Among the wine-food dinners on regional calendar, Woodhall has its set for Dec. 10

I assume the many wine dinners held around the region are profitable, or they wouldn't be quite so plentiful. Just about every winery in the region that I cover in Pennsylvania and Maryland holds a wine and food pairing at some point during the year. Some hold more than a few.

One I spotted in my trawl through the various Web sites is set for Thursday, Dec. 10, at Woodhall Wine Cellars in Parkton, Md., minutes off I-83 at 17912 York Road in Baltimore County, just north of the Gunpowder River. It's a seven-course meal that will run from 5 to 9 p.m. and include wines from Woodhall's library. The cost is $65 per person, and does NOT include tax and gratuities. There's also a restaurant on the premises called Patricia Della, which is open Thursday through Sunday from 5 to 9 p.m. Reservations are required.

Here's the menu:

1st course: rosette of salmon with verte sauce
2nd course: crab bisque
3rd course: seared duck breast over couscous with rose of merlot reduction
4th course: warm carpachio
5th course: double lamb chop with persillade crust
6th course: 3 cheese tray
7th course: pumpkin bread pudding with cinnamon ice cream

For more information, call 410.357.5078. Woodhall is one of the older wineries in the state with a knowledgeable staff, headed up by owners Al Copp and Chris Lang and tasting room manager Debbie Morris. Chris Kent is the winemaking consultant.

Every weekend Woodhall features two separate and different special tasting experiences:

1. Vintners Reserve Wine Tasting: Kent has selected seven of the winery's finest wines (all black labels) for an exclusive comparative tasting experience. Three of these wines will be tasted against barrel samples of the same wine. Participants will be able to learn the difference between various wine varieties and different vintages, as well as have an opportunity to sample the "Best of Woodhall." The tasting will be conducted by one of the staff well versed and involved in the winemaking process. Tasting fee: $15

2. Comparative Barrel Tasting Tour: Participants have an opportunity to compare five current vintage wines to the 2008 barreled wine of the same variety under the guidance of a staff member knowledgeable and involved in the winemaking process. Tasting fee: $15

Debbie Morris: Woodhall's superb 'cruise director'

I've mentioned before the name of Debbie Morris, who is about as jack-of-all-trades as one can get at Woodhall Wine Cellars in Parkton, Md., and is one of the nicest people we've had the pleasure of meeting at any of the wineries we've stopped by. The subject of a note in the Woodhall newsletter for October-November, the piece notes that Morris has been part of the Woodhall team for more than eight years and schedules all the winery' special events: private parties, tastings and weddings. Indeed, the blurb adds, "There's practically no part of the Woodhall operation that Debbie hasn't participated in." And, I'll add, done it with a fabulous demeanor.

The newsletter notes that harvest time also is busy at a place such as Woodhall, which is importing all of its grapes these days. The newsletter notes that grapes for its 2009 Barbera will come from Jennie Schmidt's Golden Run Vineyard in Sudlersville, Md. That vineyards provided the grapes for Woodhall's 2008 Barbera, which took a gold medal at this year's Governor's Cup.

They'll also be proceddig Merlot grapes from Wick Dudley on the Eastern Shore and Chardonnay grapes from Galloping Goose Vineyards in Hampstead. Wrapping up the section under HARVEST, the newsletter notes: "Winemaking is indeed a magical trip and you, our loyal friends and patrons, are invited along for the ride."