Relish

When I say that two of the most "out there" women on the local culinary scene are collaborating on a wine dinner, I say it with the best of intentions. 

Caryn Dugan and Angela Ortmann are known to just about everyone who follows the local food scene.

Dugan's a vegan and Ortmann's a sommelier, the two are best friends, and that's the genesis of The Root and the Vine, what I believe is the first all-vegan wine dinner event in St. Louis. It will be held at Mosaic restaurant in Des Peres on 10/11/12 (a date easier to remember if noted this way). Mosaic 's Exec Chef Ben Lester will lend his expertise that evening as well and proceeds will benefit the local food-based charity, Food Outreach.    

Readers may be familiar with Dugan's twitter handle (@STLVegGirl) or her frequent appearances on Great Day St. Louis (at right), where (I must admit) she makes vegan food look good even to a committed carni. Dugan's website tells how and why she adopted a plant-based diet, as well as when and where she conducts classes for the committed, or the curious. I fall into the latter category and Dugan gets extra points for the way she calmly disseminates her message. Yeah, I know I shouldn't eat as much meat as I do, but I don't appreciate vegan zealots who get all crazed and feisty, insisting I'm gonna die--and soon--if I don't mend my ways. Yeah, right, I know. Now could you please put down that butternut squash...?

Ortmann (at left) is a certified sommelier (@STLwinegirl) who also conducts classes...and wine tastings, and in-home wine parties, and who's also all over the local airwaves. Like Dugan, she's a young woman who's built a nice little business around something she's passionate about. Both have identified and focused on a specific niche, and both do a brilliant job marketing both their businesses and themselves, so good their next collaboration should be a book on how to do just that.  

The menu and wines for The Root and the Vine are still in development, but we do know it's a typical four-courser (soup/salad, pasta, main, dessert) with respective paired wines. No bread and butter, though...this dinner will feature Dugan's quasi-famous hummus and pita. 

The goals of the event are simple: "We just want to open diners minds about plant-based cuisine," Ortmann said, "and prove that you don't have to always serve meat to wow a palate." Her personal objective as wine consultant is to "feature wines that highlight the pure flavors and elevate them without interfering."

Wanna be part of another first in St. Louis? Tickets are $75 per and can be secured here.