A Winning Wine Program

09/28/2021 1:00 pm

It’s been almost six months since Restaurant Manager and Sommelier Elizabeth Cahill made her way to the inn from California’s Napa Valley and Auberge du Soleil, a Relais & Chateaux property noted for its wine program.

Although Elizabeth grew up on the east coast, she’s still figuring out guests’ wine preferences through careful listening and learning–and a bit of good old trial and error.

She finds that inn and restaurant guests are especially fond of Oregon pinot noirs. One guest favorite is pinot from Adelsheim Vineyards in the Chehalem Mountains of Oregon. Its 2018 Willamette Valley vintage displays “bright red cherry and subtle brown baking spice flavors with earth undertones.”

Elizabeth has also been serving a lot of pinots from Big Table Farm, an Oregon winery with Napa roots, and from Ken Wright, one of the oldest and most distinguished crafters of Oregon pinot noir.

Elizabeth’s long tenure in Napa has made her a fan of California pinot noir, which tends to be a bit darker and more purple in color than Oregon pinots. Some of her favorite vineyards include Merry Edwards in the Russian River Valley, Kistler Vineyards in Sonoma, and Kosta Browne, which sources grapes from the Santa Rita Hills, among other AVAs. All of these wines are on the inn’s wine list, which Elizabeth has been refining since she arrived.

While Elizabeth continues to understand eastern tastes in wine, she’s not at all surprised by the level of sophistication guests display about wine. One example is a bit of a cult wine from Jonata, which sources grapes from California’s Central Coast’s Ballard Canyon appellation within the Santa Ynez Valley. She ordered just six bottles, thinking it would be a rare guest who recognized the winemaker. Those six sold quickly and she doubled her next order.

When asked about which wine adventurous oenophiles shouldn’t overlook, Elizabeth quickly points to an Austrian varietal blaufrankisch from winemaker Roland Velich at Moric. Blaufrankisch is an indigenous Austrian grape that has as much finesse and elegance as pinot noir, according to Elizabeth.

As if running the restaurant at the inn and understanding the wine preferences of guests isn’t enough, Elizabeth has also been part of the team renovating and updating the wine cellar at the inn. She reports that after several months of construction, the wine cellar–a favorite guest dining spot for special occasions–is back better than ever, with more wine storage and better lighting than before.

Next time you visit the inn for an overnight stay or dinner, don’t hesitate to ask Elizabeth about her new favorites in the cellar. You won’t be disappointed.

3 (Okay, 4 or More) Things that We Love About the Mad River Valley in Summer

08/13/2021 1:28 pm

August in the Mad River Valley offers too many summertime choices. We know, tough problem.

But when our guests push us to name the three best things to do in August, we don’t hesitate. Together our three recommendations (with options) make a splendid day.

Start with a walk (and it’s more a walk than a hike) in the Scragg Mountain Town Forest in Waitsfield (not to be confused with the beer of the same name; see below), about six miles from the inn. There’s an information kiosk and a few short well-marked loops, but if you’re up for a longer adventure you can actually hike to the top of Scragg Mountain (4.2 miles out and back, according to AllTrails).

Once you’ve worked up a sweat and an appetite, head to the Warren Store across Main Street from the inn for a sandwich-to-go (consider the ever-popular #6) before driving on to Warren Falls. There is nothing more refreshing than a dip in the Mad River at the height of August. The water is at its warmest but still mountain-stream cool. Rest, relax, dip, repeat. The falls are just two miles south of the inn and there’s plenty of parking.

Now you’re ready for refreshments, and we have two options to consider. Canteen Creemee makes some of the most outrageous and delicious confections for miles around. You can keep it simple with a classic Vermont maple creemee or go all in with a Mojito Sundae (no worries, it’s alcohol free), and everything in between. Canteen is in the center of Waitsfield, about six miles from the inn. (We also love The Sweet Spot in Waitsfield.)

If your taste buds tend more toward hops than dairy, head to Lawson’s Finest Liquids taproom just north of Canteen on Route 100, where you’ll find a wide selection of beers on tap (IPAs are a specialty), brewed in the building next door, including the aforementioned Scragg Mountain Pils (4.8 ABV). (You might also check out Collaborative Brewing on your way back to the inn.)

Top off your adventurous day with a fine dinner at the inn, presented by Chefs Jacob Ennis and Peter Heaney. Now that’s August in Vermont.

Chef Jacob Ennis on Farmers, Foragers, Fire and the Future

07/14/2021 6:03 pm

The fourth of July holiday weekend often signals the start of the summer season here at The Pitcher Inn and in the Mad River Valley. It also signals the beginning of the plentiful farm and forest bounty, the inn’s Executive Chef Jacob Ennis reminds us. Between tending bees, smoking meats, meeting with farmers and foragers, Chef Jacob found a few minutes to talk about what he and Chef de Cuisine Peter Heaney are doing to perfect the culinary experience at the inn. A few excerpts follow.

