Vessel And Vine

06/17/2026

Hi, I've missed y'all.

Edna has said that a number of you have wondered if you've been bumped off of the email list, cause you haven't gotten any communication on some while... Well, that's because I haven't written anything in some time. I've had my head down working on our new baby - the new store we just opened - Full Hearts Farm Store. If you haven't heard yet, yeah, sometimes you're presented opportunitys in life at not exactly the "right" time, and it's clear that you still need to jump on them. So, that's what I did, and I'm pretty happy with that move, even after just two weeks of quietly being open. It just feels right, and like a move that is going to help move this little empire of mine more towards my bigger picture goals.

If you have no idea what I am talking about, here is a little precis that I wrote about Full Hearts Farm Store to share:

Full Hearts Farm Store is an all Maine grocery, located at Replenova Farm in Durham Maine. Other than a few wines “from away,” we focus on highlighting the bounty of what Maine can offer both from land and sea. This includes Maine raised meats, locally baked bread, delicious dairy, local eggs, and a curated selection of Maine made grocery and value added food items. We are excited to sell the organic produce of Replenova farm, and also utilize it in the kitchen in our prepared food. This ability essentially closes the loop, minimizing food waste, and I find this type of cooking to be the most inspiring! I have always loved parameters - they are what inspire my creativity, so I look at this relationship as a real opportunity to be creative. Right now there is an abundance of radishes coming off of the farm - so in addition to selling the prime radishes in the market, we have focused on utilizing them in value added recipes. For example, we’ve got radish green kimchi in the works, roasted radish and feta phyllo triangles, we made a big batch of our house herby buttermilk ranch, and a chive blossom butter to accompany said radishes. I look forward to the new puzzles each week will present.
The larger kitchen at Full Hearts Farm Store will allow me to produce prepared food for both Full Hearts Farm Store and Vessel and Vine in a much more efficient (and hopefully profitable) way than I’ve been able to do in the past. In addition, we have a sweet little sandwich program, and a lovely back deck that overlooks the greenhouses and acres of fields. Whether you get a sandwich, or a salad, or some other goodie, it’s a great little destination.
Beginning in July, we will begin holding classes at Full Hearts Farm Store - and we hope for the space to become a gathering space for the community. Durham is lacking in “third spaces,” and I hope that this project can help fill that void.
In time, I also hope to hold farm dinners, host winemakers for events, and utilize the space for smaller private events. I believe that Full Hearts Farm Store complements Vessel and Vine so well. I now have a City Mouse Market, and a Country Mouse Market. A from Away market, and a Maine market…

So, please excuse my absence from communicating with you all, I think things will smooth out fairly quickly here, as I really do have the best most competent crew ever, at both locations, and it's affording me a sense of sanity that I didn't expect so soon after making this move.

We have some really fun events planned for the rest of the month, read on for the details!
Most immediately, TOMORROW is Weiner Wednesday!!!!! Kick off summer, celebrate the last week of school, enjoy a dog or two... 5-9ish. We'll be celebrating the ghosts of Weiners past by revisiting some of our vermouth/amaro spritzes from Caballeras - our sweet - before it's time Vermouth bar (RIP) and the Weiners present by combining some soon to be iconic flavors from our NEW store with our tried and true Vessel and Vine hot dog formula. We'll be highlighting produce from Replenova Farm, and the weather is gonna be great. WE HOPE TO SEE YOU! It's been a while. ❤️

and THEN< on Friday - we're having a grand opening celebration at Full Hearts Farm Store!!! It's actually an event that we started planning even before I decided to take over the store - you see, I've got a long standing relationship with Replenova Farm, as I am a Durham resident and they are my neighbors. Some of you may have even been to past events there that we've brought our bar cart - Jackass Annie to. But, this time, we're in charge of the food and the drinks, And the general vibe as well! The whole shebang... So, we're super excited to say the least. Our bar trailer - Jackass Annie will be there slinging cocktails, wine, beer, and mocktails. You can get a sandwich or salad in the store, made by us, and tour the farm while you're at it! We will be raising money for New England Lab Rescue with every sale of food and drink, and there will be DOGS there to visit with as well! AND, we'll have live music as well! Local high school sensation - trust us, they're awesome - Kaiju will be there playing! Show up any time between 5-8. See you soon!!! Address: 1252 Royalsborough Rd, Durham, ME

Click here for an update from Vessel And Vine!

