Grape Tap to showcase natural wines at special dinner

The start of a new year often brings resolutions to eat better, healthier food. One local restaurant is kicking off 2025 with a special event designed to support those choices.

The Grape Tap in Wasilla is offering a wine dinner on Thursday, Jan. 30, that invites diners to sample and explore natural wines. The five-course affair showcases Executive Chef Gretchen Hopping’s culinary stylings and the natural wines of Howard Bellew Imports of Anchorage.

The natural wine movement has gained traction in recent years. Although there is no precise standard for these kinds of wines, they are typically produced on a small scale using simple traditional techniques rather than industrial methods.

These wines are fermented with native yeast and produced without pesticides or herbicides. Growers opt, instead, to use natural soil-enhancing techniques that naturally build up the resistance of vines to bacteria and pests.

As a result, natural wines have an array of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and can even help control blood sugar. Since they also don’t undergo fining – a process that removes substances to enhance a wine’s color, clarity, and aroma – they are bottled in a more natural state.

As is typical of Grape Tap wine dinners, owner Kristin Cook chooses the wines, and Hopping, who has a background teaching wine-food pairings, decides what to serve with each. “I’ve tasted a lot of wines with a lot of different dishes, so I have a pretty good idea what would pair well with different varietals,” the chef said. “I envision tones from each wine and what I think would complement them.”

The event will kick off with a sparkling wine, Fedelie rosato, a Sicilian quaff made from Nero d’Avola grapes. Hopping has paired this with burrata, a style of mozzarella with a creamy center that she is serving with grilled peach and prosciutto caprese. Miso-glazed salmon bites and red quinoa are up next. The fish course will be served with a glass of German white wine, Frei.Korper.Kulture. Produced by Weingut Schmitt, the wine is made from a blend of five different grapes from the Rheinhessen region.

The first red wine of the night is next. Silene, from French producer Deux Terres, is composed of 100 percent merlot from the Rhone region. It is paired with a ribeye slider topped with jalapeno bacon jam and served with sweet potato fries.

“I’m always excited to put out a new dish and get feedback,” Hopping said. “I also like to see if I hit my mark with pairings.”

For the main course, Hopping has chosen a seared duck breast with cocoa cherry glaze and butternut squash puree. She will pair the duck with Mano a Mano, a red wine from Matin Calme vineyard that is a blend of Grenache and Carignan grapes from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France.

For dessert, a chef’s specialty – seven-layer chocolate cake – awaits diners.

“That’s kind of my signature cake,” Hopping said. “I love making it every time I get the chance.” The cake will be served with raspberry compote and chocolate mousse, alongside a glass of dessert wine from Slovenia, Keltis Vineyards’ Zan. It is a blend of seven different white grapes, including Riesling, Pinot Blanc, and Muscat.

The wine dinner begins at 6 p.m. on Jan. 30. Reservations, which are required, can be made by calling 907-376-8466. The cost is $125 per person.

Cook said people should be ready for a new experience.