Every year, hundreds of wine enthusiasts, winemakers, and chefs travel 30 miles out to sea to kick off the summer season with the Nantucket Wine Festival. If you happen to land on Nantucket the weekend before Memorial Day, you and your taste buds can take a wine tasting trip around the world without leaving your luxury island digs at this 4-day smorgasbord. But since now’s the time to pack onto the island (and you missed this year’s festival), we caught up with many of the festival’s culinary and wine luminaries to discuss its most gastro-forward restaurants. Here are their 7 sensational picks for where to dine, what to eat, and what wines to pair it with.
The wine list at Topper’s, managed by cellar master Craig Hanna, is a veritable tome with 1,450 labels and 20,000 bottles of wine to choose from. But their award-winning wine cellar is not the only reason to head out of town to the luxurious Wauwinet Inn. Executive Chef Kyle Zachary’s cuisine will have you wishing you could try everything on the mouthwatering menus at Topper’s restaurant and the more casual “Deck.” Topper’s also offers waterfront dining, and the view overlooking Nantucket Sound can’t be beat.
Pairing Tip: Cellar master Craig Hanna and sommelier Hieu Tran recommend pairing Topper’s house-made and hand-rolled cavatelli pasta with ricotta over sweet corn with shaved radishes and Nantucket mushrooms with Domaine Comte Senard’s Corton Blanc 2006. “This French chardonnay has great elegance and finesse. The restrained fruit and exceptional minerality and acidity work great with the earthiness and richness of this dish,” says Tran.
As the name suggests, American Seasons specializes in seasonal American cuisine. Chef Michael LaScola has a reputation for his creative take on our country’s favorite regional dishes, and in particular, for his amazing pork entrees. The versatile wine list created by LaScola’s wife and business partner, sommelier Orla Murphy-LaScola, is also all-American, boasting 538 wines—most of them from small producers in America’s major wine regions.
Pairing Tip: Sommelier Orla Murphy-LaScola suggests pairing American Seasons’ whipped bone marrow and beef cheek with red onion marmalade with Donelan’s 2009 “Two Brothers” Pinot Noir. “We all love this paring. The bright acidity and perfect body of the pinot noir work really well with the richness of the dish,” says Murphy-LaScola…
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