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| Guests enjoy the 2011 Vintage & Vine wine-tasting and
gourmet food festival at Strawbery Banke Museum. (courtesy photo)
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Rare wines, local chefs, locally fished & farmed food
PORTSMOUTH –
Strawbery Banke Museum, in partnership with the New
Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets, is planning its annual Vintage & Vine
wine festival presenting fine wines and gourmet foods in historic style across
the historic houses and heritage landscapes of the Museum's scenic Portsmouth
waterfront site. The festival will be held on Saturday, September 8. Special
guest this year is famous television chef Mary Ann Esposito.
Featuring fine wines from around the world and imaginative
cuisine prepared by top Seacoast chefs, Vintage & Vine offers an
international tasting tour of Strawbery Banke's historic houses and gardens on
its ten-acre waterfront Portsmouth site, from 4 to 7 p.m. “Grow. Green. Global”
is the theme for the wine tasting and sale, with the educational, environmental
and heirloom aspects of the living history museum highlighted as visitors grow
their understanding of 300 plus years of life in the waterfront neighborhood
known as Puddle Dock.
“Vintage & Vine 2012 offers guests the opportunity to
become a part of the story of Puddle Dock,” said Lawrence J. Yerdon, president
and CEO of Strawbery Banke Museum. “Guests sample a selection of hundreds of
fine wines and gourmet items created by the Seacoast's finest chefs, while
exploring the vintage homes and heirloom gardens of Portsmouth's past. Perhaps
best of all, thanks to the efforts of the Museum's trustees and community
volunteers in producing this event, Vintage & Vine supports the museum's
mission of being a sustainable place to gather and to learn.”
The proceeds from the fundraising event support the
nonprofit Museum's preservation and educational efforts including the History
Within Reach program, which brings more than 10,000 schoolchildren to the
museum each year.
The Vintage & Vine Grand Tasting takes place across the
museum's grounds, with thirty top local chefs paired with wine brokers
strategically located among 15 vintage houses and gardens. Wine experts introduce
guests to vintage wines paired with special hors d'oeuvres in the VIP Tent in
the Goodwin Garden during the VIP Reserve Tasting, from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
“The New Hampshire Liquor Commission is proud to participate
in Strawbery Banke Museum's Vintage & Vine 2012,” said New Hampshire Liquor
Commission chairman Joseph Mollica. “It is a great partnership between the
Commission and our licensees that benefits an important site in our great
state.”
Five Star Chefs from the region's best restaurants take
center stage at grilling stations on the main lawn, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The
main tent features an artisanal cheese station, an auction of wines by the
bottle, a silent auction and live music by local band Rhythm Method. A festive
bonfire completes the scene.
New this year, and underscoring the global element of the
festival, an Italian Wine Dinner hosted by Mary Ann Esposito, creator and host
of the nationally televised PBS series, “Ciao Italia,” follows the Grand
Tasting from 7:30 -9:30 p.m. Catered by the White Apron and sponsored by Banfi
Wines in the Goodwin Garden, the finale showcases Italian fare based on
Esposito's new book, “Ciao Italia Family Classics.” Wines from Castello Banfi,
selected to complement each course, will be presented by Italian wine enthusiast,
Guy Esposito, MD, who has shared his enthusiasm for Italian regional wines with
groups ranging from classes at Boston University to travelers in Italy.
The focus on sustainability is emphasized throughout the
walk-around wine tasting. “Vintage & Vine 2012 features just-gathered,
seasonal items from local farmers and fishermen, prepared by inspired Seacoast
chefs,” said John Forti, Strawbery Banke's curator of historic landscapes. “We
are also committed to making Vintage & Vine a 'zero waste event' by using
compostable products and recycling all of the wine bottles from the event.”
All of the wines at Vintage & Vine can be ordered at the
event. Guests receive a fifteen percent discount when purchasing any six or
more bottles. Payment is made when the order is picked up at any New Hampshire
Liquor & Wine Outlet store. This year, the museum will again offer Riedel
Ouverture Magnum tasting glasses at $10 per glass. Introduced in 1989, Riedel's
Magnum level series is for customers who appreciate good, reasonably-priced
wine. Ouverture Magnum is a non-varietal specific lead-free glass known to
increase the drinking pleasure of wine, beer and spirits. The glasses are
machine blown in Bavaria, Germany.
Tickets are now on sale at www.strawberybanke.org. Ticket prices:
Grand Tasting Admission $40; VIP Reserve Admission plus Grand Tasting $75; and
Italian Wine Dinner with Mary Ann Esposito & The White Apron $125.
Designated driver tickets and Museum member discounts available. For more
information, go to www.strawberybanke.org or call 603-433-1100.
