Triangle: Taste of Durham

Check out the fifth annual Taste of Durham at the Imperial Center tomorrow. 

What is it?  A food, wine, and beer tasting event with live entertainment.

When is it?  Tomorrow! Saturday, May 23, 2009, 11a-7p

How much is it? That’s a little more complex – it’s $4 in advance or $6 at the door to get in to the area.  Then you buy coins to pay for whatever tastings you want to do.  A coin is $1.  1 coin will buy a soda or water; restaurant samplings will be 1-5 coins; each beer or wine tasting table will be 1-2 coins; and beer/wine concessions will be 4-6 coins.

It sounds like a great thing to do tomorrow.  Have you been to one of the past events?  I wish they had more info on the website.  While they do have information about the food sampling,  they don’t have much info on the wine and beer side of things.  Frankly, those are the things that would get me to attend.  If you attend, let me know!  Hopefully I’ll find out some more info about this and attend next year.

NC Eatin’: Wilkes County

November 9, 2008
Elkin Creek Vineyard
318 Elkin Creek Mill Road
Elkin, NC

During our second day of the wine tour, we checked out Elkin Creek Vineyard.  It was our 9th winery of the weekend and 2nd on Sunday.  We were all tired but looking forward to a nice lunch. 

 

NC Wine Festivals

As the weather gets warmer, it’s time to enjoy some wine festivals here in North Carolina. 

Saturday, April 18, 2009, 11a.m.-7p.m.
6th Annual Great Grapes! Wine Festival
Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary
Tickets: $18 in advance, $20 at the gate, and $10 for designated drivers
16 wineries are currently planning to participate

Saturday, May 16, 2009, 11a.m. – 6p.m
8th Annual Yadkin Valley Wine Festival
Elkin Municipal Park in Elkin, North Carolina
Tickets: $16 in advance, $20 at the gate
Currently 10 wineries are signed up, but there will likely be more since there were 21 last year

Saturday, May 30, 2009, Noon – 6:30p.m.
9th Annual NC Wine Festival
Tanglewood Park, Clemmons, NC (near Winston-Salem)
Tickets: $20 in advance, $25 at gate, $15 for dd
Currently 29 wineries are signed up and more are likely

NC Eatin’: Surry County

November 8, 2008
Old North State Winery and Brewery
308 N. Main Street
Mount Airy, NC

Our final stop for the day on our first day of our NC wine tour was Old North State Winery.  This was absolutely the perfect end to a great day.

NC Wine Tour

In early November, I went to check out NC wine country - Yadkin Valley.  We visited 10 wineries in 2 days and had a great time.  I cannot wait to do this again – hopefully sooner rather than later.

1. Westbend Winery – This was our first winery, thank goodness!  We got to choose 5 wines to try here ($5).  I decided to check out:

• Lillmark - This is their sparkling wine, and it was fab.  At $35 a bottle, it should be.  It’s very different from any other sparkling wine I’d had before.  It’s a beautiful golden color.  The taste is crisp with a hint of strawberries.  Good thing you can’t order it online – I’d be in trouble.  I shared my bottle with my mom and mother-in-law over Thanksgiving; we all loved it.
• Carolina Cuvee – this is a blend of cabernet, merlot, and chambourcin.  I tasted a hint of cherry and some oak.  I’d drink it but wouldn’t buy it.
• Pinot Noir – I liked this one – a little spicy, fruity, and chocolatey.  It would be good with pizza.
• Chambourcin – I liked this one too.  I think it would be especially good with pasta.  This was the first time any of us had tried a chambourcin – it’s very common among NC wineries but apparently not particularly popular elsewhere.
• Cabernet Franc – Oh boy, this was very peppery to me.  It’s not my favorite kind of wine.

 

Dinner at The Big Easy

My husband, two friends, and I went to dinner at The Big Easy in downtown Raleigh on Friday night.  It’s been a while since I’ve written about a Raleigh restaurant, so here ya go.

Triangle: The Wine Authorities

A few weeks ago I caught a show on NPR interviewing the owners of The Wine Authorities, a wine store in Durham.

Beaujolais Nouveau 2008

Hmm…  I just started sipping a glass from my (glass!) bottle of Georges Dubeuf Beaujolais Nouveau 2008…  It’s better than last year’s as far as I remember, but…  Well, I really like the North Carolina reds I bought on our wine tour (details coming soon to a blog post near you  this one) a lot more.  *sigh*  I guess I should, as manimal over on Cork’d recommends, “leave my inner corkdork at the door and accept this wine for what it is.”  What’s hilarious is that I’m sooo not a corkdork.

Did anyone make it to a B.N. event this evening?

P.S. This stuff ought to be cheaper.