Boucher Family Farm, north of us in Highgate Center, makes several cheeses and their Gorgonzola style Gore-Dawn-Zola is often included on our ever present VT Cheeses & Fresh Fruit Displays during VT Wedding receptions at the Lake House. Nutty & dry textured; it’s also great with dried cranberries, or pears, and our tarragon vinaigrette in a green salad.
Dawn & Dan are always at the Burlington Farmer’s Market on Saturdays!
In addition to the 25 – 30 Vermont Weddings and numerous non-profit retreats here at the Grand Isle Lake House, we always host at least two wine tasting dinners for the public; usually one in May and another in October.
The kitchen team (Russ, Phil & myself) always enjoys preparing these dinners as we are completely free to develop our own creations outside the bounds of a predetermined menu. This free reign gives us fabulous opportunities to both call up old favorites and to try new preparations…constantly expanding our reportoire of options for our individually custom designed wedding menus!
Approximately 55 guests from the Champlain Islands community joined us for a 5 course meal paired with wines from Argentina & Chile. We had lots of familar faces that are loyal wine dinner attendees as well as some new folks that we hope will be returning in the future. Both the wines and menu (listed below) were met with rave reviews!
We have not yet planned our next dinner, other than anticipating sometime in October, so we would love to hear any suggestions for themes that potential guests might be interested in! We would also be happy to add you to our mailing list if you would like to be informed of future public events. Just send me an email: Sheryl Eddy
Santa Rita Reserva Sauvignon Blanc
Shrimp with Salsa Chilena
Pannotia Torrontes
Green Apples, Honey Toasted Pepitas & Lakes End Chevre over Baby Greens
Root: 1 Chardonnay
Sea Bass in Parsley Broth with Hazelnuts
Don Miguel Gascon Argentina Malbec
Montgras Carmenere Reserva
Grilled Lamb with Mint Salsa Verde
Sweet Potato Polenta
Santa Rita Medalla Real Cabernet Sauvignon
Fresh Fruit & Gore~Dawn~Zola
Dried Cherry & Chile Brownies
We are officially open for business and one of our first projects to tackle is the planting of our gardens. Bev Watson and I undertake this job together and have made our first pilgrimage to the nursery in Quebec, just minutes away from the border crossing at Rousses Point, New York. We like to start with an idea of the colors and types of plants we are looking for, but we inevitably get distracted by all the beautiful new plants we find every year.
The pots on the porch are planted and we are loving the color combinations we decided to try. It is amazing how full and lush they become after having been planted for only a few weeks. We think the pinks and whites in the pots by the new stairs leading down to the ceremony site will look particularly beautiful in wedding photographs.
Our next project will be to plant the beds next to the stairs, as well as the vegetable garden. Russell has been watching over the plants he started by seed this winter and will soon plant the giant pumpkins, sweet peas, cosmos and sunflowers in the round garden.
We hope the bunnies will have mercy on our tender new plants and allow them to flourish. The weather at this time of year can sometimes take a toll as well, with the winds off Lake Champlain gusting as they are today. We wouldn’t change a thing though, we are as happy as can be here in our little slice of heaven!
Susan
Our neighbors Patty & Gary Sundberg make great homemade ice cream & sorbets right here in the Champlain Islands! We often serve their award winning products at our weekday retreats as well as rehearsal dinners and Vermont weddings. Try their unique flavors & style at several local & regional restaurants or pick up a pint (or two) at several area stores!
Photography by: Andy Duback, Jan Tyler, Shayne Lynn, Dennis & Ellen Curran