Fred Tremblay and Isabelle Leveau planted the first vines at Vignoble Camy only ten years ago, but they make wines the old fashioned way – starting in the fields, listening to nature, and responding from there. They’ve earned a regional reputation for their winemaking in their comparably short tenure. You’ll find their wine in some of the best restaurants in Quebec, but it is not available for sale to the public, nor do they typically host visitors. Needles to say, it’s pretty exciting that they have invited us to set our table in their beautiful vineyards. Keep an eye out for Champlain Sea shells in the limestone soil (artifacts from 15,000 years ago when this whole region was underwater!) as we walk through their rows of Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Noir on the way to the table for dinner by Josh Crowe from Taverne Monkland. Chef Josh is a passionate advocate of using Quebecois ingredients. His relationships with farmers across the region help him source the best products for his thoughtfully prepared “cuisine du marché”, keeping Taverne Monkland on top of lists of local favorites even 26 years after its opening.
Taxonomy: Upcoming Events
Monteillet Fromagerie
We’re continuing a longtime love story, setting our table for the tenth time at Monteillet Fromagerie in Dayton, Washington—just down the way from the famed Walla Walla wine country. Peirre-Louis was born and raised in the legendary birthplace of Roquefort cheese: Millau, France. Meanwhile, Joan grew up in Walla Walla as a third generation farmer’s daughter. The two met dancing in the Zocaló Plaza in Mexico City and reunited after Pierre-Louis hitchhiked for three days to start their love affair, which continues today at their farm. Joan and Pierre-Louis raise 50 French Alpine goats and 50 sheep on 32 acres, where they produce French-style cheese focused on the terroir of eastern Washington. They have deep ties in the Walla Walla culinary community, so we’ve created a tradition in which we present a new chef each season. Jose Mesa from TMACS will make his debut in the field kitchen, utilizing the bounty of Washington wine country in midsummer.
Sage Farm Goat Dairy
We have been coming to this gorgeous part of the country for quite a few years now and this family-run micro-dairy in Stowe is among our very favorite stops. Molly Prindell and her sister, Katie, run a small family operation with the help of their husbands, who pitch in with tractor work, compost management and maple syrup-making while Katie raises the goats and Molly makes the award-winning cheese. After reception, we’ll take a stroll around the property culminating in a picturesque hayfield with a panoramic view of the Green Mountains—an iconic Vermont setting. Meanwhile, Cara Chigazola Tobin of Burlington’s Honey Road will be joining us in the field kitchen for another year, bringing her inventive Mediterranean cuisine and local-first ethos to our summer feast. And she will surely utilize plenty of Sage Farm’s beautiful cheeses.
North Bridger Bison
We’ve stopped in Montana only a few times over the years. Since everyone seems to be obsessed with Kevin Costner and Yellowstone lately, we thought we would revisit the state – and the work of many regenerative ranchers that were there long before the show arrived on the airwaves. Matt and Sarah Skoglund proudly run their bison ranch based on five pillars: sunshine, water, soil, grass and (of course) bison. They care for their livestock by caring for their land first: beautiful rolling grasslands on the Shields Valley at the feet of the picturesque North Bridger Mountains, right in the heart of Big Sky country. Have you ever pet a bison? Don’t do it here. We’ll get the pleasure of being entranced by their beauty, but it’s a strictly look-don’t-touch situation. Our guest chef, Eduardo Garcia, knows a thing or two about bison, and about cooking in a Big Sky kitchen. Through Montana Mex, he blends his love for his home state of Montana with Mexican flavors, encouraging everyone to play in the kitchen. He is an avid outdoorsman and a chef with a lifelong passion for food and connection, a perfect combination for anyone joining us out in the field.
Dandelion Spring Farm
Farmer Beth Schiller likes to work in the margins. If you walk with her down the flower-lined farm road, around her pond and past the vegetable gardens, she will point out all the little projects she is most excited about in the corners of her fields. Even her main crops tend to be unique varieties of vegetables and herbs you won’t find anywhere else. She works directly with chefs to grow their hard-to-find favorites, as well as challenging and expanding their palates with new offerings. We’ll start the afternoon snuggled in the shade beside the farmhouse before tasting our way through her greenhouses on the way to the table, set overlooking her stunning produce. After last summer’s drought, we can’t wait to see what is bursting out of her well-watered fields this year. We’re sure Neil Zabriskie, chef and co-owner of Regards in Portland, will have plenty to work with. Their approach to blending the best ingredients from Maine’s farmers and fisheries with the fresh flavors of Southern Californian cuisine earned Regards a spot on Bon Appetit’s 50 Best New Restaurants list last year. We’re thrilled to invite Chef Neil in the field kitchen for the first time.
