NC Fine Wines ShowCase Dinners
A lot has been going on this year with the NC Fine Wines Society and the winners from the 2019 NC Fine Wines Competition. As I hope you already know, we had a 4 way tie for the last two positions in the 2019 NC Fine Wines Competition, and so we ended up with 14 wines in our case instead of the usual 12. Well, to some that may be a problem, but we just called it the 2019 XL ShowCase.
The wines in the Show Case do represent our members from the Coast to the Mountains.
Cellar 4201 - East Bend Herrera Vineyards, Dobson
JOLO Winery and Vineyard, Pilot Mountain
Jones Von Drehle Vineyards & Winery, Thurmond
Mountain Brook Vineyards, Tryon
Raffaldini Vineyards, Ronda
Sanctuary Vineyards, Jarvisburg
Surry Community College, Dobson
But what was really fantastic was that we had lots of fine wineries in our competition this year. Check out our map to find an award winning winery near you.
So far this year we've held 5 great wine dinners that feature the 2019 Case. If you have a chance to dine at one of these locations, you are ensured a wonderful dining experience. A special thanks to their owners, chefs, and staff who have welcomed us and provided all of our guests with an outstanding experience.
So how do these dinners take place? We evenly split up the case of 14 to have 3 dinner opportunities. That lead us to host 7 dinners this year beyond the Awards Gala. Each dinner features six wines from the case.
We then have looked to partner with some great chefs and restaurants that are supporting and want to support the local wine industry. We provide a mix of 6 wines to the chef to taste, and then they develop a menu to highlight the flavors from the wines. These events are limited tickets so that the event is intimate and the chefs can focus on a very high end cuisine. And boy has the food held up to the wine, only surpassed by the restaurants overall enthusiasm for North Carolina produced wines.
As part of the competition, the wines must be 100% North Carolina grown and vinified (made into wine). So you're really getting a taste of North Carolina. It is legal to label a wine North Carolina with only 75% of the wine made from North Carolina grapes. So we're tougher than most competitions. Judging is blind (judges don't know the producer of the wines) and we're the only mute competition we know of in the world. That means the judges can not talk about the wines while judging is going on among themselves. That time is when they take notes and judge the wines without interruption or influence. Those notes are then provided back confidentially to each vineyard so they know exactly how their wines were scored and what aspects the judges found in their wine. It's tough - but that honest feedback is making the industry better.
We wanted to share with you some pictures of what the dinners are like, and to let you know that perceptions are changing. Thanks to those of you who were able to attend, and we hope that we'll see new people in the near future. We have two more events coming up where you can link to their ticket and information.
Upcoming Dinners
Saturday September 21, 2019 - Pinehurst Resort
Tuesday October 1, 2019 - The Umstead Hotel & Spa
Previous Dinner
Winston-Salem - Rooster's a Noble Grille
Greensboro - GIA: Drink.Eat.Listen
Wilmington - City Club of Wilmington
Charlotte - Barrington's Restaurant
Asheville - Posana Restaurant
Hope to see you soon! The NC Fine Wines Society
