Four Close(r) to Home Wine Festivals

Yesterday, we took you on a preview trip to some of the magnificent wine-and-food festivals around the world.

Today, we’re sticking close to home…for the most part. Here are quick glances at—and helpful links for—a quartet of domestic festivals, from Indiana to Nevada, and from Hawaii to New York.

Start packing, because the festival in the Hoosier State begins today!

• Swiss Wine Festival
  There’s probably no wine festival in the country that’s more family-friendly than Indiana’s Swiss Wine Festival, held each year on the final weekend of August in the town of Vevay (pronounced VEE-vee). On a map, draw a straight line from Chicago to Indianapolis, then extend that line to Indiana’s southeast border, and you’ll pinpoint Vevay, which can trace its winegrowing history to the early 1800s.¹ At the festival, there’s a Wine Pavilion where Indiana’s latest wine releases can be sampled, but beyond that, virtually all of the attractions appeal to all ages—from arts and crafts booths to live music, and from riverboat cruises to grape stomping. The fun begins today, and continues through Sunday.

• Hawaii Food & Wine Festival
  In recent years, there has been a resurgence of ahupua‘a—an ancient, sustaintable system of interdependence that brings the freshest food to the dining table—in the Hawaiian islands. The Hawaii Food & Wine Festival, set for September 29-October 1, will celebrate that resurgence with an array of culinary events, including a Grand Tasting, a Master Chefs Dinner Series, and a signature event called “Streets of Asia: Morimoto and Friends.” Among the master chefs scheduled to attend (and cook) are Tetsuya Wakuda, Hubert Keller, Alan Wong and Roy Yamaguchi.

• New York City Wine & Food Festival
  This festival is organized by Lee Brian Schrager, the founder of Food & Wine magazine, and Food Network is the title sponsor. With heavy hitters like that behind it, it’s no wonder so many top restaurateurs and food celebrities participate: Anthony Bourdain, Alton Brown, Anne Burrell, Giada De Laurentiis, Paula Deen and Bobby Flay, to name but a few. This year, the festival’s signature event, the Grand Tasting, will be held at Hudson River Park’s Pier 57, which is on New York State’s and America’s Registers of Historic Places. Wonderful food…wonderful wine…wonderful setting. The event will run September 29-October 2.

• Food & Wine All-Star Weekend
  This exercise in fabulous culinary excess is held in Las Vegas, so you know it’ll have a few twists. Among the individually ticketed events is an “All-Star Weekend After-Party,” at which blackjack tables will be hosted by celebrity chefs. While playing 21, guests can enjoy desserts and cocktails—this after a three-hour session featuring passed hors d’oeuvres, wine, beer and cocktails earlier in the evening. And that’s just the first night. There also will be a sit-down lunch with wine pairings; the poolside “All-Star Tasting,” and a Champagne and Caviar Brunch. The Bellagio will be the venue, and the weekend will be a long one: October 21-23.

COMING UP: Tomorrow, we’ll conclude our mini-series on wine-and-food events with a look at some of the activities planned in conjunction with California Wine Month. Then next week, we’ll begin our unofficial, unscientific, completely subjective countdown of the Top 10 Wine Songs of All-Time. There’s still time to share your favorites—festivals or songs—in the comment box below.

Sources:

1. http://www.indianawines.org/?loc=history