©Erin McGinn Photography / www.erinmcginn.com

A few months ago, we were contacted by Constellation Brands to style a Spring launch party at their distributor, Horizon Beverage Company. The were introducing one of their newest labels: Tom Gore Vineyards. Tom Gore Vineyards, a farmers wine, tells the story of Tom Gore. Tom is a second generation grape farmer with a passion for coaxing vine and telling the story of the farmer’s role in crafting wines for great flavor. During our meeting, Constellation had one request: create an authentic farm to table event in a parking lot. Their branding had us dreaming of the sunny Californian days Tom Gore spends in his fields. We wanted to reflect that by keeping the style warm and bright, and the tone elegant with a masculine touch. Our goal was to have guests walk out of their office building and onto the vineyard field to enjoy a relaxed lunch with great food, good music and of course, a fabulous wine.

With that style in mind we reached out to vendors that we knew had the same passion and commitment to the local movement. We wanted to bring together a team that would be as excited about the Farm to Table concept as Tom Gore is about his Farm to Glass wine. We started with the incredible duo at Greenlion Design, who sourced and foraged most of their greenery and blooms within a 200 mile radius of the event. They created stunning living runners made of various elements including: herbs, mini daffodils, grapes, and artichokes. They also had centerpieces of bright daffodils and tulips placed in vintage cheese boxes. In other areas of the event were hay bales, galvanized tubs of greenery, and large forsythia branches. Guests were seated at handmade farm tables by True North, which we paired with their rustic crossback chairs. We balanced out the wooden tables with an elegant grey linen weave runner which we carried through to the other tables with grey floor length linens.

One of Tom’s signature elements in his life is his father's Ford truck that he drives to his fields everyday. He considers it to be part of his legacy as a farmer and a grape grower. We brought in a beautiful green 1950 Ford F1, a nod to Tom’s actual truck. We filled in the bed of the truck with hay bales, tubs of flowers, and boxes of wine; it was a centerpiece to the event and a big hit with the guests.

The lunch kicked off with an authentic Blue Grass Band, Chasing Blue Band, and an amazing menu selection from Easy Entertaining. Easy Entertaining sources 70% of their ingredients from a 250 mile radius year-round, allowing them to support and sustain local farmers and artisans while providing seasonal food. The creative minds at Easy Entertaining paired Tom Gore Vineyards wine with their main entree selections and created amazing desserts using the wine: Tom Gore Cabernet dark chocolate cookies & Tom Gore Chardonnay & Shartner’s Farm strawberry glazed house-made donut holes.

The day was captured so beautifully by Erin McGinn Photography, you would never guess that the day started with pouring rain and rivers flowing through our tent.

Sourcing locally is a passion of ours and we were excited to bring this team together to play a part in the launch of this great brand.

A Farm to Table Luncheon