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Chef Charlie Palmer’s Pigs and Pinot Weekend 2015 Promises To Impress.

Its time! Charlie Palmer’s annual food and wine event celebrates its 10th anniversary, featuring culinary stars, and wine experts from around the world, raising significant funds for No Kid Hungry and local Sonoma County charities and scholarships

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This Spring Friday, March 20 to Saturday, March 21, 2015, Chef Charlie Palmer will take over Wine Country once again with top food and wine talent by his side for the 10th Annual Pigs and Pinot Weekend

This year’s event will be held at the award-winning Hotel Healdsburg and its acclaimed restaurant, Dry Creek Kitchen Healdsburg where Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley, and Russian River Valley converge. This annual charitable celebration has become a must attend event amongst pork and wine enthusiasts eager to experience the creations of over 60 wineries and more than 20 chefs who showcase their talents each year.
This year’s participating pork authorities include:

Michael Kornick,  Chef/Owner mk The Restaurant

Michael Kornick,
Chef/Owner mk The Restaurant

Brian Voltaggio, Chef/Owner VOLT, RANGE

Brian Voltaggio, Chef/Owner VOLT, RANGE

Ludo Lefebvre, Chef/Owner Petit Trois, Trois Mec, Ludo Bird

Ludo Lefebvre, Chef/Owner Petit Trois, Trois Mec, Ludo Bird

Nancy Oakes, Chef/Owner Boulevard

Nancy Oakes, Chef/Owner Boulevard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10th Annual Pigs & Pinot, Pinot Noir Blend

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Pigs & Pinot, winemakers Daryl Groom (Groom) and Jesse Katz (Lancaster Estates) have produced a limited production, one-of-a-kind Pinot Noir blend. This exclusive blend combines select 2013 Pinot Noir grapes from 12 iconic Sonoma County winemakers from the past decade of Pigs & Pinot events, including winners of the coveted Pinot Cup and participants of the Gala dinner.

Only ONE BARREL of this incredible blend is being made and will be sold online when tickets go on sale in January. This 2013 Russian River Valley, Sonoma County Pinot Noir is composed of grapes from the following wineries: Cirq, DeLoach, Paul Hobbs, Martinelli, Merry Edwards, Papapietro, Perry, Kanzler, Rochioli, Roth, Williams Selyem, Woodenhead, and Kosta Browne.

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“I couldn’t be more proud of what we have accomplished throughout the ten years of Pigs & Pinot,” stated Chef Charlie Palmer , “We’ve raised over $500,000 for No Kid Hungry and Sonoma County charities and scholarships; we’ve celebrated two Sonoma County staples, pork and Pinot Noir, and we’ve truly raised the bar year after year to enhance the quality of the event and its offerings. I can’t wait for this tenth annual event and I’m so thankful for everyone who has had a hand in Pigs & Pinot over the years.”

 

THE 2015 PIGS & PINOT WEEKEND LINE-UP

Friday, March 20, 2015:
Taste of Pigs & Pinot; 6:30-9:00 p.m.
Friday evening’s kickoff event is the lively Taste of Pigs & Pinot where guests sample 60 highly-acclaimed Pinot Noir wines competing in the Pinot Cup competition, both from Sonoma County and around the world. Two Rosé wines will be offered in addition to the lineup of Pinot Noirs treating guests to a “white wine” twist on Pinot Noir. Tastings are served alongside a variety of pork dishes, including homemade sausages, charcuterie, grilled pork, pâtés and other special creations from Chef Palmer and Dry Creek Kitchen, guest celebrity chefs and local Healdsburg restaurants.
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Tournament of the Pig; 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Pigs & Pinot guest chefs will be divided into two talent-packed teams. Charlie Palmer and actor/comedian Mario Cantone will host this iron-chef style competition so guests can once again expect some lively commentary! The two teams will be given a whole pig, which they will use to create two distinct dishes, along with ingredients they can find at Dry Creek Kitchen. A pork-loving panel of judges will determine the winning team. And yes, the audience gets to taste, too!

 

 

Ultimate Pinot Smack Down; 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.
Join Master Sommeliers Keith Goldston, Fred Dame, Drew Hendricks, and Michael Jordan for this exciting March Madness-inspired wine seminar. Each Master Sommelier enters the room with his personal selection of four Pinot Noirs from around the world and proceeds to “sell” his favorites in this lively head-to-head pitch contest, which includes blind tastings where the audience picks the winner.

 

 

Pigs & Pinot Gala Dinner; 6:30 p.m.
Saturday evening’s Pigs & Pinot Gala features a sumptuous five-course dinner at Hotel Healdsburg’s Dry Creek Kitchen. As a collaborative offering, each course features a signature creation from Palmer and his guest chefs including: Ludo Lefebvre, Bryan Voltaggio, Michael Kornick, and Nancy Oakes. Every course will be paired with two limited-production Pinot Noirs from highly acclaimed wineries including Merry Edwards Winery, Alex Gambal, Peter Michael Winery, MacPhail Family Wines, and Gary Pisoni.

 

 

Spoonbar’s Swine & Wine Dinner; 7:00 p.m. at h2hotel
Spoonbar’s Chef Louis Maldonado (Top Chef Finalist 2014) and team showcase two very special and passionate Pinot Noir wineries for their annual Swine & Wine dinner: Brogan Cellars and George Wine Company. Both wineries are considered cult Pinot Noir producers and Chef Maldonado does justice to their exceptional flavor profiles with his food pairings. Whereas Pinot Noir is normally paired with European flavors, Chef Maldonado will marry Pinot with an Asian palette—from Japan, Korea and Vietnam–with pork as the unifying factor during this 5-course casual chic dinner.
Pigs & Pinot Late Night is a late evening celebration following the Gala and Spoonbar’s Swine & Wine Dinner with after-dinner drinks and dessert at Hotel Healdsburg’s Spirit Bar and fireside lounge. All Pigs & Pinot celebrants are welcome to attend.

We suggest The Platinum Pigs & Pinot Package that includes three nights’ accommodations for four couples in four luxurious Hotel Healdsburg suites a personal introduction by Chef Palmer to the featured gala chefs and winemakers; a private table at the gala dinner, joined by the featured gala winemaker of their choice; an exclusive take home gift featuring one bottle from each of the featured gala wineries; and VIP check-in to all events for $25,000 plus applicable fees.
The Ultimate Pigs & Pinot Package includes two nights’ accommodations for two in a Hotel Healdsburg Plaza or Courtyard Suite at $2,937 plus applicable fees.
The Luxe Pigs & Pinot package price includes two night accommodations for two in a Hotel Healdsburg Deluxe Room at $2,481 plus applicable fees.

h2hotel, Hotel Healdsburg’s sustainably chic sister property located just down the street, is teaming up with Pigs & Pinot this year to provide additional lodging packages for guests including two nights in a standard room, two tickets to Taste, two tickets to Spoonbar’s Swine & Wine Dinner and admission to the Pigs & Pinot Saturday Late Night dessert celebration. Package Price: $1,679 plus applicable fees.

Tickets will be available for purchase at www.pigsandpinot.com according to the below schedule:

Wednesday, January 14, 2015 | Exclusive Pigs & Pinot Visa Signature Pre-Sale Visa Signature card holders will have access to purchase tickets during a 24-hour pre-sale beginning at 10 am PST on Wednesday, January 14. On Thursday, January 15, 2015 the General Sale will commence.

See you there!!
More information is available at www.pigsandpinot.com and www.charliepalmer.com.