Dan's Papers - August 17, 2007 - Over the Barrel... with Lenn Thompson

Pick most any weekend and you're bound to find at least a handful of East End events worth checking out--especially at your favorite wineries. There are usually bands or solo performers playing, vineyard and winery tours, food pairing exhibitions or even cooking demonstrations. All are fun and worthwhile ways to spend a weekend afternoon. But, three upcoming events take the local food and wine experience even further.

On Sunday, September 9, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., the North Fork Reform Synagogue is offering a chance to see how the North Fork's delicious bounty comes to be, with The North Fork Foodie Tour. Homebase for the do-it-yourself tour is Shinn Estate Vineyards, where participants can pick up their map, which lists all of the tour's stops. Farms include personal favorites Sang Lee Farms, Golden Earthworm Organic Farm and Garden of Eve Organic Farm. Catapano Dairy Farm--which makes the best goat cheese I've ever had--is another tour stop, as is Ty Llwyd, a great place for local eggs, North Quarter Bison Farm, home to free-range bison, and Pipe Coves Oysters. Tickets are $25 (children under 12 are free) and special tours, talks, and tastings will be part of visits to these and several other participating farms and vendors. Visit www.northforkreformsynagogue.com/ and navigate your way to the calendar to find out how to buy tickets.

By now, you've probably heard about Wine Camp, dubbed "finally a camp for adults" by organizers. Sponsored by the Long Island Wine Country B&B Group, the next session runs from October 15th to the 18th and offers four days and three nights of the Long Island wine life. You'll work the fields at local vineyards, learn tasting technique, blend wines along side some of the best local winemakers and explore food and wine pairings. It might seem expensive at $749 per person, double occupancy but the package includes three nights at one of four B&Bs, breakfast each morning, lunch in the vineyards, dinner at an outstanding local restaurant, and a multi-course food and wine pairing dinner event to round out the festivities at Castello di Borghese. You even get a case of wine to take home with you. Visit winecamp.org for details.

Lastly, on October 27 at Stony Brook Southampton, the Stony Brook Center for Food, Wine and Culture is proud to present its second annual "Sustaining The Good Life" Symposium to benefit the Center's program in conjunction with the new curriculum at the Southampton campus. The afternoon begins with a symposium, moderated by Louisa Hargrave, that seeks to answer the question "Local, Fresh, Authentic: What Makes Food Great?" Guest speakers include Pulitzer Prize winning writer Jonathan Gold, master gardener and author Patricia Klinienst, and New York Times food and restaurant columnist Florence Fabricant.

And, after the talks and Q&A session are finished, there will be a harvest celebration featuring the wines and foods of Bedell Cellars, Art of Eating, Channing Daughters, Black Tie Catering, Corey Creek, Vineyards, Blue Duck Bakery Café, Lenz Winery, Jedediah Hawkins Inn, Lieb Family Cellars, Loaves and Fishes Cookshop, Martha Clara, Michael's on the Boardwalk, Palmer Vineyards, North Fork Table & Inn, Sang Lee Farms, Seafood Barge, Peconic Bay Winery, South Hampton Publick House, Pellegrini Vineyards, Taste of the North Fork, Raphael, Thyme & Again Food Shop, Scarola Vineyards, Wildthyme Restaurant, Wild By Nature and Wolffer Estate. Tickets for the entire day are $85, while tickets for just the Harvest Celebration are $50. Visit www.sunysb.edu/sb/winecenter/eastendeveents.shtml for details