The Marlboro Man of the wine world was here for one night only. On June 12^th, Paul Hobbs visited Palmetto Bluff to host “Home for Dinner”, an evening of home cooking paired with eight of Paul’s tremendous wines.

I will admit that I was a little intimidated at the thought of meeting Paul; after all he is a legend in my world. We were to spend at least an hour together in the car on the way back from the airport and it could have been awkwardly silent but thankfully he is down to earth and easy to talk to. You would have never known that he is the head of an empire and one of the most influential winemakers in the United States not to mention his projects in Chile, Argentina and Hungary.

We instantaneously hit it off at the airport and chatted our way through a few errands and throughout our journey to the resort. In anticipation of our time together I had a long list of questions that I was eager to ask him but our conversation never made its way to wine. We discussed politics, wealth, the Bohemian Club, corporate America etc. but never a mention of our one commonality. It was surprising and refreshing.

The evening started off in the garden of Marge and Norm Agin, our hosts for the evening, which was complete with a coy pond and miniature locomotives circling atop the pond.

The dinner began with Paul telling us about his childhood, the early part of his career and how the Paul Hobbs Winery began. As dinner started Guest Chef Kevin Gillespie of Woodfire Grill in Atlanta, GA eloquently explained his approach to the menu and his creations for the evening. Our Executive Chef Kirk Gilbert shed some light on his menu items and revealed the meaning behind his “Home for Dinner” menu item, “Spaghetti & Meatballs”.  

I think we made quite an impression on Paul and hopefully it convinced him that there are some serious food and wine lovers in the south and to visit Palmetto Bluff again soon.

Excerpt From today's Island Packet, thank you Hannah Carroll for this fun feature!

Music to Your Mouth Guest Chef Sean Brock of McCrady's Restaurant in Charleston talks southern cooking on SCETV's "The Big Picture."

The show tackles the question ... has Charleston become the new southern food capitol of the United States?  Three of the last five years, the James Beard Award for best chef in the Southeast has hailed from the Holy City. The Big Picture travels to the coast to talk - and eat with - the experts.

Watch the show online

Only one week left until Paul Hobbs joins us for Five Courses of decadence. We are serving up comfort foods, guilty pleasures that you don't dare eat in front of others paired with multiple glasses of Paul's own brand of decadence. This sinful cuisine will be created by Guest Chef Kevin Gillespie of Woodfire Grill in Atlanta, GA and Palmetto Bluff's own Executive Chef Kirk Gilbert.

Bravo TV's Top Chef just announced their Season 7 "cheftestants" and we are thrilled that Kenny Gilbert is in the mix! Kenny is brother to "our" Executive Chef Kirk Gilbert and Kenny and Kirk will be cooking in tandem for the Hirsch Vineyards Simmer' Supper Club Dinner during Music to Your Mouth week. Kenny will also be on stage and under the main tent at the Culinary Festival.

According to the Top Chef website, Kenny once split his pants open while cooking a 10-course meal and didn't even blink an eye. Sounds like our kind of guy!

A boisterous crowd from all over the east coast gathered for both nights of our Plumpjack Weekend spectacular Hosted by Winemaker Tony Biagi. 

The weekend started with a casual evening at Buffalo's Eatery. My favorite pairing was a cheerwine barbeque glazed pork tenderloin with a vidalia onion pirlau, tomato confit and early spring peas served with the ’06 Cade Howell Mountain Cabernet. After dinner we retired to the firepits for a blind tasting game and some smores.  

Saturday we really hit our stride with Chris Hastings of Hot and Hot Fish Club in Birmingham, AL behind the wheel. His "Woodland" Alabama cuisine paired beautifully with the inspired wines of Plumpjack. The reds for the event were opened four hours prior to the event and were well worth the wait. The estate cabernet was humming by the time it hit the first glass. Syrah has always been one of my favorite grapes and Plumpjack's was no exception, it was smokey, meaty and delicious. Chef Hastings' passion for food translates beautifully to a plate. The spring onion spoon bread served with the roasted duck brought me back to Birmingham and the amazing meal that I enjoyed at Hot and Hot Fish Club.  

We laughed, cried and drank moonshine, not necessarily in that order.

Last week's Domaine Serene Dinner was all that I wanted it to be and just a bit more. Guest Chef Sean Brock of McCrady's in Charleston and our Executive Chef Kirk Gilbert out did themselves reinventing family recipes to take our guests on a stroll down memory lane. The evening started with Sean Brock's take on PB & J, Foie Gras with Peanut Butter and fresh strawberries. We then moved onto Rabbit Meatloaf and settled in with a decadent Chicken & Dumplin's wrapped in pork belly. All these wonderous foods were paired with the ethereal wines of Domaine Serene including the spellbinding 2005 Monogram.

The last magical part of the evening was a special treat that Sean brought with him. It was a big ol Mason Jar full of Moonshine infused with Damson Plums from West Virginia also known as trouble with a capital T that rhymes with P that stands for Moonshine.

We are prepping for our Domaine Serene Dinner with Grace Evenstad and Guest Chef Sean Brock of McCrady's in Charleston, SC. Sean is still sizzling from his win yesterday at COCHON 555 US TOUR in Atlanta so we may see a little pig on the menu. We are serving reinvented recipes from yesteryear paired with the alluring wines of Domaine Serene. Don't miss our "Pantry Dinner", only a few spots remain!!!

Winemaker Ehren Jordan will return to the Bluff Easter Weekend for two fun-filled dinners as a part of the Turley & Failla Wine Weekend. Take a look at this clip, Chasing Ehren. He's a true man on the move!

 Also making his return next month is Chef Anthony Hoy Fong. Anthony has spent the last four years cooking across America with Food Network star Tyler Florence (so, if you've been to the Music to Your Mouth Festival in November, you've certainly met him!) and currently consults on Bravo's hit cooking show, Top Chef. 

We are really excited about the return of these two artists, and anxious to see what they are cooking up!