Pizza Bar Fall Harvest Wine Dinner Featuring Swick Wines

Bud & Alley’s Pizza Bar + Trattoria in Seaside, Florida celebrates the fall season with a Fall Harvest Wine Dinner on Thursday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m.  The menu includes four courses: Gulf Red Snapper Crudo – Radish, Satsuma, Avocado Mousse, Jacobsen Sea Salt to start; followed by Delicata Squash with Ricotta, Currants, Charred Brussels Sprouts, Pecans drizzled with a Brown Butter Vinaigrette; Gnocchi with Berkshire Pork, Castelvetrano Olives, Pecorino, Chili and Mint; and Wood Fired Scallops served with Sunchoke Puree, Oyster Mushroom, Chicken Jus, Chermoula and Confit Lemon; with a sweet ending of Housemade Ice Cream Trio (Sweet Potato, Olive Oil, Stumptown Hair Bender).

In partnership with Gregory Van Hoesen of City Beautiful Beverage in Orlando, Chef Phil McDonald and Chef Zach Keaton of Bud & Alley’s Pizza Bar will serve a seasonal, four-course wood-fired harvest dinner with winemaker and special guest Joe Swick of Swick Wines in Willamette Valley, Oregon that will showcase his all-natural wines. Reservations are required and can by made by calling (850) 231-3113. 

This Fall Harvest Dinner with Bud & Alley’s Pizza Bar is Swick’s first ever culinary event in Florida.

“We are thrilled to host a fall harvest dinner at Pizza Bar,” said Chef Phil McDonald of Bud & Alley’s Pizza Bar + Trattoria. “Swick Wines is producing some of the best raw wines and pinot noir in the country right now. Not surprisingly, sustainable and organic farming gets us excited at Pizza Bar, and it's a philosophy we’re happy to carry over in the wines that we offer.”

“Many of the wines Swick offers contains zero sulfur added,” McDonald said. “This will be a wine dinner that is going to be more cerebral and interesting than what is traditionally offered locally.”

Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Joe Swick is a fifth-generation Oregonian whose family's roots are based in Eastern Oregon and the Columbia Gorge area. He became passionate about wine while working in the wine department of his local organic specialty food store. After meeting some Willamette Valley winemakers on the job, Joe worked his first harvest as a cellar assistant at Owen Roe in 2003.

Over the next 10 years, Swick worked more than 15 harvests across many of the world's great winemaking regions, including Portugal, Italy, New Zealand, Tasmania and California. Yearning to make wine in the Pacific Northwest under his own name, he returned to the Willamette Valley to start his own label with the 2013 vintage.

Swick was first introduced to biodynamic farming in New Zealand's Central Otago; after journeying throughout France and meeting such producers as Julien Labet (Jura), Yvon Métras (Beaujolais), and Nicolas Gonin (Isère), he gradually embraced natural winemaking. Through his experiences and travels, he concluded that wine should be made simply and authentically; have nothing added or subtracted; and most importantly, express place and vintage. As a result, he sources from certified organic or organically farmed vineyards where possible; eschews sulfur at bottling whenever possible; and neither filters or fines his wines at bottling. In his words: “I like the real deal.”

Bud & Alley’s owner/founder Dave Rauschkolb said hosting a Fall Harvest dinner in partnership with Swick Wines is a natural. “The Pizza Bar was inspired by the cucina’s of Naples, Italy,” he said. “This event is reflective of what we are all about at all of our Bud & Alley’s restaurants — keeping it simple, seasonal and delicious. The fact that we are exploring and serving new natural wines is just a continuation of our 32-year culinary culture.”

Tickets to the Fall Harvest Wine Dinner are $100 per person (plus tax and gratuity) and includes an aperitif and passed hors d’oeuvres followed by a four-course wood-fired themed dinner from Chef Phil McDonald and Chef Zach Keaton with four flights of wine. Reservations are required and can by made by calling (850) 231-3113. 

Bud & Alley’s, South Walton’s longest established restaurant, pioneered the farm- and sea-to-table movement in Seaside and along 30A. Its devotion to serving dishes with the freshest possible ingredients extends to the The Pizza Bar.

Guests of The Pizza Bar can experience these authentic flavors family-style in the courtyard, fire-side at the bar, and on the veranda overlooking the Gulf. It is open daily from 11 a.m.

Founded in 1986 in Seaside, Florida, Bud & Alley’s has become a revered gathering place by local patrons and visitors known for “Good Food. Good People. Good Times.” Over the years, Bud & Alley’s has garnered numerous awards including  Florida Trend Magazine’s Golden Spoon Hall of Fame Award, designating the eatery as one of the Top 20 Restaurants in Florida. For more information on The Pizza Bar at Bud & Alley’s, call (850) 231-3113 or visit www.budandalleys.com.

Located dune side in the iconic beach town of Seaside, Florida, Bud & Alley’s Pizza Bar + Trattoria is a locally inspired pizzeria serving authentic Neapolitan wood-fired pizza and house-made pastas. The menu is complemented by a carefully curated list of handcrafted cocktails, wine and craft beer.

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