Pigs & Pinot 2016 | General Sales

11th Annual Pigs & Pinot On Friday, March 18 and Saturday, March 19, Chef Charlie Palmer will once again bring together culinary and wine elites from around the country to participate in the 11th Annual Pigs & Pinot weekend sponsored in part by U.S. Bank FlexPerks® Travel Rewards Visa Signature®. Held at the award-winning Hotel Healdsburg this celebration has become a tradition among pork and wine enthusiasts eager to experience the creations of over 60 wineries and 20 chefs who showcase their talents each year. All net proceeds from the Pigs & Pinot benefit Share Our Strength® and local scholarships and charities.

Participating Chefs
Matt Lambert (Executive Chef/Co-Owner The Musket Room)
Barbara Lynch (Chef/Owner No.9 Park, B&G Oysters, and The Butcher Shop)
Michael Mina (Chef/Co-Owner Michael Mina)
Bryan Voltaggio (Chef/Owner, VOLT and RANGE and Top Chef Masters Runner-Up)

Taste and Gala Guest Wineries
Jeff Mangahas (Winemaker, Williams Selyem)
Paul Hobbs (Owner and Winemaker, Paul Hobbs)
Randy Schock (Co-Winemaker, Handley Cellars)
Matt Dicey (Winemaker, Mt Difficulty)

Taste of Pigs and Pinot
Friday evening’s festival kickoff 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 60 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, patés and other special creations from Chef Palmer, Dry Creek Kitchen, guest celebrity chefs, and local Healdsburg restaurants including Chalkboard, Spoonbar and Valette.

Pinot Cup
The Pinot Cup is our annual wine competition where 60 hand-picked Pinot Noirs compete in a blind-tasting competition in hopes to be named “the best of the best” by a renowned judging panel including Peg Melnik, Wine Critic/Blogger and Writer, The Press Democrat and Master Sommelier, Drew Hendricks. The winner and runner-up will be revealed at Friday’s Taste of Pigs & Pinot event.

Seminars
On Saturday afternoon, Pigs & Pinot participants can attend two seminars: Tournament of The Pigwhere four guest chefs will divide into two teams to prepare the best pork-inspired dishes. This iron-chef style competition hosted by Charlie Palmer and Mario Cantone; and “The Ultimate Pinot Smackdown” seminar led by Master Sommeliers, Keith Goldston, Fred Dame, Drew Hendricks and Michael Jordan.

Spoonbar’s Swine and Wine Dinner
Saturday evening’s Swine & Wine dinner will begin with a welcome artisan cocktail from Spoonbar’s rising star bar manager Alec Vlastnik. A fabulous multi-course dinner that charts a course from nose to tail of the pig will follow, prepared by two talented culinary couples, Spoonbar’s new co-executive Chefs Casey and Patrick Van Voorhis and Duskie Estes and John Stewart of the acclaimed Zazu Kitchen and Farm in Sebastopol and The Black Pig Meat Company. The menu will showcase two of Sonoma County’s premier Pinot Noir Producers: Claypool Cellars and Black Kite Cellars. Join us for this casual chic dinner in h2hotel’s Green Room. After dinner, guests are invited to continue the party at Hotel Healdsburg for after-dinner drinks and sweets.

Gala Dinner
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: Matt Lambert of The Musket Room, Barbara Lynch of No. 9 Park, B&G Oysters and The Butcher. Every course will be paired with two limited-production Pinot Noirs from highly acclaimed wineries including Williams Selyem, Paul Hobbs and Handley Cellars.