We tasted and enjoyed a terrific selection of  trophy winning Michigan wines, generously shared with us by wine expert Joel Goldberg Tuesday evening at Hathaway’s Hideaway, including wines from L. Mawby,  Black Star Farms Winery, Bowers Harbor Vineyards, Lawton Ridge Winery, Uncle John’s Fruit House Winery,  Forty-Five North Vineyard and Winery, and Fenn Valley Vineyard and Wine Cellar.  But before the packed room of more than 50 guests sat down to enjoy these reds, whites, and dessert wines, the sparkling selections and appetizers were served upstairs in the Hideaway’s cozy bar.

L. Mawby and Black Star Farms brought on the bubbles with their lovely sparklers.  L. Mawby’s Demi Sec “Jadore” and BSF’s Brut were both wonderful pours to start off the evening.  Paired perfectly with a variety of appetizers from Eve Restaurant, The Grange Kitchen and Bar,  Arbor Brewing Company, and Bona Sera Supper Club, we started on our wine tasting adventure.  The appetizer selection included Brandon John’s  rich pulled pork on a square of  lightly toasted Grange bread, a crunchy lettuce leaf filled with a Thai inspired mix of minced local shrimp, chopped peanuts, and hot peppers from Bona Sera,  Arbor Brewing Company’s bean and cheese pate’ served on a toasted baguette, topped with mixed greens and a balsamic vinegar reduction (all pictured above), and Eve made us  lamb and brick phyllo dough squares, along with sauteed Halumi cheese with a sun dried tomato garnish.  Each one of these appetizers was beautifully presented and really yummy.    

And, let’s not forget the eats.   We loved featuring our area’s local chef’s luscious eats to go with each of these delicious wines. Check out a few examples of the offerings below.

 As usual, it took lots of support and hands-on help to make our first wine tasting event so successful, so there are many people to thank.  First, a huge thank you to Joel Goldberg who came up with the idea of supporting Selma Cafe with a wine tasting party.  Joel has a real passion for good wine, and he writes regularly for the Ann Arbor Chronicle.  Joel volunteered his time and energy, and  his easy-going style of enjoying wines created a wonderfully relaxed evening for all of us.

Thanks also to Black Star Farms owner Don Coe, who is also vice-chair of the Michigan Commission of Agriculture. Don spoke passionately and eloquently about the role Michigan wine producers can take to compete with other wine growing areas around the country and internationally.  Thanks as well to Don for offering such a large selection of his terrific wines for us to sample. 

Thank you to all the other Michigan wineries who either donated or discounted their wines for our party:  L. Mawby, Forty-Five North Vineyard and Winery,  Bowers Harbor Vineyards, Lawton Ridge Winery, Uncle John’s Fruit House Winery,  and Fenn Valley Winery.  Every single wine we sampled was delicious, and it was obvious to all why these are all Trophy wining wines.

Of course, massive thanks go to all our chefs who provided such creative and amazing appetizers.  Thank you Eve Aranoff, of eve the restaurant,  Brandon Johns of  the Grange Kitchen and Bar, Thad Gillies from Logan,  EAT catering,  Tranche de Vie catering, Mindo Chocolate, Arbor Brewing Company, Chef Nick Roumel, Chef  Dan Vernia and Bad Fairy and Wonder Woman of  Bona Sera Underground Supper Club.  We are very appreciative of your generosity, and for your consistent support.

We adore our volunteers.  We ask for help, and they show up. Lovely, happy, enthusiastic, efficient and so much fun, where would we be without them?  Hugs and thanks to Susie Baity Stearns, Michelle Fortin, Riva Jewel Vitale, Andrea Ridgard, Kate Sankey, Erin Johnson and Amber Smithson.

We thoroughly enjoyed hosting this party at Hathaway’s Hideaway.  Thank you so much Mary Hathaway, for gifting us the use of this venue.  The Hideaway is a wonderful Ann Arbor treasure.

Thank you Kim Kunoff for all the support at the front end of this event.  Your ability to help me organize and promote our events is invaluable.  WAP from Grafaktri donated a beautiful Thank You banner, and then he actually delivered it to us!  You rock WAP, thanks so much.  A special thank you Jeff, aka Mr. Selma, for giving me the reins on this one,  for letting me do my thing, and for your help when I needed it.  

Of course, I can’t forget a shout out and thanks to all the guests who tasted all these delicious wines and delectable eats with us.  All the proceeds  support Growing Hope, our fiscal sponsor for this wine tasting party, and to our RP&F Farmer Fund , so we can continue  building hoop houses for farmers in our community.  And, just in case you are wondering, Joel and I are already talking about our 2nd annual Mitten Wine Tasting event for next year. 

Finally, I’m hoping you don’t miss this Sunday evening’s Selma Cafe benefit performance by the amazing singer/songwriter/musician Vienna Teng as part of the Greenwood Coffee House Series, 1001 Green Road, 48105.   Buy tickets HERE. 

 Thanks all,

~Lisa