Bassist Steve Watson and his trio are the house band with special guest vineyard musicians joining them all night for the Live at the Indigo Jazz Jam. (Douglas Harrington)

Riverhead - Now in its fifth year, Winterfest/Jazz on the Vine has become the must attended event on the North Fork in the winter with Hotel Indigo as ground zero for jazz and wine lovers from all over the Northeast.

With four weekends left Winterfest 2012 is on track to break previous attendance records for this premier event showcasing the East End's wineries, businesses and attractions, particularly the North Fork which has become a year-round tourist destination from wine tours to agritainment to its quaint hamlets and spectacular natural beauty.

Until March 18, visitors can attend Saturday and Sunday jazz concerts at dozens of wineries across the North Fork and at the Wolffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack on the South Fork. Admittance to the concerts is only $15 at the door and includes a complimentary glass of wine. Performance times are staggered so attendees can literally experience multiple jazz performances in a single day. This year over 60 jazz acts are being showcased with many Grammy nominated artists performing in the rarified intimacy of the wineries' tasting rooms.

After the Saturday winery concerts end, it seems literally everyone is flocking to Hotel Indigo East End in Riverhead for the 7 p.m. Live at the Indigo Jazz Jam. I attended this past Saturday and the event was sold out with the hotel setting up tables and chairs in the hallway outside of its stunning Indigo Ballroom to accommodate guests who had not made reservations. The Steve Watson Trio is the evening's house band with many of the Jazz on the Vine performers sitting in as special guests. On this particular evening the piano playing Suffolk County Supreme Court Judge Arthur Pitts was tinkling the ivories upstairs in the hotel's highly acclaimed restaurant Bistro 72.

Guests at Hotel Indigo, Ryan Alexander and Kim Wright were up from Philadelphia for Winterfest 2012. (Douglas Harrington)

General admission to the Live at the Indigo Jazz Jam is only $20 per person, which includes a complimentary cocktail and a donation to the East End Arts Council. Hotel Indigo also offers a four course prix fixe dinner in the Ballroom for $52 per person and a three course prix fixe dinner for $35 per person in Bistro 72. We chose the three course dinner in the beautifully appointed restaurant and Executive Chef Ralph DeLustro ("Chef Ralph DeLustro Takes Bistro 72 Helm") continues to impress with a stellar menu that included starters like Wild Rice and Chestnut Bisque and the Bistro 72 Salad, entrees like Papardelle, Chicken Roulade, Double Cut Pork Chop and Blackened Strip Steak and a pair of delicious desserts, Apple Cranberry Crisp and French Beignets.

Guillermo Martinez and Lesley Jacobson missed out on a coveted table reservation, but enjoyed the jazz from chairs at the back of the Indigo Ballroom. (Douglas Harrington)

I can say emphatically that the Double Cut Pork Chop in Maple Cream Sauce with sour cream bacon mashed potatoes and perfectly cooked fresh vegetables was the single greatest pork dish I have ever tasted. The Castello di Borghese 2009 Pinot Noir Rose was a perfect match to this spectacular pork creation. The Bisque was superb and the signature Bistro 72 salad is a stunning gathering of mixed greens, panko crusted brie, toasted almonds, dried cranberries and potato crisp in a delicious raspberry cider vinaigrette. I have not had Beignets since I was last in Paris, but these scrumptious donuts in chocolate dipping sauce could sit proudly on any table in the Latin Quarter.

Not only was the Indigo Ballroom and Bistro 72 sold out, but so was the hotel itself with Winterfest attendees taking advantage of Hotel Indigo's Jazz on the Vine package. It consists of overnight accommodations at the East End's premier boutique hotel, a four course LI wine and spirits pairing dinner for two, admission to the Live at the Indigo Jazz Jam and two tickets to any one Jazz on the Vine performance at the vineyards, all for only $339 per couple (tax and gratuity extra).

Hotel Indigo owner Rob Salvatico and I met at a Two Forks and a Cork event at the Parrish Art Museum six months before the completed construction that transformed a pedestrian Riverhead Best Western into the beautiful boutique property that is now the Hotel Indigo East End. Salvatico had the dream of a singularly spectacular location that would provide Manhattan amenities, great farm to table cuisine, support of the vintners of the North Fork, access to the playground that is the Hamptons and a passionate commitment to live music, particularly jazz.

Two years later his dream has indeed been realized. Hotel Indigo is ground zero for Jazz on the Vine and the passion for style, food, wine and music will continue long after Winterfest 2012 concludes.

For more information on Hotel Indigo go to www.indigoeastend.com.