06/16/2026

Kick off summer, celebrate the last week of school, enjoy a dog or two...
Weiner Wednesday is TOMORROW! Weds June 17 - 5-9ish. We'll be celebrating the ghosts of Weiners past by revisiting some of our vermouth/amaro spritzes from Caballeras - our sweet - before it's time Vermouth bar (RIP) and the Weiners present by combining some soon to be iconic flavors from our NEW store with our tried and true Vessel and Vine hot dog formula. We'll be highlighting produce from , and the weather is gonna be great. WE HOPE TO SEE YOU! It's been a while. ❤️

06/12/2026

A day late and a dollar short perhaps, buttt... we did just open a new store - , so we've been a little busy! ❤️❤️
Here is the events schedule for June - we somehow still managed to pack in even more fun. We hope to see you at some or all of these events!!!!!!!

06/09/2026

Life updates! Swipe through all the photos to get a real treat!
First, free wine tasting today from 5 to 7 with , featuring unconventional, grapes from California and Oregon!

Second, we now carry .breads every Tuesday!
Third, we always have fresh bouquets from .

Fourth, unintentional chicks have hatched at Full Hearts Farm and they are gosh darn cute…

05/29/2026

In addition to cocktails, amazing wine, delicious cheeses, a charming/ smart/ funny staff, we also have something called WIFI- and a pretty incredible patio. Feel free to come grab some of the aforementioned provisions and get some work done.

05/16/2026

Another beautiful wine dinner in the books. Yet again we forgot to take pictures of the food…. thank you for hanging out with us.

05/12/2026

FREE WINE TASTING TONIGHT!!!
TUES 5/12
5-7 PM
ALAS, we were going to be hosting Austrian winemaker Adrien Stoeffler for this tasting, but unfortunately his flight is now not coming in until later in the evening. So instead, we'll be popping open five wines from producers that will be featured in Maine Wild Wine Fest - which is happening this Saturday in Freeport. You can find more info and buy tickets for the festival on the events page of our website. Coming to our tasting will be a great introduction to the types of wine you will fine there! As always, no need to RSVP for wine tastings, just show up any time between 5 and 7, and remember, you get 10% off 6 or more bottles on tasting.

05/12/2026

FREE WINE TASTING TONIGHT!!!

TUES 5/12
5-7 PM

ALAS, we were going to be hosting Austrian winemaker Adrien Stoeffler for this tasting, but unfortunately his flight is now not coming in until later in the evening. So instead, we'll be popping open five wines from producers that will be featured in Maine Wild Wine Fest - which is happening this Saturday in Freeport. You can find more info and buy tickets for the festival HERE (https://www.mainewildwinefest.com/) . Coming to our tasting will be a great introduction to the types of wine you will fine there! As always, no need to RSVP for wine tastings, just show up any time between 5 and 7, and remember, you get 10% off 6 or more bottles on tasting.

Upcoming Events:

Small Acts Anniversary Faire
Sunday 5/17 1-5 PM
Small Acts turns 1! This month marks the local newsletter's one-year birthday. Join us in celebrating our 13th issue at Vessel and Vine with a Small Acts Faire. Inside there will be a drink special to help support our printing fund, along with all of Vessel's normal goodies (glass pours, fridge snacks, bar ice cream!). On the porch, there will be stations where Small Acts volunteers will lead activities and facilitate connections. Whether you've been hesitating on writing your ad, want to get plugged in to local networks, or just want to take home some plant babies and local art to brighten up your space this spring, spend an afternoon with us! The Faire will run 1-5pm on Sunday, 4/17. Activity stations will be donation-based, and drinks and food inside will be a la carte.

Cocktail Class - How To Make The Best Margarita Around!
Weds 5/20 5:30-7:30
Just in time for warmer weather, you can learn how to make the perfect margaritas in our cocktail class! We will teach you the simple but important ratios of a perfect margarita, and will then give you the tools to improvise. We'll talk about the history of the Margarita, it's close cousins, and of course shake up some drinks. $55 per person, not including tax and gratuity. CALL the Vine to sign up!

Wine Class w/Hugh!
Austria Beyond Gruner
Thurs 5/28 5:30-7:30
Join us for another session of V&V’s Wine School. Hugh will be teaching a class focusing on the lesser known varietals of Austria, and there are so many! Class begins at 5:30PM!
$45 per person includes sips and snacks, but not tax and gratuity. CALL the Vine to sign up!

Click here for an update from Vessel And Vine!

