Beach Bytes: Sipping Along the East Coast
Grape vines at Channing Daughters Winery on Long Island (courtesy, Channing Daughters Winery)
Sometimes there’s more to the beach than getting too much sun on the sand or splashing with the kids. Here are some seasonal events along the East Coast where grownups can enjoy the coast as well and add some flavor to their travels.
The Shoreline Wine Festival in Guilford, Connecticut, August 15-16, features samples from more than ten Connecticut wineries, along with local crafts, food, wine seminars, and live entertainment by New England bands. Guilford is a lovely historic town along the scenic coast with an abundance of house museums, as well outdoor activities.
If you can’t get to the festival, Bishop’s Orchards Winery hosts weekend wine tastings and pick-your-own-fruit opportunities with blueberries currently in season plus raspberries, peaches, pears, and apples expected by mid-August. The winery is one of 19 on the state’s wine trail, with eight of them being along the coast. Take a day to tour those along the coastal trail, find a comfy bed and breakfast, and then slide on over to the western trail for another day of tasting.
Not too far away in East Hampton, New York, Outstanding in the Field on August 25 is an outdoor five-course dinner paired with the wines of Channing Daughters Winery. The meal will be prepared by Chef Gerry Hayden from the North Fork Table & Inn and staged literally in the field, served farm-style at one long table for more than a hundred guests. The event, hosted by the East End Community Organic Farm, includes a guided tour of the farm and discussion by the farmer and the winemaker. The upscale dinner accepts limited reservations, but it’s not sold out yet! If you can't make this event, Channing Daughters has a tasting room where their winemaker hosts tasting classes periodically. Their wines are creative and handmade in small batches to produce interesting choices.
These creative farm dinners that feature local producers, usually served outdoors between soil and sky, are scheduled in a number of other stunning locations throughout the country, including at Bartlett's Farm in Nantucket, Massachusetts, and Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
I'm always looking for beachy places to go and things to do on the shore. Have any suggestions or like what you've seen? Follow me on Twitter or watch my TwitWall for more details of these and other blogs.
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As a wine aficionado, my wife would absolutely love this! We'll have to try it next time we go to the beach.
Posted by: Dan | July 30, 2009 at 01:18 PM