Willowbrook Mill Presents:

Abra Berens & Women in Wine

Thursday, July 25, 2024

6 to 9 PM

Willowbrook Mill, Northport, MI

$145 per person, Five courses with wine pairings

Join us for another amazing evening of food, wine and fun at Willowbrook Mill. Abra, pronounced like abracadabra, will be bringing her food magic to the kitchen at this charming 1879 venue. Our event fans will tell you that these gatherings are more than just a wine dinner. They are food theater! We are so lucky to be able to bring world-class food and wine to our little village at the top of the Leelanau Peninsula each year with our Visiting Chef Dinners. This summer, we are excited to welcome award-winning chef and cookbook author, Abra Berens. She will be joined by two women in the wine world who will be doing the pairings for each of the five courses Abra will prepare. Kasey Wierzba of Shady Lane Cellars and Giordana Sobel of American Wine School & Veritas Wine Distributors.

ABRA BERENS

FOOD!

Abra Berens is a Michigan chef, author, and former farmer. Through every recipe written and meal served, she aims to tighten the connection between eaters and growers. She believes we can invest in a stronger, more equitable food system for everyone, from producers to grocers to consumers. She is the author of Pulp: A Practical Guide to Cooking with Fruit, a 2024 Michigan Notable Book winner; Ruffage: A Practical Guide to Vegetables, a 2020 Michigan Notable Book winner and James Beard Award nominee; and Grist: A Practical Guide to Cooking Grains, Beans, Seeds, and Legumes. Her dinners at Granor Farm in Three Oaks, Michigan, made her a three times James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Chef: Great Lakes.

Granor Farm is a certified organic vegetable and grain farm in Three Oaks, Michigan, and founded to provide on-farm youth education, experiential dining, a direct to consumer Farm Store, and field to bottle distillery.

Her best selling cookbooks can be purchased at your favorite bookseller. We will have cookbooks for purchase that Abra can sign for you at the dinner!

WINE!

Kasey Wierzba

Executive Winemaker and General Manager, Shady Lane Cellars

Kasey began her journey at Shady Lane Cellars as Assistant Winemaker in 2013, rose to

Winemaker in 2016 and earned her place as Executive Winemaker and General Manager in

Summer 2022. Prior to her adventures on the Leelanau Peninsula, Kasey spent seven years in

Napa Valley working for Far Niente, Rudd, and Frog’s Leap wineries. She earned her bachelor’s

and master’s degrees in Horticulture from Michigan State University. Wierzba and her family live

in Traverse City, where they spend time mountain biking, downhill skiing and playing piano

together. When she’s not at Shady Lane Cellars, she enjoys traveling with her family.

What she won't brag about, but we will, is that this woman earned the following awards at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition this past February. And we know how those California vinters covet their position in the wine world!

2022 Pinot Gris – Double Gold

2022 Late Harvest Riesling – Double Gold

2022 Gruner Veltliner – Silver

2022 Gewurztraminer – Silver

2021 Sparkling Riesling – Silver

Giordana Sobel

Wine Educator- Detroit

Giordana is a Detroit-based wine educator and marketer that has lived, worked, and tasted around in the world. With a Masters in Wine Marketing from Bordeaux, she has worked for a winery in Tuscany, has completed wine harvests in Australia and Napa, and done consulting and wine exporting everywhere else in between! She is a Certified Specialist in Wine (CSW), holds her WSET Level III certificate, and is going for her Certified Wine Educator’s certification. Giordana is currently a candidate for the WSET Diploma. Champagne is her favorite wine and she always has a bottle chilled, ready to make the occasion!