By Jennifer Primrose | Feb. 10 , 2017
Twitter: TriangleAT | Facebook: Triangle Around Town | Instagram: trianglearoundtown
Note: Provenance restaurant has since closed since we visited for the Triangle Wine dinner last year.
One of the highlighted events of the Triangle Wine Experience are the approximately 32 wine dinners going on around the Triangle on the same night. These dinners took place on Thursday, February 2, where some of the best chefs in the Triangle are paired up with some phenomenal wineries to create masterful cuisine for guests.
We were fortunate to attend our first winemakers dinner this year which took us to Provenance at Sky House on E Martin Street in downtown Raleigh. Provenance is a farm to table restaurant relatively new to downtown Raleigh. This dinner was sponsored by Bill Hamlin of Hamlin Companies who was a gracious host to all who entered that evening. As we arrived, we were greeted by the Executive Chef/Operator, Teddy Klopf, who ensured the evening was picture perfect, or should we say, tastefully perfect!
The evening began with a sparkling wine reception as everyone arrived and mingled and as we, Triangle Around Town, played paparazzi with the cameras! One thing I look forward to during this fundraiser is to actually learn more about the charity so we were pleased that Ken Place, director of operations for TWE, introduced us to David McGowen and his wife, who are parents who have benefited so much from the Frankie Lemmon School. David now serves on the board and both spoke to the group to tell their story.
We were treated to a four-course meal, each paired carefully with wines from Three Sticks and Ram's Gate Winery, both from Sonoma, California. Each of the winery's representative spoke about the wine and its paring throughout the evening.
Twitter: TriangleAT | Facebook: Triangle Around Town | Instagram: trianglearoundtown
Note: Provenance restaurant has since closed since we visited for the Triangle Wine dinner last year.
One of the highlighted events of the Triangle Wine Experience are the approximately 32 wine dinners going on around the Triangle on the same night. These dinners took place on Thursday, February 2, where some of the best chefs in the Triangle are paired up with some phenomenal wineries to create masterful cuisine for guests.
We were fortunate to attend our first winemakers dinner this year which took us to Provenance at Sky House on E Martin Street in downtown Raleigh. Provenance is a farm to table restaurant relatively new to downtown Raleigh. This dinner was sponsored by Bill Hamlin of Hamlin Companies who was a gracious host to all who entered that evening. As we arrived, we were greeted by the Executive Chef/Operator, Teddy Klopf, who ensured the evening was picture perfect, or should we say, tastefully perfect!
The evening began with a sparkling wine reception as everyone arrived and mingled and as we, Triangle Around Town, played paparazzi with the cameras! One thing I look forward to during this fundraiser is to actually learn more about the charity so we were pleased that Ken Place, director of operations for TWE, introduced us to David McGowen and his wife, who are parents who have benefited so much from the Frankie Lemmon School. David now serves on the board and both spoke to the group to tell their story.
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| David McGowen and his wife pose for a photograph. |
I had personally never heard of either winery before this evening and may have found some new favorites as well. Knowing I am not a fan of Chardonnay or Pinot Noir, I was still pleasantly surprised by the caliber of both these varietals poured during dinner.
Both Three Sticks and Ram's Gate, I've learned, focus primarily on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes in the Sonoma Valley, Sonoma Coast and Carneros AVAs. Three Sticks has also been considered by some as one of the top 5 vineyards in Sonoma.
In fact, the theme we noticed throughout this 3-day event is the emergence of the Pinot Noir. We walked away from this weekend with a new appreciation and love of this grape - as well as two bottles - and a possible new blog as we delve into the world of Pinot's.
Related Story: 2017 Triangle Wine Experience: Sip, Shop 'n Sign
All in all, we had a fantastic time and were so fortunate to be able to experience one of these dinners. Both the food and wine were phenomenal!
Click here for more photos from the Provenance Wine Dinner.