On the inn’s farm partners…
We’re very excited to expand our list of farm partners to include Pebble Brook Farm in Braintree, Clearfield Farm in Granville, and Fieldstone Farm in Northfield–all certified organic. This time of year virtually everything on diners’ plates is sourced fresh and locally (seafood excepted). Sometimes it’s just hours from field to plate.

On unusual finds…
We have a long-standing relationship with two of Vermont’s most knowledgeable wildcrafters, Nova Kim and Les Hook. They’re all about what they deem “wild…the original organic.” Recently their bounty has included wild sarsaparilla, wild ginger, morels, ramps, wild mint, common sorrel, and angelica hearts–ingredients we can’t source anywhere else. And each presents Peter and I with the opportunity to find a way to integrate these flavors and textures into our dishes, to provide guests with a new and different taste experience.

On his backyard efforts…
We’re keeping honey bees at Maitresse de Maison Tracy Kelly’s house nearby and chickens (fresh eggs, anyone?) at my home across Freeman Brook, and we’re sharing a smoker with our culinary friends at the Warren Store (thus house-smoked bacon on the breakfast menu). We’ve also been firing up the wood-fired grill in the back garden for fire-roasted beef tenderloin, coal-roasted beets (off the menu now but likely to return soon), and grilled garlic scapes (thanks Clearfield Farm!).

On a new kitchen…
We’re in the very early stages of planning an entirely new kitchen, which we hope to install during our November closure. We’re going to buy some space by moving the walk-in refrigerator to the barn and reconfiguring the line. We’re also eyeing new equipment, including a smart oven, which allows the use of steam and heat, and a dual-fuel grill, which enables us to cook with wood in the kitchen. All these improvements will enhance the dining experience by optimizing our culinary talents and moving dishes from kitchen to dining room more quickly.

Next time you visit the inn, say hi to Chefs Jacob and Peter and be sure to ask them about their latest culinary discovery or an update on the new kitchen.

Celebrating the 4th Warren-Style

06/28/2021 2:08 pm

After a pandemic hiatus, the ever-zany Warren 4th of July Parade is back. And The Pitcher Inn and Warren Store will be standing with our community, as celebration sponsors, to honor the Heroes Among Us (this year’s theme) and thank all local essential workers who helped us get through the past 15 months.

The celebration kicks off on Sunday, July 4, 2021, at 10 am and continues until 2 pm. And at dusk our friends at Sugarbush Resort will conclude the festivities with a fireworks display.

In addition to the ever-creative floats (seeing is believing), there will be live music from the Warren Store “performance balcony” and simulcasts from the inn’s porch by local radio station WDEV and live streaming by local public access station Mad River Valley Television. Other activities include street dancing and plenty of family activities, not to mention ice cream.

Logistical details (parking, masking and social distancing recommendations, etc.) can be found at the Mad River Valley Chamber of Commerce website.

We look forward to seeing you and your family.

Goodbye California, Hello Vermont

04/17/2021 12:43 pm

We’re delighted to welcome new Restaurant Manager Elizabeth Cahill, who hails from New Jersey by way of California. She joins the inn leadership team from the esteemed Auberge du Soleil in Napa Valley, a sister Relais & Chateaux property with a similar focus on the good life, including fine wine and dining.

Elizabeth will lead our front of the house dining team as well as serve as sommelier and wine buyer. She brings several decades of experience helping diners discover new varietals and vintages, and complementing their dining choices with fine wine.

When Elizabeth decided to make the move to Vermont (for love, of course), she considered only two places to practice her craft–Twin Farms (the only other Relais & Chateaux property in Vermont) and The Pitcher Inn. We’re happy she chose us.

Owners Gale and George Dorsey and Maitresse de Maison Tracy Kelly have given her free rein over redeveloping the wine program at the inn, so house and dining guests should look forward to a plethora of small batch, handpicked new world wines on the list in the coming months.

“I want people to be excited by the list and willing to try something new, perhaps a bit outside their comfort zone,” says Elizabeth. “The world is full of great wines and my passion is helping people discover and enjoy them.”

Elizabeth is also excited to collaborate with Executive Chef Jacob Ennis and Chef de Cuisine Peter Heaney. She’s committed to identifying and sourcing wines that complement their focus on local and hyper-fresh ingredients.

Regarding her first impressions of Vermont and the inn, Elizabeth cites the inn’s lack of pretension and its eclectic accommodations, as well as the overall friendliness of Vermonters. “I just love the way everyone in the valley knows everyone else, and that our servers make everyone feel so special and welcome,” she says.

