As the Summer is winding down, the trade tasting season is starting to heat up. That’s when the various wine and spirits importers, distributors and trade associations hold their portfolio or specialized wines and spirits tastings. There are plenty of consumer events as well. This Saturday I attended the 6th annual Pig Island pork Bacchanalia. Over 20 area Chefs created dishes using hogs raised by Flying Pigs Farms, a farm in Washington county upstate New York that raises heritage breeds of pigs. New York State declared Pig Island a “Taste NY” event for their commitment to support New York farms. Of course as well as the swine, the event had on hand beer, wine, cider and local and regional spirits.
The event was held next door to an IKEA mega-store at Erie Basin Park in Red Hook Brooklyn. The park is in a remote area of the borough surrounded by the rusting and decaying remnants of its waterfront past which made for a dramatic backdrop to the festival.
At the Beaujolais tent:
2014 Domaine Romy Rosé
2013 Chateau de Lacarelle Beaujolais Blanc Cuvée Grande Reserve
2011 Duboeuf Beaujolais Villages
2013 Louis Jadot Beaujolais Villages
2013 Domaine des Billards Saint-Amour
2013 Chateau du Châtelard Moulin-a-Vent
Local and Rum & Whiskey:
Van Brunt Stillhouse
Widow Jane Distillery
Hudson Whiskey
Cider:
DownEast Cider
Original Sin