What is arguably the finest food and wine event of the year, In the Vineyard, is being held next Saturday, November 14. It may be my favorite charity food/wine event and here's why:
1. The venue: Plaza Frontenac is long on grace and space.
2. The crowd: Manageable and negotiable. No long crowds at the tasting tables.
3. The personnel: Local wine wholesalers not only bring their better bottles, they bring their most knowledgeable staff.
4. The food: The area's top chefs showcasing top-shelf offerings. Doubtful you'll find pizza or pork sliders at this gig. Here's the list: Annie Gunn’s, Anthony’s Bar, ARAKA, Bissinger’s, Cardwell’s at the Plaza, BC’s Kitchen, The Crossing, Fleming’s, Harvest, Herbie’s Vintage 72, Monarch, Niche, Portabella, and Villa Farotto.
5. The wine: approx 90 selections, 50 or so on the main floor (av retail: $20-40) and another 40+ at the "Master Sommelier" tasting upstairs (av retail: $100-150). Bonus: "Private cellar" offerings have also been poured upstairs in past years.
6. The auction items: Well-chosen and curated. Here's this year's list: VIP behind-the-scenes tour of "Mad Men" during Season 4 shooting (airfare included), One case of Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon 2003, One case each of Kistler Vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir 2005, Five-year Vertical of Joseph Phelps Insignia Magnums, Bryant Family Vineyards 3-Year Vertical, Four St. Louis Blues Plaza seats and a period in the KMOX booth with Kelly Chase & Chris Kerber, "Green Seats" behind homeplate for 8 St. Louis Cardinal's games, Getaways to Hawaii and Arizona.
In the Vineyard is an annual event and the biggest fundraiser of the year for Edgewood Children's Center. Tickets are $100 (downstairs) and $200 (downstairs and upstairs).
Before you write it off as "too extravagant," consider that $60 of the base ticket is tax deductible and $140 from the premium ticket. My advice: no option, buy the better ticket. Rarely do you get a chance to sample that many premium wines and premium goodies under one roof. It might be the best wine/food deal in town and it's all for a worthy cause. -- George Mahe
On November 1, former Renaissance Grand St. Louis executive chef Tim Grandinetti will assume the long and lofty title of Executive Chef and Director of Farmstead Operations at Overlook Farm in Clarksville, MO, a growing conglomeration of properties and businesses owned by Nathalie Pettus.
The real estate goes something like this...in Clarksville, there's the 200 acre farm itself, two very nice inns, and the Clarksville Station Restaurant (all of which can host a private event, and any of which is reason alone to make the one-hour drive to Clarksville); then there's "Overlook Farm in the City," the St. Louis-based special events venue located at 4356 Lindell, site of the former Savor (which Pettus also owns). OFC's first event was Farm Aid in the City, a "top chef and local farmer dine around" where a dozen of the city's finest partnered with their favorite local farmers in one of the kickoff events to the wild and wooly Farm Aid Weekend earlier this month.
Grandinetti's "coming out party" will be the Beaujolais Around the Bonfire dinners to be held on November 20-21 at Overlook Farm. Hors d'oeuvres will be served on the new patio by the bonfire, accompanied by champagne and the newly released 2009 Beaujolais Nouveau. Dinner will be served either indoors or out, depending on the weather. The cost for the 5-course dinner is $59 pp, which includes paired wines by sommelier Darin Link, formerly of Busch's Grove. (Menu and wine pairings to come soon on Overlook's website.)
The multi-award-winning Grandinetti is relocating from the Twin City Quarter in Winston-Salem, NC, where he was Regional Executive Chef. He's also cooked for Presidents Clinton and Bush, was featured on the Food Network and in the Wall Street Journal and visited St. Louis in June, staying just long enough to win a Celebrity Chef BBQ throwdown, besting Cary McDowell and even Dr. BBQ himself, Ray Lampe.
Grandinetti's one to watch. Look for more of Overlook's "Farm to Fork" events in the future, both in the city and on the farm. -- George Mahe
