Scatter
PURCELLVILLE, VIRGINIA | APRIL 2025
Presented by Russian River Valley Winegrowers
After a long winter, spring always starts achingly slowly, taking its sweet time to unfurl until the whole world seems to stutter into life all at once. It’s easy to give into impatience and miss those first few days, when the bravest trees start to bloom but the weather hasn’t quite decided which way to turn. We are always excited for an invitation to slow down and notice the world around us, so we took the chance to appreciate the liminal space between seasons on an undecidedly stormy day in Virginia. The weather seemed to change with the direction of the criss-crossing winds as we arrived at Tranquility Farm, where naked grapevines in neat rows stood stoically against a grey sky, but a lone, brave dogwood tree bloomed wildly, its pink petals sprinkled across the newly green lawn dotted with sun-bright daffodils.
We gathered our guests alongside six winemakers from Russian River Valley Winegrowers to celebrate the coming season. As everyone arrived, winemakers were stationed around the courtyard offering tastings of their favorite vintages, settling into the afternoon and the convivial company of the group.
Eventually, everyone filed from the courtyard into the farm’s historic barn for Supper. At the threshold, each guest received a sweet potato cone filled with catfish salad and tobiko caviar. That small bite of extended hospitality set the stage for an wonderful meal of creative, colorful dishes by Chefs David and Tonya Thomas of H3irloom Food Group. They perfectly balanced the sweet, soft new sprouts of spring with a warm decadence much appreciated on the almost-stormy night.
As the meal unfolded, our guest winemakers got up from their seats to pour their wines around the room. Each course was paired with two options, in order to show off a few extra special vintages and taste the many characteristics of different grapes from the Russian River Valley. After many cheers across the table and echoing across the barn, the meal finished with corn pavlova, a multi-layered celebration of a single ingredient and a promise of summer to come, whether we choose to wait impatiently for it or savor the many subtle moments of joy that will bring us through the season.
WELCOME
As each guest walked down the winding path to check in, they were greeted with an empty wineglass. After rising to a hilltop with a view of the estate and its about-to-bud vineyards across the street, the path opened into the courtyard outside the historic manor, where six incredible winemakers from Russian River Valley Winegrowers had each snagged a wine barrel to set up a few of their favorite selections from their portfolios to share.
Guests wandered between barrels, tasting wines and snacking on delicious bites from both our featured chefs, H3irloom Foods, and Tranquility Farm’s onsite chef, Raaj Madyun. As the light perfume of the blooming dogwood tree caught on the afternoon breeze, everyone had ample time to get to know each winemaker and each other before sitting down to dine together.
A MENU BY DAVID & TONYA THOMAS
Chefs David and Tonya Thomas of H3irloom Baltimore are passionate about sourcing their ingredients locally while highlighting the flavors and traditions of the African diaspora.
They served us a menu full of flavors from around the world, made with ingredients almost exclusively sourced within 100 miles of the farm. Each plate was not only delicious, but beautifully dressed in pastel colors and edible flowers, perfect for a springtime Supper.
MENU
WELCOME
H3irloom Foods
Cheese Tart candied tomato, pimento cheese
Honey Miso Duck Tartar tostada, pikliz
WELCOME
Chef Raaj Madyun of The West End
Greek Salad Sushi Rolls cucumber, tzatziki, tapenade, feta, charred tomato, red pepper brunoise
Shaved Wagyu caramelized onion, horseradish creme, toast point
Winemakers’ Choice Tasting
AMUSE
Smoked Blue Catfish Salad sweet potato cone, tobiko caviar
ON THE TABLE
Biscuit Flatbread honey sorghum butter, duck skin butter, persimmon preserves, potlikker marmalade, duck crackling, pickles
FIRST
Atlantic Rockfish jerk mole, wood fired asparagus, beurre noisette, sweet potato & plantain pave
Wines
2022 Marchelle Wines Lorenzo Vineyard Chardonnay
2022 Ancient Oak Siebert Ranch Chardonnay
SECOND
Chesapeake Gumbo Maryland crab, terrapin, fried oysters, duck sausage, root vegetables, blue corn grits, trout roe
Wines
2021 Inman Family OGV Pinot Noir
2022 Mon Premier “the Benefactor” Pinot Noir
MAIN
New Maryland Pot Roast bison short ribs, African pepper au poivre, charred vegetables, pickled currants
Wines
2023 Martinelli Winery Giuseppe & Luisa Zinfandel
2019 Balverne Malbec
DESSERT
Corn Pavlova sweet corn cream, pickled corn, salted popcorn, popcorn shoots
WINE PAIRINGS
While we were overlooking rows of Virginia-grown grapes, we continued the theme of global movement by tasting the terroir of a very different region, the Russian River Valley in Sonoma County, California. After pouring tastes for everyone outside, the winemakers joined us at the table for Supper, getting up to circulate around the room and serve their pairings, telling stories of their creation and answering questions for guests.
WINERIES
Ancient Oak Cellars
Inman Family Wines
Marchelle Wines
Martinelli Winery
Mon Premier Wines
Notre Vue Estate
SECRET LOCATION: TRANQUILITY FARM
Stretching across 29 acres of Virginia’s wine and horse country, Tranquility Farm dates back to the early 1800s, when it was built by prominent Quaker land developer David Lovett. The Federalist-style manor house and 130-foot tall dairy silo offered a picturesque background to cocktail hour, while wide wooden planks in the historic barn ran underneath the Supper tables around which we gathered.
