When I moved here 14 years ago, I was intimidated by wine. I've learned that winemaking is a lot like cooking. You can't make great wine without great grapes.
Cooking for my friends at Beaulieu Vineyards during the grape harvest is like cooking for teenage kids — I never know when they're going to show up. When I cook for them, I need to design a meal that's ready whenever they are, as I do on the show.
We go to Beaulieu Vineyards, where winemaker Joel Aiken explains why serious winemakers insist on growing their own grapes. Elizabeth Florence, BV's viticulturalist, known around here as the Queen of Grapes, gives us a snapshot of the grape's course from vine to wine.
And along with Carmen Quagliata, the executive chef of Tra Vigne, I cook Forever Roasted Pork. It takes forever but it can cook unattended. It's stuffed with sage-seasoned onions, seasoned liberally with Fennel Spice, and tied up with string before roasting. Our meal ends with individual Strawberry, Rhubarb, and Red Banana Crostata — an Italian twist on the American crisp — cooked in blini pans.