Her goal is a bottle of wine on every table in the restaurant. We’ll drink to that.

Vermont: Winter Wonderland

02/12/2021 3:13 pm

We’ve been enjoying a gorgeous stretch in these Green Mountains of late. The snow globe keeps ashakin’.

Since the middle of January the Mad River Valley has been blanketed in more than 50 inches of the fluffy white stuff. Not all at once, mind you, but in a series of modest to light dustings. We love it! And you will, too.

So what, you might wonder, does one do in Vermont in the Mad River Valley in the middle of winter wonderland? Plenty, depending on your personal preferences.

Let’s start indoors. We love to watch the snow fall softly across Warren village. So, too, do many of our guests, as it turns out. Believe it or not, some guests find plenty of contentment with a good book in the cozy library or curled up on a soft chair in their room. Another indoor favorite is a relaxing massage. We employ some of the very best masseuses in the valley to tend to your aching muscles. Follow your massage with a hot bath or steam shower (limited to select rooms) while the fireplace or woodstove is roaring and there’s no better cold-weather pleasure. Throw in a hot toddy delivered to your room and your relaxation is complete.

Even indoors types aren’t opposed to a short adventure through the snow, across Main Street, on a shopping expedition to the almost-world-famous Warren Store. There you will find a newly renovated deli with espresso drinks and housemade baked goods and plenty of lunch options, not to mention a wide selection of Vermont’s finest brews. Upstairs you’ll find a well-curated selection of women’s and men’s clothing, jewelry and home goods. While there, visit the Art in the Village gallery next door.

If you tend more toward getting outside, well then there are plenty of choices. Some guests enjoy exploring local byways via car (snow tires or four-wheel-drive advised). We strongly suggest a trip up the East Warren Road, accessed right from the inn. It presents long views of the spine of the Green Mountains and the three ski areas arrayed across them. Your journey ends at a covered bridge and some fine shopping on Bridge Street in Waitsfield. And if you want a guide, our Experience Director Sam Chambers will be happy to take you on a Mad River Valley Ramble.

If you’re more adventurous, you have plenty of choices, including skating at nearby Blueberry Lake, snowshoeing the logging trails at Slide Brook or the walking trails at the Scrag Mountain Town Forest. And there’s always downhill skiing or riding at nearby Sugarbush or Mad River Glen and cross-country at Ole’s or Blueberry Lake. We’re happy to guide you on any of these adventures and you can see our full menu of experiences elsewhere on our website. Or we are content to offer you directions and send you on your way.

And for the power- and speed-minded, there’s always snowmobiling. Vermont is criss-crossed with trails thanks to VAST, the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers, which maintains the trails. We’ll be happy to hook you up with an outfitter, either here in the Mad River Valley or further afield, whichever you prefer. Seeing the Vermont landscape from a powerful sled at speed can be awe-inspiring.

So, however you like to enjoy winter, indoors or out, reading or schussing, we have the goods. Reach out today.

Vermont Skiing Strong

12/03/2020 4:12 pm

As if the pandemic wasn’t enough to challenge the Vermont ski season, now we have a stretch of warm, early December weather delaying the opening of our favorite ski and ride mountains. Sugarbush has postponed its opening for a second time, to December 10, and Mad River Glen is sticking with its December 12 spin-the-lifts date.

Here at the inn, we’re as ready as can be. We have just completed our fall deep clean, top to bottom, and all 14 fireplaces are ready to roar. In fact, we have installed a few wood burning stoves in select rooms, which will burn more efficiently and provide extra warmth and beauty. And Chef Jacob is readying our savory Fire to Fork program just in time for the cooler weather.

Here are our top five tips for navigating Vermont skiing and riding this season…

1. Leverage your season pass. The best access to the mountains this year is going to be via a season pass. Mad River has ended season pass sales but you can still score an Ikon pass to ski Sugarbush (and several other mountains in Vermont, including Killington and Stratton).

2. Plan ahead. Next best are day tickets that will be available via online reservation only. You will need to plan carefully and act quickly because the mountains will be limiting sales to control crowds to keep skiers and riders safe. Midweek is likely to see less demand for tickets.

3. Quarantine. Unless you’re a Vermonter, you will need to quarantine for 14 days (or seven days and a negative covid test) before traveling to Vermont and staying at the inn. This protocol was mandated recently by our governor. You will also need to complete an online attestation for both Sugarbush and Mad River.

4. Boot up in the lot. Both Sugarbush and Mad River will be controlling access to their lodges, assuring proper social distancing. You’re probably best off treating your vehicle as your covid-safe lodge and gearing up in the parking lot. We’re guessing there is likely to be plenty of winter tailgating going on at lunch and apres ski.

