SECOND ANNUAL “EPICURIOUS VINO CHALLENGE” SET FOR JUNE

Popular event combines chefs, wines, charity.

Celebrated professional chefs from Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham, and Goldsboro are gearing up to compete in the second annual Epicurious Vino Challenge, a fundraising event that challenges the chefs to create original dishes using Hinnant Family Vineyards’ internationally award-winning wines as key ingredients.

The 2010 Epicurious Vino Challenge will be held at the Hinnant Family Vineyards in Pine Level, NC, on Saturday, June 5, from 6:30 – 10 p.m. Hinnant Family Vineyards is the largest muscadine vineyard in North Carolina, spreading over 80 acres between Raleigh and Goldsboro. All proceeds will benefit a child or an adult with disabilities in RHA Howell’s Bear Creek, Walnut Creek, and Magnolia Place residential centers.

Presented by RHA Howell and sponsored by Hinnant Family Vineyards, US Foodservice Raleigh, and Fallon Benefits Group, the challenge requires the participating chefs to select the name of a Hinnant wine from a hat. Executive chefs from US Foodservice will serve as judges to determine which chef used his or her wine to create the most extraordinary dish.

Chefs already signed up to compete in the 2010 event include Tom Armstrong of Vinnie’s Steakhouse & Tavern in Raleigh, Colleen Speaks of Posh Nosh Catering in Raleigh, Brian Battistella of Batttistella’s New Orleans Kitchen in downtown Raleigh, Pat Walston of House-Autry in Four Oaks, personal chef Melinda McGuirk of Charlotte, Martin Nessley of Sunset Grille in Durham, Robbie Lilly of Sisters Garden, and Belo Shelton of Thrills From The Grill. Other chefs will be announced prior to the event.

Open to the public, the 2010 Epicurious Vino Challenge will also include live jazz, signature martinis, award-winning wines, a chef’s auction, and a chance to win a $1000 gift from Barnes Jewelers. Participants will also sample the chef’s creations.

“Last year’s event was so well received — by the chefs and the public — that we couldn’t wait to do it again,” said Debbie Valentine, RHA’s director of marketing and events. “It was a truly magical evening. And with all of our tables nearly sold out, we raised $18,500. We hope to do even better this year to help us continue our mission to serve children and adults with disabilities and their families.”

Tickets are $50 each or $400 for a table of 10. Dress is “snappy cocktail.”
Tickets are available at www.rhahowell.org. All major credit cards are accepted.

For more information on the 2010 Epicurious Vino Challenge, contact Debbie Valentine at dvalentine[at]rhanet.org or call 919-941-0530.

About RHA Howell, Inc.:
RHA Howell is a not-for-profit 501 (c) (3) organization that has been helping people with disabilities and special needs, and their families, make choices to live more independently for more than 35 years. Integrity, high standards for quality, and hard work are at the core of every RHA Howell disability assistance program. Proven leaders in caring for people, RHA Howell, Inc. is a pioneering force in the field of human services, particularly supporting infants and children. For more information, go to www.rhahowell.org.

WHAT: 7th Annual Great Grapes! Wine, Arts & Food Festival

WHO: Produced By Trigger Agency

WHERE: Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Regency Park
8003 Regency Parkway (Cary, NC 27511)

WHEN: SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2010 – 11:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M.

WHY: Trigger Agency will hold the seventh installment of the Great Grapes! Wine, Arts & Food Festival at the Koka Booth Amphitheatre at Regency Park on Saturday, April 17th from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy over 250 wines from more than 23 local North Carolina wines from wineries such as Allison Oaks Vineyards, Amber Crest Winery, Benjamin Vineyards & Winery, Cerminaro Vineyards, Chateau Laurinda Vineyards , Chatham Hill Winery, Country Squire Winery, Cypress Bend Vineyards, Grove Winery & Vineyards, Lumina Winery, Old North State, Owl’s Eye Vineyard, Rag Apple Lassie, Round Peak Vineyards, Santuary Vineyards, Silver Coast Winery, Southern Charm Winery, Stony Mountain Vineyards, Stonyfield Cellars, Uwharrie Winery, Vineyards on the Scuppernong and WoodMill Winery.

In addition, they can shop at over 50 unique artist and craft exhibits, listen to local music on the main stage from bands such as Bull City Syndicate and The Soul Power Review or tantalize their taste buds at the Gourmet Live! cooking demonstration area. Cooking and wine pairing seminars include: The Triangle Food Blogger’s Panel discussion featuring Nancie McDermott, Andrea Weigl, and Sandra Gutierrez, the Culinary Latinista ™; Laurie Forster, The Wine Coach®; Charlie Adler, Author of “I Drink on The Job”; local Chef Todd Mohr and many other guests.

Parents will appreciate an enhanced kid’s activity area complete with obstacle courses and slides.