Tenuta San Carlo
Welcome to Maremma, the wildest part of Tuscany. This is the home of Etruscan coastal villages, medieval hill towns, pristine beaches and of course, Super Tuscan wines. Nestled within this wonderful, wild land is Tenuta San Carlo, where Ariane Lotti’s family has been farming for four generations. This farm is simply bursting with life from the tree-lined entrance to the secluded seashore far beyond the organic rice fields. Last year, we dined under the shade of native pine trees after a hayride to the beach, but the vast beauty of this property allows for endless variations of experience. We’re inviting back brothers Alessio and Giulio Cech from Posto Pubblico to cook us dinner, since they wowed us with the delicious dishes they made from Ariane’s rice, wheat, and vegetables last time. We can only hope they bring another leg of prosciutto to share this time around.
Mead Ranch
This is among the most beautiful table sites on our tour—and that’s saying a lot. Here, Mead Ranch cattle range on impeccably green grass beneath the towering peaks of the Grand Tetons. Brad and Kate Mead run their ranch with a conservation ethic, and even went so far as to place their land under conservation easement in 2002, ensuring the pristine natural beauty will be preserved for generations to come. Chef Joe Boyles from The Kitchen will bring his Asian-influenced cuisine to the table for a memorable exploration of bold flavors and playful textures to match the beauty of this special site. Our crew is sure to head to nearby Jackson on their day off in the area, where the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar offers a chance to play a friendly game of pool or work on their dance steps to live country music.
Lowry Ranch
When Nick Trainor was 18, he set a goal to have 500 head of cattle by the time he was 30. Over the past ten years, he has expanded his business to 26,000 acres on Lowry Ranch, in partnership with the Colorado State Land Board. Just 10 miles outside of Denver, he practices adaptive cattle grazing, which not only grows grass-fed beef, but restores and protects the ecological health of the landscape. We’ll dine at the long table nestled in the rugged terrain of one of the largest contiguous tracts of native prairie grass in the state. Kelly Whitaker and Taylor Stark will bring their James Beard-nominated celebration of Colorado’s wild and foraged to the plate with their signature seasonal cuisine that has made The Wolf’s Tailor a guest favorite year after year.
Ranchlands at Chico Basin
This 90,000-acre ranch is one of the largest stretches of shortgrass prairie left in the country—and there are plenty of stunning places to set the long table among their grazing bison and cattle. Siblings Tess Leach and Duke Phillips IV are currently at the helm of the organization, and will be hosting us for our first visit to their picturesque property with panoramic mountain views. Ian Dedrickson and Nora Dillon will be joining us in the field kitchen, bringing their own sense of innovation and creativity. At Ephemera, they feature local artists’ work alongside their ever-rotating tasting menu, which encourages multi-sensory interaction and experimentation. This is a seriously spectacular site and chef pairing, and one for the books.
Domaine Lebreuil
Jean-Baptiste Lebreuil spent years in wineries around the world before coming back to take over the family business, an 84-year-old winery in Burgundy. He has welcomed us into his home for several years, and we are always delighted to see his friendly smile along with the the metered rows of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and the winery’s stunning chateau. A place this illustrious deserves an equally illustrious chef, and Christophe Ledru is the man for the job. He’s worked with many of the country’s best chefs in dining rooms with multiple Michelin stars, but he still remains true to his roots—always asking if his food is something he would eat with his mother. We are thrilled to have him back for another summer meal between the vines.
Jean-Baptiste Lebreuil a passé des années dans des vignobles autour du monde avant de revenir pour reprendre l’entreprise familiale, un vignoble de 84 ans en Bourgogne. IIl nous accueille plusieurs fois chez lui et nous sommes toujours ravis de retrouver son sourire amical, sans parler du magnifique château et du domaine viticole. Christophe Ledru sera de nouveau notre chef invité pour la soirée. Il a un CV impressionnant, ayant travaillé avec plusieurs des meilleurs chefs du pays dans des restaurants aux multiples étoiles Michelin, mais il reste fidèle à ses racines, demandant toujours si ses plats sont ceux qu’il mangerait avec sa mère. Nous ne doutons pas qu’il apportera ce haut niveau de qualité à la cuisine du champ.