Focus on food: December 12, 2011

Mark Seymour, Owner of Fish Hook Vineyards and High Hook wines at Lees Market this Saturday December 17, 2011

President and Owner of Fish Hook Vineyards and High Hook wines, Mark Seymour, will be at Lees Market on Saturday December 17, 2011 from 1 pm – 4 pm sampling High Hook Pinot Noir and High Hook Pinot Blanc. Mark will also be signing bottles which makes for a perfect gift for any wine drinker on your shopping list!

High Hook wines have a unique tie to the South Coast and Islands. A quote from their website reads, “The term ‘High Hook’, as near as we can tell, originated on Cuttyhunk Island. In 1864 a group of wealthy Manhattan business tycoons, unhappy with a flap over the rules and regulations in their Striped Bass fishing club in Sakonnet, RI, went looking for a suitable place to establish their own club. They found Cuttyhunk, wound up purchasing most of it, and formed the Cuttyhunk Fishing Association. Eventually, there would be a total of fifty members, among them some of the most powerful men in America. The member who caught the biggest Striper was referred to as the "High Hook", and was given a diamond-studded pin in the shape of a fish hook. The term is still fairly widely used and, depending on what state you're in, refers to the person who catches either the biggest fish or the most fish. It's also used more generally as an indicator of excellence.”

For all High Hook bottles sold at Lees Market on Saturday December 17, 2011 Lees will donate $3.00 per bottle to the Town of Westport Shellfish Restoration Fund and year round, Fish Hook Vineyards donates $3.00 for every case of High Hook sold to the Ocean Conservancy.

For more information about the High Hook wines, visit their website at www.fishhookvineyards.com. For more information about the tasting on Saturday call Heather or Debbie in the Wine Department!