counter- featuring ANTICA TERRA
Charlotte Wine & Food Week kicks off with this premier dinner featuring 8 mini-courses curated by James Beard Award Finalist for Best Chef Southeast, Sam Hart, in the style Counter- is known for, taking you on a tasting journey with one of the wine world’s more revered winemakers, Maggie Harrison, of Willamette Valley’s famed Antica Terra.
The geology of the Antica Terra vineyard is pretty unusual. In most of the region, vineyards are planted in the relatively deep, geologically young soils left behind by either the Missoula floods or the volcanic events that formed the Cascade and Coast Ranges. But at Antica Terra, the remains of a far older pre-historic seabed rise to the surface, leaving the vines to struggle, without topsoil, atop a fractured mixture of sandstone sown with 40 million-year-old marine fossils.
During the dinner, you’ll enjoy an array of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines from Antica Terra including some extremely rare and limited selections chosen by Maggie especially for this dinner.
EVENT DETAILS
Date: Tuesday, April 16
Time: 6:30 PM Arrival | 6:45 PM Dinner
Location: Counter-| 2001 W Morehead Street, Suite D, Charlotte, NC 28208
Special Guest: Maggie Harrison | Co-owner and Winemaker - Antica Terra
Executive Chef: Sam Hart - Counter-
Tickets: $750/person plus tax
Gratuity is included in the ticket price, and $250 of each ticket is tax-deductible.
Must be 21+
Hosted by Charlotte Wine & Food Board Member Steve Balzer.
THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT!
To be added to the waitlist, please email info@charlottewinenadfood.org.
Note this restaurant dinner will have communal seating in the Counter- studio kitchen.
MENU + FEATURED WINES
The Glories No. 05
Soused Mackerel, Spring Lettuces
Aurata Chardonnay
Filet-o-Fish, Catfish, American Cheese, Tartar Sauce. French Fries, Caviar.
Aequorin Chardonnay
Yakitori, Pickled Daikon, Karachi
Botanica Pinot Noir
Mole Negro, Pork, Chocolate, Persimmon, Guava
Ceras Pinot Noir
Grouper PSL with Kabocha, Coffee, Mustard Greens
Anthikythera Pinot Noir
Chinese Tea Smoked Duck, Beet, Snap Pea, Scallion
Lillian Grenache
Mushroom Chawanmushi, Chestnut, Truffle
Lillian Gold Series Syrah
Chocolate Torte, Black Currant, Bacon, Foie Gras
Dietary restrictions may be accommodated with advance notice. Please indicate any restrictions the event organizers should be aware of at time of your registration/ticket purchase. Alternatively, please email info@charlottewineandfood.org to notify us at minimum 5 days prior to the event.
CULINARY & BEVERAGE TALENT
MAGGIE HARRISON | CO-OWNER, WINEMAKER & VINEYARD MANAGER - ANTICA TERRA
Having never set foot in a winery, Maggie Harrison, through dumb luck and an embarrassing show of tenacity, became the first assistant winemaker at Elaine and Manfred Krankl’sSine QuaNon. She apprenticed for eight wonderful and life-changing harvests and in 2004, struck out on her own starting a small Syrah project called Lillian. She was happily living down in Santa Barbara, a place she never intended to leave when she was invited to become the winemaker at Antica Terra. She emphatically refused. But when she was asked if she would simply take a look at the vineyard and offer her opinion about the qualities of the site, she reluctantly agreed. Twenty-six seconds after arriving among the oaks, fossils, and stunted vines she found herself beneath one of the oaks, phone in hand, explaining to her husband that they would be moving to Oregon. Maggie is now the co-owner and winemaker at Antica Terra making some of the world’s top Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
SAM HART | EXECUTIVE CHEF & OWNER - COUNTER-
Sam Hart (they/them) is the Executive Chef and Owner of Counter- in Charlotte, NC, intimate, full sensory dining experience featuring themed tasting menus. Born and raised in the Queen City, Hart's goal is for Counter- to be an incubator for rising star chefs, providing them a place for empowerment, guidance, and inspiration to open their own concepts in Charlotte and elevate the dining scene in the southern city that raised them. Hart is a 2023 James Beard Awards Finalist for Best Chef: Southeast.
Hart's journey to fine dining was not a traditional one. Upon graduating from Dickinson College in 2011, they entered the business world working in advertising. After five years in corporate America, Hart realized that their passion for cooking in their free time could serve a greater purpose in their life, so in August of 2016, they left their job to pursue a culinary degree. Hart opted to enroll at Central Piedmont Community College in their hometown, rather than a prestigious and exclusive culinary school, which often come with high price tags. While they were in culinary school, Hart worked at some of Charlotte's most lauded establishments, including Heirloom, Myers Park Country Club, Angeline's, and Haymaker.
In October of 2018, Hart moved to Chicago, IL to immerse themselves in the world of fine dining, beginning at three-Michelin-starred Alinea, which received the 2016 James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Restaurant and continues to make the list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants. At Alinea, Hart worked as a commis, sharpening their skills on the canape station, working under Executive Chef Simon Davies. In March of 2019, Hart explored Japanese cuisine, working as a sashimi chef at Momotaro alongside Chef Gene Kato.
Looking for a break from the hustle of the restaurant industry and with a desire to give back, Hart took a job as the lead culinary instructor at The Kids' Table, a cooking school in Chicago for kids and families, while also working as a private chef, focusing on high level in-home tasting menus, a gig that ultimately became the research and development phase for Counter-.
Taking their diverse knowledge of the different cuisines, techniques, and tasting menus they experienced in Chicago, Hart made their way back to Charlotte in October of 2019 to take the leap and pursue opening their own concept. Counter-, named to represent the antithesis to traditional fine dining restaurants, began as a monthly pop-up. It quickly grew a fan-base, and Hart opened Counter-'s first brick and mortar location in September of 2020 and relocated to West Charlotte in December of 2022.
Hart's passion for cultural change is ingrained in every aspect of Counter-, from employee benefits and fair pay for suppliers (and if suppliers aren't paid enough, they'll take the task inhouse) to giving back to the community through initiatives such as donating to local crisis centers for LGBTQ+ youth. Counter-'s 2022 relocation ushers in a new era for Hart and their team, who continue to push the boundaries of traditional fine dining.
THANK YOU TO OUR PRESENTING SPONSOR!