05/09/2026

Haaaay Friends!!! Most of you know that our true home base is in Durham, so on Saturday May 9,we’re helping throw a party for Durham, while raising money for our local historical society. This is going to be a good one! We’ll be serving up beer, wine, cocktails out of our mobile bar trailer - Jackass Annie, and we’ll also be dishing up some hearty soup as well! (And, we’ve got some big news that we’ll share soon - but if you come, you’ll hear sooner than everyone else!!) There is going to be a HUGE silent auction, tintype portraits, live blues music, all held rain or shine at Wildflowers Farm. (There's a huge indoor arena that we'll be setting up in if it rains.
You can buy tickets by clicking the link in the stories - or by going to the Durham Historical Society website! Hope to see you there!!!❤️

05/06/2026

Mother's Day Flowers From Petal and Stem Design!

Pick up Sat 5/09 or Sun 5/10
Florist and Mama Katie Dionne of Petal and Stem Design will be offering up arrangements for Mother’s Day. This year we will be offering two styles: a medium arrangement in vase for $80, and wraps for $50. Preorder before end of day Friday 05/08 for pickup any time on Sat 5/09 or Sunday 5/10, right through our website, or by clicking the link below!

Sicilian Wine Dinner w/ Nicola Elios of Elios Wines
Fri 5/15 6-9 PM
Wow, we haven’t done a real sit down wine dinner in a while. But, when a super cool Sicilian winemaker is in town, you do what you gotta do. I am so excited about these wines, and the pairings we are developing for them! Childhood friends Nicola and Guido founded Elios in 2015. They started keeping bees and found themselves excited by the prospect of returning to tending the land in their home region of Sicily. Their mission: to make wines that taste like their land with no shortcuts, just nature and craftsmanship. They only work with native Sicilian grapes like Nerello Mascalese, Catarratto, Grillo, and Nero d'Avola. Nicola will be here for Maine Wild Wine Fest so we asked if we could do a dinner with him, and the powers that be said yes! We will be featuring four of his wines, paired with four courses that meld Sicilian cuisine with local ingredients, take a look at the menu below! Dinner will be seated communally. $85/PP exclusive of tax and gratuity, CALL the vine to sign up, WE'RE HALF FULL ALREADY!

1.
Dunstans smoked bluefish, Freshwater sourdough, spring herb gremolata, bishopsweed

Elios Blanc De Blanc Brut Nature NV
Cataratto

2.
nettle egg fettuccine, ramp butter, egg yolk, pecorino, toasted hazelnut

Elios “Modus Bibendi” Bianco 2024
Grillo

3.
grilled pork kebabs, Replenova Farm spicy greens, cipolline agrodolce

Elios “Glou Glou” 2023
Nerello Mascalese

4.
honeycomb brittle, Oaklands farm Roxanne, honey drizzle

Elios “Modus Bibendi” Macerato 2022
Cataratto, Grillo, Zibibbo

And, check out these other events we have going on!!!:

Durham Historical Society Fundraising Event
Wildflowers Farm - Durham
SATURDAY 5/09 4-9 PM
Most of you know that our true home base is in Durham, so on Saturday May 9, we’re helping throw a party for Durham, while raising money for our local historical society. This is going to be a good one! We’ll be serving up beer, wine, cocktails out of our mobile bar trailer - Jackass Annie, and we’ll also be dishing up some hearty soup as well! (And, we’ve got some big news that we’ll share soon - but if you come, you’ll hear sooner than everyone else!!) There is going to be a HUGE silent auction, tintype portraits, live blues music, all held rain or shine at Wildflowers Farm…
You can buy tickets here:
zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/durham-historical-societys-2nd-annual-silent-auction (https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/durham-historical-societys-2nd-annual-silent-auction)

Free Wine Tasting Featuring the
Winemakers of Wild Wine Fest
Tues 5/12 5-7 PM
We love Maine Wild Wine Fest. You can find more info on it, and buy tickets by clicking HERE! (https://www.mainewildwinefest.com) So, we are featuring five wines made by the winemakers that will be in attendance at the festival! Your lovely Devenish rep Rileigh will be here to pour them for y'all. We’ll have five wines open, including sparkling, white, orange and red! As always, no need to RSVP for wine tastings, just show up any time between 5 and 7, and remember, you get 10% off 6 or more bottles on tasting.

AND DON'T FORGET, TOMORROW IS WEINER WEDNESDAY!!! (WEDS MAY 6, 5-9ISH.) WE'RE HOPING IT WON'T BE TOO RAINY, AS THE PORCH IS OPEN! WE'LL BE FEATURING SOME REALLY FUN FORAGED GOODIES... NO NEED TO RSVP, JUST SHOW UP! ❤️

Click here for an update from Vessel And Vine!