Tastemakers: Soup to Nuts Cooking Series/Left Foot Charley Red Drive

Nov. 14, 2007

Soup To Nuts
Cooking Series
Pairing wine with food is often focused on the main course. But what about the salad, appetizers or the soup?  More than likely, one wine is not going to pair best with each course; so what must one do?
At home, you have the luxury of opening multiple bottles of wine to enjoy 3 to 4 ounces with each course. If your wallet allows, you have that same option when dining out, as Michigan law now permits you to bring home any bottle of wine THAT you don’t finish at the restaurant (check with your server before walking out with an open bottle of wine, as there is a protocol that by law must be followed).
Another great way to enjoy the food-wine experience while dining out is to invite others to join you, with each person or couple taking the wine responsibility for one of the courses. As the wine region continues to grow here in Northern Michigan, look for more partnering between area chefs and winemakers, from specialty dinners to cooking classes to culinary events. These all present great ways to learn the art of pairing wine and food.
A great opportunity for this will take place November 15 at Left Foot Charley (the new urban winery located at the Village at Grand Traverse Commons) when winemaker/proprietor Bryan Ulbrich partners with chef and soup-master Myles Anton of Trattoria Stella for Soup To Nuts. This will be the first in a series that Left Foot Charley will host with area chefs, that will feature a range of cooking classes covering many things from “soup to nuts.” Each class will feature wine pairing tips from Ulbrich. The first class will have Anton giving soup lessons, with future classes to be announced at a later date on the Left Foot Charley web site. 
“We plan to demonstrate not only how to make delicious soup, but also how the flavors in our wine compliment the flavors in the meal,” said Ulbrich. “The focus will be on the food; the wine will be the silver lining. Attendees will get to learn about and taste three soups and three wines, along with locally baked bread from Pleasanton Brick Oven Bakery.” A portion of the proceeds from Soup To Nuts will benefit The Fresh Food Partnership of Traverse City. Space is limited, and tickets were close to selling out at press time. For additional details or to make a reservation go to www.leftfootcharley.com, or call 231-995-0500.

Left Foot Charley
Red Drive

Winemaker Bryan Ulbrich built a reputation for his white winemaking abilities while at Peninsula Cellars on the Old Mission Peninsula. Heck, a few years back he took home ‘best white wine’ in the world honors at the esteemed San Francisco International Wine Competition. Ulbrich has been passionate about whites, and when he decided to open his own winery, Left Foot Charley, which has become Michigan’s first urban winery, he planned to focus his energies on white wines. It’s not that Ulbrich doesn’t like or appreciate reds; he is just passionate about white wine.
Knowing that not all customers coming through his doors would share his same enthusiasm, Ulbrich decided to produce a “token” red. After all a winery that is located on Red Drive should have at least one red wine to offer. The Left Foot Charley Red Drive is hardly a “token” red, Ulbrich took to the philosophy that “red wines are better when blended from several varieties,” and as he puts it in his tasting notes, it is something the “Bordelais have known for centuries and we are borrowing from their playbook.” Red Drive is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and a relatively new but popular French hybrid Regent that results in a medium bodied red. Red Drive is perfect with wild game dishes, stews, burgers and red sauce pastas.
The past three growing seasons in Northern Michigan have done wonders to improve the quality of red wines being produced in the region and Left Foot Charley’s Red Drive is a great example of this. Check out this wine or their award winning whites at their tasting room located on Red Drive between Higher Grounds Coffee and Pleasanton Brick Oven Bakery. For directions call 231.995.0500 or visit leftfootcharley.com.