5. Stay flexible. It’s likely that policies and procedures at Sugarbush and Mad River will shift through the season as each resort gets some experience with their new protocols. We encourage you to visit their websites frequently or subscribe to their e-newsletters for the latest updates.

And if downhill skiing or riding isn’t your thing, there’s always cross-country skiing (Blueberry Lake Cross Country Center is nearby) and we’ll happily outfit you with snowshoes and direct you to nearby trails.

We’re standing by to assist however we can to help make your skiing or riding or other winter outdoor experience enjoyable. Call (802-496-6350) or email (info@pitcherinn.com).

Yankee Magazine: The Mad River Valley ‘Feels Undiscovered’

10/13/2020 5:44 pm

We love it when others recognize what we know so well: Vermont’s Mad River Valley, the place we call home, is a jewel, especially during foliage season.

Writer Annie Graves from Yankee Magazine trekked to the valley last year about this time, stayed with us at the inn, and wrote about her visit recently in the September/October edition of the magazine.

Here’s how she started her story:

It is a rogue river—running north.

That was the first theory I heard about the Mad River’s name, and in the end, it was my favorite. The wayward water courses up from Granville Notch, deep in the Green Mountains, and tumbles through a picturesque Vermont valley dotted with villages, red barns, and church steeples, until it finishes just north of Montpelier, with an exhale into the Winooski River.

And about the inn she writes:

All I can say is that if you ever experience bombogenesis, I hope you’re stranded at the Pitcher Inn, in the heart of minuscule Warren Village. The deliciously understated Relais & Châteaux retreat is the psychological equivalent of a deep dive into a Vermont Flannel blanket—which, by the way, shows up for my in-room picnic, complete with charcuterie, in front of a crackling fire.

The skies opened, the rain poured down, and I was happily holed up in the Mountain Room, paneled with sheets of rock, with a plump bed set inside a replica of a fire tower. Chef Jacob Ennis roasted Brussels sprouts and flavored the squash soup with horseradish cream and juniper oil. Comfort food was redefined as pappardelle pasta laced with cauliflower cream. That night, there was a bedside chocolate cookie of rugged mountain density and proportion.

You can read Annie’s full story, “Fall in Vermont’s Mad River Valley|Turn Up the Color,” at the Yankee Magazine website.

Gale & George Dorsey Welcome You

09/19/2020 12:00 pm

Welcome, friends! We are delighted to be the new stewards of this very special place. We’re grateful for the two decades of ownership of the inn by the Smith family and wish them well in their family and business endeavors.

What makes the inn special are the people who work here, who share with guests the secrets that make the Mad River Valley and Vermont such a relaxing getaway. We’re happy to report that many staff are continuing in their roles and stand ready to welcome you on your next visit, for an overnight stay or for dinner in the dining room.

And we’re thrilled that Tracy Kelly has joined the team as Maitresse de Maison. Tracy comes with considerable hospitality experience with Marriot and Park Hyatt and will lead a re-energized team focused on your relaxation at the inn.

We plan to spend the next weeks and months observing and talking with guests and staff about what changes and updates they might like to see at the inn. We are intent on preserving its unique character and we want to assure you that any changes will respect that character and even add to it.

The inn has a long history of displaying art and objet d’art reflecting Vermont. We will continue that and have already hung some new paintings in public spaces from Edgewater Galleries in Middlebury, Vermont, which we have owned and operated for the last 15 years. Our long-standing relationships with Vermont artists provide access to some of the very finest works in the state. Come have a look.

As for the restaurants, rest assured, Chef Jacob Ennis is still leading the team in the kitchen, preparing the freshest ingredients from nearby farms for your dining pleasure. We hope to expand the kitchen staff in the coming weeks and months to meet the growing demand for fine dining as overnight and dining guests return.

You can and should expect some changes. Already we’re improving some amenities. But what won’t change is the inn’s commitment to the highest standards of hospitality, with warmth and good cheer always.

On a final note, stewarding the inn is an especially sweet moment for us since we are both proud Vermonters with a home in Cornwall. Gale is a third generation Vermonter and we’re both University of Vermont graduates.

Thank you for your continued support of the inn and of Warren Village. We look forward to welcoming you back, or for the first time.

-Gale & George Dorsey

Romantic Escape in the Mad River Valley

03/13/2020 7:40 pm

Mulling a romantic getaway this spring: someplace beautiful where you can get away from the hustle and bustle and enjoy a little pampering with that special somebody of yours?

Allow us to suggest the kind of destination that checks all the boxes, and then some: The Pitcher Inn, naturally, providing luxurious and intimate accommodations in the heart of Vermont’s magical Mad River Valley.

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