Ticket prices for the event are $20.00 in advance or $25.00 at the door and include all performances, cooking demonstrations, a souvenir wine glass and wine tastings. Designated Driver tickets are $15.  Kids 12 and under are FREE. For more information or to purchase tickets in advance, please visit www.UncorkTheFun.com or call 800-830-3976.

Greek Food and Dance

Experience Greek traditions and cuisine at the 28th Annual Greek Festival, September 18 – 20 at The Expo Center, NC State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, NC.

Costumes

The Festival is sponsored by Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church and portions of the proceeds benefit Habitat for Humanity.

Festival goers will hear live Greek music by the band “Zephyros” of Baltimore, MD and watch traditional folk dancers perform. Savory Greek entrees and pastries prepared from authentic recipes passed down through generations will be offered throughout the Festival. The Greek Marketplace will offer a variety of gifts including Greek artifacts, jewelry, Greek groceries, linens, original art and many other items. The Kafenion (Coffee Shop) will provide Greek coffee with loukoumathes and other home baked pastries. Local chefs will demonstrate the art of Greek Cooking.

Music

Contact info: Father Paul Kaplanis, 919-781-4548, frpaulk@msn.com
www.holytrinityraleigh.org

Tickets are $3, Seniors and 13-18 are $2 and children under 13 are free.

Wine distributors from across North Carolina pour the largest and most varied selection of wines for any tasting held in our area. Over 300 offerings from around the world including Australia, New Zealand, California, France, North Carolina, Chile, Oregon and Washington State will be poured. Come enjoy music, vendors selling wine-inspired memorabilia and activities for the kids!

Saturday · September 26 · 2 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Event proceeds to benefit the Frankie Lemmon Foundation and North Raleigh Rotary Club

Tickets:

$25/Adults/Advance, $35/Adults/Day of Event
$75/VIP/Advance, $85/VIP/Day of Event (includes high-end wine-tasting and complimentary food)
Individuals under 21 are FREE
Ticket price includes wine sampling (for adults)
Picnic Baskets Allowed!

Tickets can be purchased at Booth Amphitheatre (Tuesday- Friday, Noon – 6 p.m. & Saturday from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.) or any Ticketmaster Outlet, or charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000.

The Rotary Club of North Raleigh

The Opportunity to Serve
Rotary is an organization dedicated to providing service to the citizens of our World. Our club sponsors projects that have both local and international impact.

Promoting World Understanding
The goal of Rotary is to promote international understanding, goodwill, tolerance and communication among all people of the world.

International Membership Network
Rotary has a global network of 1.2 million members in over 160 countries. Throughout the world we encourage high ethical standards in words and actions by their truthfulness, fairness, goodwill and benefit to all.

Tobacco Road Cellars, a boutique Napa Valley winery owned by Jason Earnest and Dusty Field of Raleigh, North Carolina, will introduce four new Cabernets during a stylish red-carpet celebration and silent auction to be held Thursday, October 8, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the RBC Plaza pool deck high above downtown Raleigh.

The event is entitled “Bacchanalle: A Cultural Intervention.” According to Tobacco Road Cellars co-owners Jason Earnest and Dusty Field, the evening will include tastings of the new wines, catered dining that will pair the wines with haut cuisine, music, VIP suites for the winery’s Regency Club members, and lavish decorations.

The evening’s silent auction will offers such items as an original handpainted surfboard by Raleigh artist Clark Hipolito of ArtCo Surf that will be signed by the Carolina Hurricanes, other signed items by such sports luminaries as the Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward, Duke University basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski and various wine packages from Tobacco Road Cellars. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Frankie Lemmon Center School & Development Center in Raleigh.

Clark Hipolito has also created an original work of art for one of the Cabernets’ labels and will be unveiling his new series “Cultural Intervention” during the event.

Earnest calls Bacchanalle “an alchemist experience blending visual art, high design, fine wine and extraordinary personalities.”

The Cabernets Tobacco Road Cellars will introduced during the Bacchanalle event are “Vitality,” “Tradition,” “07 V” (honoring former NCSU basketball coach Jim Valvano with a portion of the proceeds supporting the Jimmy V Foundation), and the Private Reserve.

Earnest describes “Vitality” as a “deep, mid-red with violet hues with great blue fruit and black berry aromas, lifted raspberry and black cherry with dark, brooding notes of fig, coffee and spice. It’s an excellent mid-weight palate entry with dense fruit weight supported by heaps of fine-grained oak and fruit tannin. The wine has fruit-forward style that’s very well backed up by layers of deep, softly drying tannin.”

“Tradition” offers “sweet, ripe, black berry with a warm alcohol lift of spice and nutmeg,” he said. “It has rich, mouth-filling black fruit flavors with solid, blocky tannins. Very firm finish, drying but sweet at the same time. The Palate lingers and shows lots of classy French oak palate weight. Firmer acid helps lift the tannic finish, which will soften nicely over the next three to five years.”

