On June 16, a beautiful day on the Leelanau Peninsula as we recall, Lindsey Perry of MyNorth.com visited a few of our wineries for the 2012 Small Plates Event.
Small Plates is an annual event features one signature wine selection from each winery which is paired with artistry and diligence by local chefs with a tapas dish that highlights the wine’s character. You can read more about the event here!
Here’s a snippet of Lindsey’s article, which you can read in full on MyNorth’s website.
“A sophisticated tapas-and-tasting-on-wheels, the LPVA Small Plates Event offered guests the opportunity to not only experience the delectable balance of flavors food and wine can achieve when properly paired, but to experience this harmony from those who know the flavors best, the chefs and winemakers themselves. Encouraging an appreciation of the infinite range of pairing possibilities, each winery and chef prepared a unique dish and pairing, allowing guests to hop from tasting room to tasting room, taking a food journey as rich and beautiful as the lush Leelanau Peninsula roads uniting the eight Leelenau wineries. While I would have loved to sample the offerings from all eight of the wineries, I had to limit my gastro-venture to two.”
This year we had 8 participating wineries, and served over 260 people from all over the region, some new to the Leelanau Peninsula and some veteran wine aficionados. Here is the list of fine food and wine pairings from this year’s event!
2012 Small Plates Pairings
Bel Lago
Bel Lago paired their 2010 Pinot Grigio with Chicken Paillard with an asiago crust and Lemon Caper sauce accompanied by a salad of local greens.
Black Star Farms
Black Star Farms served their own Hard Apple Cider brined pork tenderloin with bacon, shiitake mushroom and goat cheese risotto, candied fig butter and red onion agrodulce. This amazing dish was paired with 2011 Arcturos Cabernet Franc Rosé..
Chateau Fontaine
At Chateau Fontaine, Paul Carlson, the chef from Bella Fortuna, will be preparing Seared Scallops with Toscanelli Bean Puree, crispy Housemade Panchetta, and a Lemon/ Spring Pea Shoot Pesto. Served with award winning 2011 Pinot Blanc.
Ciccone Winery
Tris Mediterraneo was the theme for the evening at Ciccone Vineyard. They served champignon : Small Mushroom stuffed with Crumb Bread, Cheese, Mushroom and Parsley- asparagus wrapped in a puffy pastry with ham and shaved Parmesan cheese and Arancine – made with saffron rice and meat ragu; all paired with Ciccone Riesling. (second seating only)
Forty-Five North
45 North partnered with Ethnic Garden Catering for a semi spicy-sweet and savory coconut curry with shrimp and rice noodles paired with the diner’s choice of 2010 dry Riesling or 2009 semi dry Riesling.
Gills Pier
Gills Pier’s Chef de Cuisine was Kristin Karam of K2 Events and Edibles. They served Majaraja Curry (tomato, chickpea, cinnamon and cream with a bit of spice) served over basmati rice with vegetarian or lamb kabobs. The pairing was the 2011 Semi-dry Estate Riesling.
Silver Leaf
Silver Leaf served Butterflied Prawn with Andouille sausage & Remoulade sauce paired with their 2010 Riesling.
Verterra
To demonstrate the versatility of Rieslings and Spicy Asian cooking, Verterra offered a Chinese spicy, crispy Hunan prepared Catfish with a Tempura batter paired with a medium sweet Riesling.
Photos courtesy of lousaria, click for the entire slideshow!
See more photos from the 2012 Small Plates from KatSwinehart here