EAT IT: 7th Annual Tanglewood Wine and Food Classic 2009

I suppose there are worse things than the Monday morning crash following four days of drinking in and eating up the gourmet atmosphere at the annual Tanglewood Wine and Food Classic. I'm stuffed still!

The decidedly less pretentious little sister of the twelve-year-old Nantucket Wine Festival, the TWFC (of which Berkshire Living is a sponsor) draws epicureans and oenophiles to the lush grounds of the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra to sample wine and cuisine from more than a hundred vintners, purveyors, distributors, and restaurants spanning Boston to the Napa Valley.

And what a weekend it was! Festivities kicked off with the swanky Wine Auction Dinner at Seranak (Serge Koussevitzky's famed hillside estate), prepared by guest chef, Zach Bell of Cafe Boulud in Palm Beach, Florida, in collaboration with Jeffrey Thompson, executive chef of Wheatleigh in Lenox. Organic and biodynamic selections from winemaker Robert Sinsky of Napa Valley set the tone for the rest of the weekend as charitable citizens dug deep into their pockets to snag an impressive array of wines and European getaways.

On Friday, an intimate Night of the Living Locavore Dinner challenged Timothy Quinn of Mystic Seaport in Connecticut to craft a menu showcasing locally foraged ingredients including organic duck, duck eggs, and currants from Dominic Palumbo's Moon in the Pond Farm in Sheffield, Massachusetts; arugula and heirloom tomatoes from nearby Equinox Farm; and dairy from Old Chatham Sheepherding Company in Chatham, New York.

Guests were pleasantly surprised to learn that the accompanying wines had local ties, too. Pittsfield native Jonathan Edwards supplied selections from his eponymous winery in North Stonington, Connecticut--make that very impressive selections, on par with those offered from Landmark Vineyards in Sonoma.

But it wasn't all toasting chefs and winemakers during lavish feasts; education, as always, is a cornerstone of the TWFC. I sat in on a couple of seminars, including A Waltz with Austrian Wine, a six-selection tasting and lecture led by Master of Wine Bill Nesto, who demonstrated that the country's surge in popularity (from near-obscurity in the 1980s) in the wine domain is "sort of a sequel to that of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc." Among rieslings and pinot noirs, keep your eyes peeled for Grüner Veltliner, a peppery, off-dry, straw-colored quaff made from grapes indigenous to Austria's rocky soil.

Sushi maestro Nick Macioge of Fin Sushi & Sake Bar in Lenox began his Saturday-morning East Meets West: Sushi and Loire Valley Wines seminar by filleting aji, or horse mackerel, a farmed saltwater fish.

"I'm on an anti-bluefin tuna kick," Macioge announced, speaking as much to the endangement of the species as to the blindsiding effect the trend seems to have on otherwise adventurous diners. "People should be eating [mackerel] instead."

The horse mackerel was just one component of Macioge's chirashi, or "scattered sushi," a bowl of sushi rice topped with raw fish and a motley crew of accompaniments chosen according to a chef's whim, typically including tamago (egg omelet) and pickled vegetables. (Ordering such a mishmash requires confidence in the sushi chef, but it's a fantastic way to try the freshest offerings at an eatery and expand your palate. I know what I'm asking for at Fin the next time I stop in.)

To answer the big question: What to sip with sushi? Try Muscadet (not to be confused with the saccharine Muscat), Sancerre, Sauvignon Blanc, and Vouvrey from the Loire Valley--bright, snappy varietals that pair especially well with sushi and raw fish thanks to the region's cooler climate and to its flint- and mica-rich soil. (This area of France is known also, not coincidentally, for its freshwater eel and oysters.)

Then of course, was the centerpiece of the weekend, The Grand Tasting: a veritable food-and-wine free-for-all. Armed with TWFC logo wineglasses and hearty appetites, hundreds of guests sampled wines (plus spirited  elderflower cocktails from main event sponsor St. Germain and a few nonalcoholc beverages, like a refreshing Pomatini from Canyon Ranch's new cookbook) and small plates from scores of establishements.

Local representation was in full force again this year: smoky corn chowder from the Lenox Garage was a hit, as were crispy corn fritters from Marketplace Kitchen in Sheffield; bruschetta from Frankie's Ristorante Italiano, zingy gazpacho from Alta, and confections infused with Champage and Lapsang Souchong tea from Chocolate Spring Cafe, all in Lenox.

(Not to rub it in or anything, but see what else you missed, here.)

Live cooking demonstrations throughout the afternoon offered momentary respite from the hustle and bustle; chef Daire Rooney of Brix Wine Bar prepared moules frites--three ways!--and veteran TFWC chef Sean Buchanan of Solstice at Stowe Mountain Lodge in Vermont showed a rapt audience how to sear sea scallops to perfection. Melt-in-your-mouth goodness, had by all.

The Tanglewood Wine and Food Classic respresents what might just be the ultimate pairing: good food, great wine, unparalleled natural beauty, and many familiar faces with whom to share it all.

Until next year....