Of the Private Reserve, Earnest notes, “This is a very solid, deep, dark red/black wine with purple hues. It offers aromatics of black fruit, chocolate, mocha and berries that draw you into the wine. It has a lovely solid entry with gobs of firm tannin. Its rich fruit weight is a class above other wines and supported by an amalgam of French oak flavors of vanilla, toasty oak and spice. It has a huge palate that just keeps going and going. Big blocky tannins appear a little proud at present, but given time it will soften into a true classic Napa Cabernet for those patient enough to wait.”

And the ’07 V is “supple, fleshy and very defined as berry fruits lead into a classy, sexy, fine-grained tannin finish that lingers on and on,” he said. “The French oak is evident but not obtrusive — quite elegant and fine boned but overall very classy and seductive. It’s delicious!”

Tickets for the Bacchnalle event are $100 and only 250 will be sold. An after-party will also be held at Solas restaurant and lounge on Glenwood South for ticketed guests only. To order tickets go to www.bacchanalle.com or call 888.770.3635.

For more information on Tobacco Road Cellars, visit www.tobaccoroadcellars.com.

About Tobacco Road Cellars
Award-winning Tobacco Road Cellars was conceived when two North Carolina-based entrepreneurs and wine enthusiasts, Jason Earnest and Dusty Field, went to Napa Valley to create a wine to give as holiday gifts. The results were so successful that they decided to create their own boutique winery committed to producing world-class wines from California grapes. The partners now have several years of bottlings and have been endorsed by Gary Vaynerchuk of winelibrary.com, who called Tobacco Road Cellars’ 2005 Private Reserve “stupid good.” The winery’s 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon received the 2008 Gold Medal in the International Wine Competition held in Riverside, California. For more information visit www.tobaccoroadcellars.com.

The origin of the word Bacchanalle:
Bacchanalle – pronounced bak-uh-ney-lee-uh – was coined by the Tobacco Road Cellars owners and Raleigh interior designer Clark Hipolito. It incorporates the root word bacchanalia that, in Greco-Roman religion, refers to any of the several festivals of Bacchus, or Dionysus, the wine god. And it mixes with the word, “Biennale”, which is Italian for “every other year” and can be used to describe any event that happens every two years. It is commonly used within the art world to describe an international manifestation of contemporary art — for example, the Biennale de Paris, which was created in 1959 by André Malraux. The term is most commonly used in the context of major repeating art exhibitions. According to Jason Earnest of Tobacco Road Cellars, it also refers to Hipolito’s visual style for his design projects: “faux paint effects, banquet-hall tapestries and lighting, large furnishings, etc.”

Wine and Chocolate

Wine & Chocolate Tasting

The minimum age to attend this event is 21.

Doors open at 6 PM, tastings begin at 7 PM.  Admission to  Chocolate: The Exhibition at 6 PM is included.

Ticket Prices: $25 ($20 for Friends of the Museum Members).  Tickets are non-refundable.

Wine and chocolate experts from A Southern Season, the nationally-recognized gourmet market, will host an educational and delicious lesson on the ultimate wine and chocolate pairings. Space is very limited. Early registration is recommended.

Tasting Dates:

Thursday, June 18

Thursday, July 23

Thursday, August 13

Members: $20
General Public: $25

Purchase Tickets Here

Thanks to A Southern Season, University Mall, 201 S. Estes Drive, Chapel Hill, NC for sponsoring this event.

EPICURIOUS VINO CHALLENGE COMBINES CHEFS, WINE, CHARITY

US Foodservice Raleigh and RHA Howell will host The Epicurious Vino Challenge Saturday May 30th, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Hinnant Family Vineyards & Winery in Pine Level, NC. Celebrated professional chefs from Raleigh to Greenville will complete to create trademark dishes using Hinnant’s internationally award winning wines as ingredients. All proceeds will benefit a child or an adult with a disability.

Restaurants whose chefs have already signed up to participate in The Epicurious Vino Challenge include the Urban Food Group’s Frazier’s, Vivace, Coquette and Porters; Vinnie’s Steakhouse & Tavern; Chef Mario’s, Inc, a personal chef and catering company; and Wendy Perry, home economist and personal chef who specializes in “green” weddings. (Additional chefs will be announced as they come on board.)

US Foodservice’s executive chefs Bob Passerelli and Matt Turner will serve as judges to determine which chef used a signature Hinnant wine as an ingredient to create an extraordinary dish. The chefs will draw the names of the wines from a hat and proceed from there. Two awards will be presented: the judges’ H & H grand prize and the People’s Choice award, which will be determined by a vote from attendees at the event.

