"Virginia is for wine lovers," seems to be the theme of a Sunday event from 4-8 p.m. at Durham's Fullsteam Brewery: a tasting of Virginia wines and food.

The participating wineries include Barboursville Vineyards, White Hall Vineyards, Rosemont Vineyards and Winery, Foggy Ridge Cider, Chateau Morrisette Winery, Ingleside Plantation Vineyards, Democracy Vineyards and Rappahannock Cellars. Beyond the wine, you'll get tastes of Border Springs Farm lamb and Rappahannock River oysters.

The event costs either $9 for samples or $15 for unlimited tastings. Tickets can be purchased via EventBrite: http://nttn.eventbrite.com.
 

Here are few upcoming events that might intrigue you:

• Piedmont restaurant in Durham is hosting a Fullsteam beer dinner at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The four-course meal cost $45 per person. Then on March 15, Piedmont is hosting a four-course dinner featuring Matteo Correggia wines in Italy. The event costs $55. To see menus for both events, go to http://piedmontrestaurant.com/events/. Call 683-1213 for a reservation.
• Hope Valley Bottle Shop is teaming up with two Durham restaurants for upcoming wine dinners: Blu Seafood and Bar will be offering a four-course shellfish dinner at 7 p.m. March 14 for $45. Call 286-9777 for a reservation. Then Four Square Restaurant is hosting a South African wine dinner at 7 p.m. March 28. The cost is $85 per person. Call 401-9877 to reserve your seat.
• Elaine's on Franklin is hosting a special five-course Loire Valley wine Dinner at 6 p.m. March 18. These winemakers will be on hand to talk about their wines: Jo Landron of the Domaine de la Louvetrie, Laurent Bonneau of Domaine de la Croix Des Vainqueurs and Nicolas Grosbois of Domaine Grosbois. The cost is $75 and call 960-2770 for reservations. To see the menu, go to http://elainesonfranklin.com/menu/loire-dinner.
   

A couple local businesses are donating 100 percent of profits from Valentine's Day - one of the busiest days of the year in the restaurant industry - to the Cookies for Kids' Cancer foundation.

Cookies for Kids' Cancer has raised $2.5 million for pediatric cancer research since 2007. The nonprofit was started by Gretchen Holt and Larry Witt after their 2-year-old son, Liam, was diagnosed with cancer. He died last week. Gretchen Holt is a Meredith College graduate.

Chef Ashley Christensen of Poole's Diner in Raleigh will donate 100 percent of profits from Valentine's Day dinner service. The restaurant is offering a three-course meal for $49. Reservations required. Call 832-4477.

Fullsteam Brewery in Durham also will donate profits from that day to the foundation.

For more information, go to www.cookiesforkidscancer.org or the family's blog about Liam's struggle with cancer: http://princeliamthebrave.blogspot.com/
 

Fearrington House is hosting a Fullsteam Brewery beer dinner at 6 p.m. Feb. 20. The dinner costs $125 $85 per person. (Thanks, Sean for the clarification.)

The rest of the 2011 special dinners at Fearrington have also been announced:

• March 20, a dinner featuring wines chosen by Thomas Meunier with Authentique Vin Imports. The wines will be from Burgundy, Bordeaux and the Loire Valley regions of France.
• April 10, Elk Cove Vineyards wine dinner with winemaker Adam Campbell.
• Sept. 28, Blackbird Vineyards wine dinner with vineyard owner Paul Leary.
• Nov. 13, Perception Winery wine dinner with winery founder Mark Ray.

For more details, go HERE. To make a reservation, call 542-2121.
 

Fearrington House has announced its special dinners for the entire year. Seats at these events sell fast so you might want to reserve now. Fearrington House's wine director Maximilian Kast is the series host and menus are planned by executive chef Colin Bedford. Here is the line up:

• Jan. 16, a dinner featuring Sparkman Cellars wine and guest chef Charlie Deal of Chapel Hill's Jujube and Durham's Dos Perros.
• Feb. 20, Fullsteam Brewery beer dinner with brewery owner Sean Wilson.
• March 20, a dinner featuring wines chosen by Thomas Meunier with Authentique Vin Imports. The wines will be from Burgundy, Bordeaux and the Loire Valley regions of France.
• April 10, Elk Cove Vineyards wine dinner with winemaker Adam Campbell.
• Sept. 28, Blackbird Vineyards wine dinner with vineyard owner executive Paul Leary.
• Nov. 13, Perception Winery wine dinner with winery founder Mark Ray.

Each dinner costs $125 per person. Each dinner starts at 7 p.m. but is preceded by a reception at 6 p.m. To make a reservation, call 542-2121.

For more details, go HERE.
 

The long-awaited Fullsteam Brewery opens Friday at exactly 6:14 p.m. – the average time an Englishman arrives at the pub.

Friday also marks five years since former Gov. Mike Easley signed a law that allows higher-alcohol beers to be sold in North Carolina. That date holds special meaning to Fullsteam’s owner, Sean Wilson, who helped organize what was called the "Pop the Cap" campaign to raise the 6 percent alcohol limit. The law's passage was celebrated by N.C.'s beer enthusiasts who were tired of traveling out of state to get the brews they wanted.

It’s taken five years for Wilson to realize his own dream of opening a “plow-to-pint” brewery devoted to Southern agriculture and culinary traditions. Among Fullsteam’s brews are a sweet potato beer,  Hogwash, a hickory-smoked porter, and El Toro, a cream ale made with roasted North Carolina corn grits. My favorite for its whimsy is the Working Man’s Lunch, a stout made with Moon Pies.

While much has been written about Wilson, 39, (go HERE and HERE) not as much has been written about the beer brains behind Fullsteam’s operation: Chris Davis, 33, (left) and Brooks Hamaker, 49 (right).

In today's paper, Kathleen Purvis has a story about kosher catering for Passover.

We reprinted a story from the Oxford American Food issue by award-winning short story writer Wells Tower about Durham's soon-to-open Fullsteam Brewery. 

Cookbook author and Sunday Dinner columist Debbie Moose has a story about the farmer's market at N.C. State University and other college campuses. 

Greg Cox's Epicurean column is about Cafe Harmony, which opened up next door to the Harmony Farms natural foods store,  and the Lettuce Head's opening also in North Raleigh. 

Suzanne Havala Hobbs' On the Table column is about making your own ice cream. 

If you missed my story in yesterday's paper about the casting call in Raleigh for a new NBC reality show caled America's Next Great Restaurant, click HERE. 

The Carrboro Farmers' Market has just announced their new vendors for 2010. Beyond two new bakeries and two new farmers, Fullsteam Brewery will be selling at the Wednesday market starting in JUNE. The mid-week market resumes April 14.

Fullsteam’s motto is “plow to pint,” which means they incorporate local farm products into their brews from scuppernog grapes, sweet potatoes, kudzu and rhubarb. To learn more about Fullsteam Brewery, go to www.fullsteam.ag