by Jacqueline Pennington

The second annual Green Garlic Festival is coming to Dover Vineyards, a small vineyard and produce farm in Concord, May 10-12. The celebration consists of a farm-to-table meal each day made by a local chef who will highlight green garlic throughout every course on the menu . 

Elizabeth Anne Dover Bishop started her vineyard in 2009 off a main highway in Concord with a plot of land that was prime for commercial development. Dover is dedicated to keeping agriculture alive in her county — one that is continually growing and changing with new development. The land is half vineyards, which are harvested to make Dover Vineyards wine, and half produce farm, where Dover grows what she sells at the farm stand on site. The farm stand also sells produce from other local farms and has items like bread, meat, and flowers available throughout the season. 

From this time of year through early summer, you can find green garlic available at local farms, like Dover Bishop’s. Green garlic is the same as the garlic that we all know and love, but it’s harvested in the spring before fully maturing into the white bulbs that we see in the grocery store. Garlic fits into Dover Bishop’s philosophy of low-maintenance farming and also her desire to do things a little differently. 

Green garlic isn’t what many farms are highlighting with their events this time of year, but Dover Bishop finds it important to have a unique twist to what’s hosted at the vineyard.

“We do events that are specifically tailored to what other people can’t offer,” she says. “We think that’s celebrating an ingredient that is not necessarily the most commonplace. We’re a working farm and a winery. We’re not doing the traditional agritourism events.” Dover Bishop wants to draw guests with new experiences that highlight the authenticity and local focus of the vineyard and farm.

The event consists of two four-course dinners on May 10 and 11 and wraps up with a Mother’s Day brunch on the Sunday, May 12. The first menu was created by chef Jamie Barnes of What the Fries, a Charlotte-based food truck with a newly opened brick and mortar space. The second dinner will feature a menu by Treasure Williams, a local private chef and caterer. Lastly, chef Julia Simon, the previous owner of Plant Joy, put together the menu for a three-course vegan and gluten-free brunch. All three meals have the option of being paired with Dover Vineyards wines chosen by Dover herself. Each meal will be a culinary experience individually, but Dover hopes the three together will highlight the versatility of both green garlic and the talented chefs that we have in the Charlotte-area. 

“Chef Jamie Barnes is known for his fries, but he has a whole wealth of knowledge and abilities beyond making really cool fries,” Dover Bishop says. “So, it also gives the chefs the opportunity to do something a little bit out of the ordinary and to be creative…it is a celebration of food and wine in the place where the ingredients are grown.” 

The meals take place beside the vineyard where guests will be seated at several small tables for a more intimate experience and a chance to get to know one another. Tickets that include the optional wine pairing are $100 each. Tickets without the pairing are $75 for the dinners on May 10th and 11th and $85 for the brunch on May 12th. There is a covered area where the event will take place in case of inclement weather.

Tickets for all three events can be found on Dover Vineyard’s website.