On Friday May 30th I attended the Hudson Valley Wine and Culinary Food Pairing at the Culinary Institute of America’s St. Andrew’s Cafe. What a wonderful dinner it was!! The event was sold out at 94 people. There was a nice mix of winery owners and winemakers and the public.

The evening began with appetizers and a nice selection of wine on the patio. The appetizers were wonderful. They served, Duck and Fig kabobs, Smoked Salmon, some sort of whitefish, Thai Pizza and pizza with goat cheese and roasted red pepper, there was a spoon that had shrimp and a light salsa. It was all very good. Everyone was mingling and talking.

We went into the dinning room for an outstanding dinner. Click here to see the menu. The awards were given out to the wineries during dinner. It was done very tasteful as not long and drawn out. There were some newcomers to the wine industry winning some awards. Hudson-Chatham Winery won an award for their Merlot as did Bashakill Vineyards for their Whitetail and Blue Heron. This is the first year that both these wineries have gone commercial. Congratulations to Carlo and Paul.

Millbrook Vineyards took home the Cornell and Valerie Eldridge cup for their 2005 Estate Grown Cabernet Franc. I must say it went very well with the Filet Mignon. Benmarl’s Baco Noirwhich won a Gold and Bed Red Hybrid, paired very well with the Lamb.

There were also a few wineries that didn’t attend the event. That was their loss. For people outside of the wine industry, this event allowed them to meet with the owners and winemakers in a social setting and talk with them and learn about Hudson Valley Wine. I heard comments from a few people that they thought this event was great. They learned a lot about Hudson Valley Wines and created new friendships.

I have video from the event that I will share with all of you. I haven’t put it all together yet. Once I do, I will post it and you will see from the speeches and learn more about Hudson Valley Wine.

In the meantime, you can view the pictures from the event.