HARVEST 10-Mile Dinners Celebrate the Good Life on Long Island
Summer might be gone but life in the Hamptons does not slow down even if parties have moved indoors.
Harvest Wine Auction and Celebration of Long Island’s East End weekend kicked off with the series of 10-mile dinners on Friday night, including a pretty nice one at my house. Chef Noah Schwartz of Noah’s restaurant demonstrated why everyone is talking about his culinary skills and talking up the smart, minimalist design restaurant on Front Street in Greenport.
Tom and Cynthia Rosicki, the owners of Sparkling Pointe, supplied the wines, and Gilles Martin, their immensely talented winemaker, guided us through the many flutes over the evening—proving what they say in their marketing material: If it’s not Sparkling, what’s the Pointe?
All the food and wine were sourced within ten miles of either the chef’s kitchen or mine. We began with an Amuse Bouche accompanied by 2006 Topaz Imperial, a dry, bubbly rosé. We moved onto a Satur Farm beet terrine, Pipes Cove Oysters, and Montauk lobster risotto. We paused and refreshed with a Wickham’s apple granita, and continued with local striped bass and Crescent Farm duck prepared three ways, all accompanied by Sparkling Pointe wines. The group later moved into the library for mini local fruit crostadas and caramel and sea salt truffles, more wine (including a Sparkling Point 2000 Brut seduction), more talk, and a song by Tom Rosicki.
With a friend who co-hosted with me, I fearlessly put together an immense amount of china and silver and glassware for formal settings for all eight courses. First time in years I’ve used the gold chargers, the fish knives and forks, oyster forks, and the little ice cream spoon/forks.
Organized by the Long Island Merlot Alliance and the Long Island Wine Council, and presented by Wine Spectator Magazine, the evening benefited East End Hospice and Peconic Land Trust.
The 10- Mile Dinners are just one part of a wider event. On Saturday, 27 wineries and 14 of the region’s best chefs participated in the Festival Tasting in spectacular tents on the Grand Prix field at Wolffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack. It was all lavish, lovely and delicious. And the great silent auction items all sold well. A Gala Dinner and Live Auction followed with an amazing lineup of more food and wine.
