Today we went to the Old Mission Peninsula Wineries' Annual Macaroni and Cheese Bake-Off and Wine Tasting. Whew - that's a mouthful! (So to speak.) We stopped first at Chateau Chantal,probably because it's our favorite. We tasted the Late Harvest Reisling and the Nice Red, and then headed to the "breakfast room" for the Mac and chee. The restaurants represented were Trillium, and two others that I'll remember in a minute! The one in the middle had the best Mac and chee. We left with a case of wine, half Reisling and half Nice Red.
Next was a new winery called Brys Cellars. They have a lovely setting and a beautiful new facility. The wine-tasting counter was full, so we headed right to the Mac and chee and great news for us, the wine-maker himself was serving at a table along the line. We tasted Gewurztraminer and Chardonnay. The restaurants were Peninsula Grill and the NMC Culinary Institute. The Grill served fantastic Mac and chee - it was now #1 in my book. The Institute was very creative and served Reuben Mac and Chee complete with Russian dressing. I discovered that I'm a traditionalist.
Off to Bowers Harbor Winery, where they had already run out of Mac and chee. But we got a good spot at the tasting counter, and I asked for something sweet and white. I got something called Cooper and it was really good - a lot like Reisling, but with a bit of a bite. Dick went for more gewurtztraminer. We left with 2 bottles of Cooper and 2 bottles of champagne for the holidays.
Last we stopped in at Chateau Grand Traverse, another of our favorites. It was very crowded, so we went directly to the Mac and chee. The restaurants were Stella and Windows. Stella won, hands down. They had a goat cheese Mac and chee with crushed biscotti mixed in - wow, it was good. It had a pleasant spicy tang it was really good. The two I liked best at the end of the day were the Peninsula Grill and Stella, and one had fine bread crumbs and the other had the crushed biscotti - so the next time I make macaroni and cheese, guess what I'm going to try.
