The Culinary Tourist: A Gourmet Guide to Holiday Wine Weekends

I wish I could tell you we sampled every flavorful food and wine pairing at the holiday wine weekends in America's Grape Country last year, but we were so busy shooting a documentary-style travelogue that we only had time to slurp down some pumpkin soup.

This year's event along the Chautauqua –Lake Erie Wine Trail will tempt visitors with a full-course, progressive menu Nov. 1-2, and 8-9. But better call soon for tickets – the weekends are always a sellout.

Twenty-one wineries on the southern shore of Lake Erie, from from Silver Creek, New York, to North East, Pa., will serve a bounty of regional dishes, including four soups, seven main courses, and ten desserts.

Creative food and wine pairings and a take-home package of featured recipes are sure to spark ideas for festive holiday meals.

If you're lucky enough to secure a ticket ($31), know that it is good for two full days, so you can plan your winery visits according to location, favorite wines, or menu choices. A comfort food itinerary might start at Lakeview Wine Cellars for a pork and sauerkraut skillet dinner and then proceed to Schloss Doepken Winery for German apple cake. Merritt Estate Winery offers a second option with its holiday chicken stew followed by old-fashioned snickerdoodles at Heritage Wine Cellars.

For Thanksgiving dinner ideas, start with roast turkey with ruby port and cranberry sauce at South Shore Wine Cellars. Top it off with a pumpkin dessert such as Quincy Cellars’ pumpkin custard tart, Roberian Winery’s pumpkin gingerbread trifle, or Presque Isle Wine Cellar's pumpkin toffee cookies. Servings are sample-size and so early eventgoers can manage to squeeze in two or three meals in a single day.

Wine weekend menu:

Soups

Tuscan and Sausage Soup - Vetter Vineyards
Zucchini Mushroom Bisque - Liberty Vineyards
Stuffed Pepper Soup – Arrowhead Wine Cellars
Wedding Soup - Penn Shore Winery

Main Courses

Chambourcin & Sirloin Steak - Willow Creek Winery
Beef Burgundy w/ Cab Franc - Sparkling Ponds
Pork & Sauerkraut Skillet Dinner – Lakeview Wine Cellars
Roast Turkey w/ Ruby Port & Cranberry Sauce - South Shore Wine Company
Tortellini with Porcini Mushroom Sauce - Mazza Chautauqua Cellars
Holiday Chicken Stew - Merritt Estate Winery
Italian Stuffed Shells - Noble Winery

Desserts

Meringue Snowflakes - Burch Farms
Banana Cream Cheesecake – Woodbury Vineyards
Blackberry Muffins - Blueberry Sky Farm Winery
Snickerdoodles - Heritage Wine Cellars
Baklava - Johnson Estate Winery
German Apple Cake - Schloss Doepken Winery
Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle - Roberian Winery
Cranberry Orange Scones - Mazza Vineyards
Pumpkin Custard Tart w/ Chancellor Sauce - Quincy Cellars
Pumpkin Toffee Cookies - Presque Isle Wine Cellars

To purchase tickets for the Chautauqua-Lake Erie Wine Trail’s Holiday Wine Weekend, call 1-877-326-6561 or visit www.chautauquawinetrail.org

In addition to the food and wine tastings and recipes, each participant will receive a locally made holiday gift and a commemorative wine glass.

The Chautauqua-Lake Erie Wine Trail is a consortium of 21 wineries along Lake Erie in southwestern New York and northwestern Pennsylvania whose mission is to support and promote the wine and grape industries in Chautauqua County, New York, and Erie County, Pa. The trail hosts four, seasonal, weekend events every year. Call the Wine Trail office for a brochure, map and a list of b & bs for an unforgettable trip.

If you can't make the holiday wine weekends, you can always plan your own tour. Most of the wineries are open daily from around 10 a.m. or noon to 5 or 6 p.m. For a winery map and info on lodging contact:

Chautauqua-Lake Erie Wine Trail
Chautauqua County Visitors Bureau
North East Area Chamber of Commerce
VisitErie



The Chautauqua-Lake Erie Wine Trail is:
1 hour southwest of Buffalo
2 1/2 hours north of Pittsburgh
2 hours east of Cleveland

Photos by Ed Bernik and Rich Gensheimer for America's Grape Country.