Is it impossible to pair wine with wings? Definitely not according to Watt’s Roost Vineyard, When Pigs Fly BBQ, and The Tutoring Center. This Friday, May 3rd, we invite you to make the call at this year’s “Wine & Wings Fundraiser” at Watt’s Roost Vineyard. Anyone looking for an excuse to drink excellent wines and try some delicious wings has found it here. The cost to attend is $36.50/person and 100% of the proceeds benefits The Tutoring Center, in downtown Lewisburg.

“Wine will go with wings. So will beer. And probably tea and lemonade. There is no perfect pairing,”
– Barbara Tuckwiller, owner at Watt’s Roost Vineyard

When Pigs Fly BBQ prepares their wings by rubbing them with one of two home-made sauces, giving folks a choice of “hot” or “not.” “We typically serve our wings in the traditional way, with celery and a choice of ranch or blue cheese dressing. But, we always make our 5 homemade barbeque sauces available, for those who want them,” says Kellen Leef, owner. You’ll be able to experiment with the sauces and the wines so that you can decide what you prefer. In addition to the “hot” and “not” wings, the Pig Shack, as they like to be called, will be serving potato salad, Aunt Alice’s cole slaw, mac and cheese, and a veggie tray.

“Your food is delicious and your restaurant (When Pigs Fly BBQ) interestingly has something perfect for everybody. It’s almost as if a psychologist had a hand in designing it,” – Teresa Samsock, Psychologist.

Because a well structured, semi sweet wine cuts the heat in spicy food, we think you’ll find the Watt’s Roost Vineyard white wine flavors to be a perfect match to When Pigs Fly BBQ’s wings. Barbara Tuckwiller, owner at Watts Roost Vineyard, tells us that the “crisp cold white wines balance well with the tomato base in most sauces,” She adds that, “their red counterparts would be equally good.” The vineyard will be suggesting their off-dry Greenbrier White wine as well as the semi-sweet Calico White.

So while beer may be the traditional choice for wings, we encourage you to attend this event and possibly try something new. With a little bit of experimentation and assistance from Watt’s Roost Vineyard, you may just find the right wine that complements the sweet and tangy flavors of When Pigs Fly BBQ’s wings.

As an effective and fun way to raise money for Lewisburg’s Tutoring Center, Executive Director Robin Spence approached Barbara Tuckwiller with the idea: “Wine & Wings Fundraiser.” Barbara is always willing to talk with organizations wishing to hold an event at the vineyard, so she immediately said “yes!” The Tutoring Center is a locally owned non-profit that designs programs suited to the learning styles and needs of individual students. This fundraising event will help the center raise the money needed to continue offering programs, such as: one-on-one tutoring, test preparation, etc. Learn more at wvtutoring.org

Watt’s Roost Vineyard is located at 2445 Blue Sulphur Pike, about a mile past Country Road Yarn House, in Lewisburg. Find them online: wattsroostvineyard.com. When Pigs Fly BBQ is located at 116 Quarry Village Road, almost directly across from Greenbrier Motor Company, in Fairlea. Find them on LBSPY’s back cover and visit them online: pigsflybbq.com. For more information on this event, call Robin at The Tutoring Center: 645-1877.

– Christina Entenmann, LBSPY 31 (April 22-May 6)