Tastemakers: Boskkydel Chestnuts & Vignoles

Boskydel Chestnuts
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire....” are lyrics that conjure up visions of a roaring fire, some mistletoe and a little nip of holiday cheer to keep Jack Frost from chilling your nose. It is chestnut season and several area farmers (squirrels too) have been busy harvesting these healthful, flavorful nuts. Harvest in this region takes place from late September to the end of October.
Bernie Rink of Boskydel Vineyards learned several years ago of the nutritional benefits and the fact that Chinese Chestnuts made a great appetizer to pair with his wines. So Rink ripped out his experimental vineyard (formerly a baseball diamond built by his five sons) and replaced it with several chestnut trees. Now Rink isn’t abandoning his winery operation, he still has 25 acres of grapes and produces 4,500 cases annually. In addition to customers walking out with cases of wine, Rink is selling them a bag of chestnuts. He tempts his tasting room visitors during the winter months with samples of the chestnuts he has roasted on top of his Icosahedrons stove.
Chestnuts are substantially lower in both fat and calories than other nuts. At 69 calories and 0.6 grams of fat per ounce, compared to 163 calories and 13 grams of fat for cashews and 169 calories and 15 grams of fat for almonds, chestnuts make sense. They are best served warm on crackers with a glass of wine as Bernie does it. They also make great additions to soups and salads. The Internet is loaded with recipes that call for chestnuts.
A great time to visit Boskydel is just after Thanksgiving as Bernie also grows Christmas trees, which are U-cut. Let’s see, a case of Boskydel Vignoles $65, a Christmas Tree $20, a pound of chestnuts $5 and words of wisdom from Bernie --priceless. No, Bernie doesn’t take Mastecard or for that matter any credit card, but cash and checks are always welcome.


Boskydel Vignoles
Winemaker Bernie Rink has had a simple motto at his Boskydel Vineyard near Lake Leelanau: “Make great tasting affordable table wines.” He has been doing that successfully for 30 years, only raising his prices four times in that span and all of his wines remain under nine bucks a bottle.
A personal favorite of mine for the past 21 years has been his Vignoles (formally known as Ravat 51). This dry, crisp wine has some Chardonnay in its parentage, and is a wine with depth and backbone, characteristics that match those of the winemaker. Vignoles also stands up to a range of food pairings, in particular with sharp pungent cheeses, spicy foods and definitely the Thanksgiving turkey. Try sautéing large raw shrimp with olive oil, Boskydel Vignoles, lots of crushed garlic, some Lousiana Hot Sauce and chopped green onion, enjoy the scampi with a glass of Vignoles or for that matter any of Boskydel’s nine wines.
On November 10 a special dinner featuring Boskydel wines will take place at the Great Lakes Culinary Institute visit www.boskydel.com for additional details.
- Rick Coates
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