A passion for pairing wine, food is on tap

It’s the weekend before Valentine’s Day. There’s plenty of snow and cold  in our lives, but is there enough passion?The Leelanau Peninsula Vintners Association (LPVA) is doing its part to ensure there’s passion aplenty this weekend with one of its four signature events.

Taste the Passion runs Saturday and Sunday and involves LPVA member businesses pairing wine and foods – be it sweet like chocolate, or savory like a good Italian pasta dish – around the county. Since February is National Cherry Month, many of the wineries are offering a pairing of their cherry wine with assorted chocolate and food combinations.

The event will kick off with a benefit mixer at Nonna’s Italian Restaurant at The Homestead Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. Jamie Jewell, senior manager of sales for The Homestead, said the mixer will offer a chance for people taking part in Taste the Passion to sample local offerings.

The cost is $5, and participants will be offered tastings of local wines as well as appetizers of cheese and chocolates prepared by Nonna’s chef John Piombo.

“We will also have a small sampling of works from artists in the Glen Arbor Arts Association,” Jewell said.
“Every winery is offering either a ‘savory’ or a ‘sweet’ appetizer or dessert. We’re offering a savory and I don’t know what it’s going to be until the lady of the house makes it,” said Jacklin Eikey, tasting room manager for Ciccone Vineyards and Winery off of Hilltop Road in Bingham Township.

Anthony and Joan Ciccone have owned and operated the vineyard and winery overlooking West Grand Traverse Bay from atop Hilltop Road for over a decade.

Eikey said Joan Ciccone will likely prepare one of her signature Italian dishes to serve Taste the Passion visitors. “We will be serving a red wine, our 2006 Dolcetto and some sort of soup or pasta dish,” she said.
Eikey has worked at the winery for four years as tasting room manager. The Passion's one of her favorite weekends.

“It’s a popular event, but the number of tickets is limited so each location doesn’t get overwhelmed with people. It’s a little slower than our bigger events, we get to have some nice interaction with our customers. It’s just a really fun event,” she said.

In addition to the wine and food offering Saturday and Sunday, Ciccone’s will host a cocktail party from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday. Participants will be able to mingle and talk with the Ciccones about winemaking and taste premium wines, all at no charge.

Good Neighbor Organic Vineyard and Winery in Leelanau Township is one of at least three vineyards that will offer outdoor winter events as part of their Passion experience. Stan Silverman, one of the owners of Good Neighbor, said Murdick’s Fudge Shoppe in Suttons Bay will create a unique cherry chocolate fudge that they will pair with a hard apple cider served hot. Good Neighbor is located on Engles Road, off of M-22 just north of the intersection with N. Swede Road.

“In addition to the hot apple cider we will be introducing a new hard cider product, a cherry hard cider we are calling Quatro Loco Cherry,” Silverman said.

Good Neighbor will have snowshoeing and cross country ski trails staked out on the vineyard’s 66-acre property. Silverman said they’ll also have an ice skating rink set up to host three-on-three hockey games. The sledding hill will be groomed and sleds provided for those who want to have some fun.
“We’ll also have outdoor fires going to keep people warm. It’s going to be a fun event,” he said.

Gill’s Pier Vineyard and Winery off M-22 in northern Leland Township is offering an unguided one-mile morning snowshoe hikes through the vineyard  and adjoining orchard at 10 a.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday. Participants will be offered Danishes and hot mulled wine as part of the experience. Those wanting to participate in the hike must bring their own snowshoes.

Ryan Sterkenburg, who owns and operates the winery and vineyard with his wife, Kris, said they will be offering their cherry wine and port for tasting during the Passion. “We’ll be pairing it with a cherry chocolate chunk brownie we’re having made special for the event,” he said.

Cristin Hosmer, a wine technician and office manager at Bel Lago Vineyard and Winery in Centerville Township, said participants can try their cherry wine and be offered a double chocolate cake served with a Balaton cherry sauce.

“We don’t often offer the cherry wine during a tasting. Cherry wines tend to be very flavorful and can overwhelm your palate. But, it is a good pairing with chocolate cake and cherry sauce we’ll be offering this weekend,” she said.