corbett's An American Place, in Louisville, Ky, to take part in the Charcuterie Throw Down at the Festival the night before. He manned his table serving shrimp and grits, an iconic Southern comfort dish.
Reveley kept remarking on how good this combination was; kept going back for more.
Chef David Jordan and his kitchen staff did not stint in flavor or inventiveness as they showed off Cranwell Spa & Golf Resort. They gave out fresh figs with smoked mozzarella, pistachios and pomegranate seeds drizzled with pomegranate molasses; raw tuna ceviche, avocado and mango marinated in fresh lemon, lime and orange juice; and a bit of fried fish taco with Napa cabbage-pineapple slaw.
That's sort of a whole meal.
Sabrina Tan brought her Malaysian Flavours vegetarian spring rolls and some curry sauced chicken and tofu.
Jeremy Stanton, owner of Fire Roasted Catering and The Meat Market in Great Barrington, was turning and turning the wheel of his razor-sharp red charcuterie (French word for cold cuts and other prepared meat products such as ham, bacon, sausage, paté, confit and more) slicer, shaving lardo (herb-cured pork belly fat/pork fatback) and other meats from his butcher shop where he and his staff turn every less saleable bit of the local animals he and they butcher into sausage, stock, paté and cold cut deliciousness. Or, into soap.
Stanton served the rich meat bits with his shop-made pickled vegetables — carrots and turnips. And really hot, seed-filled mustard.
These are the local tastes that call out for Richard Bourdon's local Berkshire Mountain Bakery breads — and you could just cross the tents to get them.
To cap off the tastings, owner/ice cream creator Daniel Mazursky brought samples of his SoCo Creamery ice creams from Great Barrington: No. Six Depot coffee ice cream and ?? Owners of The Scoop in Lenox and makers of Blondie's ice cream there, Jennifer Nacht and ?? brought six or seven ice cream flavors they had made just that morning. The assortment, creamy and sweet but not too sweet, included blueberry-ginger, chai, espresso-oreo, molten tart cherry, Nutella and raspberry rose sorbet.
We got into long and pleasant conversation with Mary and Bill Erickson who came to the festival from Fairfield, Ct., as friends and followers of chef Dean Corbett. The Ericksons spoke of the years they lived in Paris and Provence and how much they enjoyed their recent dinner at the Lee French restaurant, Chez Nous. How it brought them right back to France.
The Grand Tasting at Tanglewood's 2015 Wine & Food Classic covered reds, whites, rosés, sparkling wines, craft beers, ciders and spirits with food from soup to sweets if not to nuts. It was a casual, a friendly and elegant affair.
Cranwell's raw tuna with avocado and mango is a tasty, seasonal dish, requires no heat and is easy to put together. Here is the recipe they provided. A finely minced whole serrano chili with its ribs and seeds would be a good inclusion. And, I would zest all the citrus before squeezing them and use the zest in this recipe.
CHEF DAVID JORDAN'S TUNA WITH AVOCADO AND MANGO
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
1/2 bunch fresh scallions
1/2 teaspoon white sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon black sesame seeds
3 ounces raw tuna
1 ripe avocado
1 fresh, ripe mango
1 fresh lemon
1 fresh lime
1 fresh orange
kosher salt to taste
Chop cilantro and scallions 1/4-inch wide. Set aside.
Toast the white and the black sesame seeds. Set aside.
Dice the tuna, avocado and mango into 1/4-inch dice. Place in a medium-size bowl.
Squeeze the juice from the lemon, lime and orange. Gently mix the juices into the tuna mixture. Soak for 5 minutes.
Remove the tuna mixture from the juices. Place in clean, large bowl. Discard the juices.
Mix the cilantro, scallions and sesame seeds into the tuna mixture. Add kosher salt to taste.
Serve as an appetizer with baguette slices, crackers or cucumber slices.
Adapted from recipe supplied by Cranwell Spa & Golf Resort
Tags: fine dining, judith lerner, tastings, wine,