The Summer of Riesling Part Fünf

Summer of Riesling is a dedication to the acidic grape that thrives all over the world.  James Beard award winner Paul Grieco is the mastermind behind the 94-day event that kicks off tomorrow at 5pm at Hearth and all Terroir locations and runs through September 21st.

The festivities aim to educate the public on the diversity of the noble grape.  It will honor Riesling making regions such as Alsace, Finger Lakes, and Austria, with a seperate 31 Days of German Riesling dedicated to the country "where cultivation of the grape took place with the greatest focus historically."

The obsession with Riesling started in 2008, when Terroir Wine Bar opened in the East Village and only poured Riesling by the glass as their white wine option.  With over 30 choices, Terroir proved to be a Riesling library whose choices all showcased the grape's versatility.  In addition to the glass pours, Terroir was stocked with an additional 100 Rieslings from different producers in their cellar.  Their committment since has only grown.

If you take part in the event, you'll walk away with (fake) riesling tattoo's, shirts, buttons and "more Riesling info than Lady Gaga can store in her meat dress."

Maybe Bryan Adams should do a remix for the occasion: "I got my first real Riesling..."

Terroir Park Slope Space Under Construction

The year 2012 was only two days old we heard that the guys behind Hearth and Terroir were opening a Terroir outpost in Park Slope.  The location would be the newly vacant Great Lakes space on 5th Ave and 1st Street.  The dive bar closed its doors at the end of 2011, after opening them 15 years prior in '97.

Six months after it was announced Terroir was moving in, the tired, green facade that housed Great Lakes sat dormant with the old, plywood sign still up.  A "For Rent" with a number to call hung above that.  Maybe it took a while because Paul Greico, the wine genie responsible for Terroir's success, was busy winning James Beard Awards.  Either way, construction has finally started at 284 5th Ave.  The building has been completely gutted and the old windows on the 1st Street side of the building have been boarded up.

There hasn't been a date released as to when TPS will open, but sometime this fall seems very likely.

Have a Long Night with Hearth and Some German Wine

Paul Grieco is responsible for the wine program at Hearth and Terroir and he just won the James Beard Award Monday for Outstanding Wine Professional.  You can drink with him and other wine enthusiasts tomorrow night at Hearth starting at 11pm as Hearth presents Lange Nacht des deustschen Weins, aka A Long Night of German Wines.  Chef Marco Canora is roasting two sucking pigs for the ocassion and the wine is coming courtesy of Stuart Pigott.  Stuart is a longtime Hearth buddy and wine expert and he is having 10 cases of wine sent over from his and his friend Roy Metzdorf's cellars.

There is a $50 admission fee with every penny of that going to the Hope Charity in South Africa, which raises money to prevent HIV and AIDS.

Hearth is at 403 East 12th Street (1st Ave), get your ticket here.

Cabbie Didn't Realize Hearth Doesn't Have a Drive-Thru Window

These photo's come to us via chef Marco Canora over at Hearth.  Apparently a cab decided to crash into the restaurant last Friday around 11pm.  A tweet from the chef tells us, "Thankfully, no one was hurt."