US Foodservice, the Grand Benefactor for the Epicurious Vino Challenge, is a collection of foodservice distributors employing over 600 at the Raleigh division and servicing Eastern North Carolina since 1971. For more information visit www.usfoodservice.com.

RHA Howell is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving children and adults with disabilities across the state of North Carolina. Its services are provided in Wake, Johnston, Wayne, Lenoir, Pitt, Craven, Orange, Durham, Guildford, Forsyth, Cabarrus, Catawba, Iredell, and Anson Counties. For more information on RHA Howell, visit www.rhahowell.org.

Hinnant Family Vineyards & Winery (www.hinnantvineyards.com) is the largest muscadine vineyard in North Carolina, sprawling over 80 acres. Their international award winning wines range from dry white and reds to traditional sweet scuppernongs. They are located between Raleigh and Kinston.

For tickets and more information about the Epicurious Vino Challenge, contact Debbie Valentine at dvalentine@rhanet.org or call 919-941-0530.

The "Original" North Carolina Wine Festival

The “Original” 9th Annual North Carolina Wine Festival (The State’s Largest  Attended Wine Festival) offers the opportunity to meet wine makers, vineyard owners, taste and compare offerings from over thirty-seven North Carolina Wineries, all in the same place and on the same day in one festive summertime atmosphere.

The incredible “CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD” are back again this year!

This year our festival logo, web site and support pieces have a new, updated look thanks to the talented team at Out of Our Minds Creations located in downtown Winston Salem.  Please check out our new website at www.ncwinefestival.com. Additionally, Outdoor, Poster, Direct Mail, TV and Radio Stations across the State will market this North Carolina event.

Advance ticket prices are $20.00 at area Harris Teeter stores, online through PayPal or $25.00 at the gate day of the event.  parking is again free. 

Complimentary Wine Festival Tasting Glasses and a commemorative ticket/program will be provided at the entrance for the first 20,000 adults who plan to sample these North Carolina wines.  Wines will be available for both free tasting (included with ticket purchase) and may be purchased by the glass, bottle or case at each of the North Carolina Wineries.

There will be nearly 30 craft and art vendors, as well as Major Sponsors and Display Vendors. Food will be available from a selection of Triad restaurants, including WS Prime of the Twin City Quarter, Flemings Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar, Domino’s Pizza, Carolina Diner, Carter Brothers, Bojangles Restaurants and the Munchie Wagon.

Make plans now to join in the fun and excitement at the “Original” 9th Annual North Carolina Wine Festival at Tanglewood Park, Saturday, May 30, 2009, presented by 600/1200 WSJS, NewsTalk 1230 WMFR, FM Talk 101.1, with a special assist from Woodard and Company Asset Management Group, Lamborghini of the Carolinas, My E Batch, Harris Teeter Stores, Window World and The Headwaters at Banner Elk.

Tickets will be available at area Harris Teeter Stores in May and online at www.ncwinefestival.com

Where to attend: 9th Annual North Carolina Wine Festival
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Tanglewood Park, Clemmons, NC
12:00PM – 6:00PM…Parking begins at 11:00AM
Single Tickets: $20.00 in Advance…$25.00 Day of Event
(Parking Is free)

Great Grapes! Wine, Arts & Music Festival

Saturday, April 18, 2009
Event Time: 11:00am-7pm
Gate Time: 11:00am

Parking Lots:
Lots open at 11:00am.
The cost to park for this event is $5.00
Upgrade to Preferred Parking for $10 per car. Lot is located across from the main gate

Bands:
Bull City Syndicate & Part-time Blues Band

Additional Event Info:
The 6th Annual Great Grapes! Wine, Art & Music Festival is back! This event will feature over 150 Wines, Over 15 Wineries, Great Live Music by Bull City Syndicate & Part-Time Blues band and Wonderful Food & Crafts. Tasting tickets include a souvenir wine glass, unlimited wine samples, all performances & cooking demonstrations. Designated Driver tickets are available and include event admission only. Bring the kids, have them enjoy the moon bounce and craft area. Kids 12 & under are free! Patrons are asked to bring a valid driver’s license as proof of age.

On-Sale:
January 31, through all Tickemaster locations. 10:00am

Tickets will be available through Ticketmaster.com, Phones, and outlets beginning January 17th at 10am
Click here for tickets.

Ticket Prices:
LAWN
Advance: $18.00 Includes a souvenir wine glass, unlimited samples, all performances & cooking demonstrations. Deadline to purchase advance tickets is April 17th at 5pm.
Day of event: $20.00 Includes a souvenir wine glass, unlimited samples, all performances & cooking demonstrations.
Designated Driver: $10.00 Includes admission into the event ONLY.

Items Allowed:
Lawn Chairs, Blankets, Strollers, Small Umbrellas and 1 bottle of factory sealed water (1 per person).

Prohibited Items:
Coolers, Food, Beverages and weapons of any kind

Cameras: Allowed