Wine and Food Festivals

There are wine and food festivals and then there are WINE AND FOOD FESTIVALS! The Charleston Wine and Food Festival (www.charlestonwineandfood.com) just celebrated its 5th anniversary and what a celebration it was. This was my second year at the festival, combining business with pleasure. I wanted to experience first-hand the excitement generated among the estimated 8,000 attendees as they tasted great wines and sampled wonderful local food. I also went to meet some of the staff members of Charleston magazine (www.charlestonmag.com), who also are part of the team producing G-The Magazine of Greenville(www.gvillemag.com), Grand Strand magazine(www.strandmagazine.com), and our own WNC Magazine www.wncmagazine.com).

The festival was tented in four main areas covering most of Marion Square in downtown Charleston. The Grand Tasting tents featured 30 wineries and distributors, all pouring as fast as they could, while talking about the wine, the region from which the wine came from, and characteristics of that particular wine, to the group gathered before their table. I then asked the food vendors why they attended and their reply was that they were here to support the charities and non-profits that benefited from the festival. I was glad to find out that this year, Slow Food Charleston(www.slowfoodcharleston.org) was a recipient of their generosity!

The food was fab! Lots of soups, scallops, tuna, chili, pecans, crepes, chocolate, and assorted vendors of barbecue sauce, rice, and beer. I could have spent all day there but you were limited to a 3-hour session, either in the morning or in the afternoon. I chose the morning session so I could spend the afternoon watching the Celebrity Chefs and the Iron Chefs challenges.

This was fun! While I usually stick to red wines, I decided to start with whites since I had a morning ticket. Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Viognier - from Napa, Sonoma, Washington state, France, Italy, Chile, and of course, North Carolina wines were all available and all very good. If you liked the wines, most were available for sales and could be purchased as you left the festival.

The chef challenges were attended by an excited audience. Each team had one hour, four dishes to prepare each, and three judges to impress. It was tense. The judges barely had time to sample one dish before the next one was thrust in front of them.

Next month I’ll attend the Blue Ridge Wine and Food Festival(www.blueridgewinefestival.com) in Blowing Rock. Then in August, we will have the Asheville Wine and Food Festival www.ashevillewineandfood.com(www.ashevillewineandfood.com) at the WNC Agriculture Center(www.ncagr.gov/markets/facilities/agcenters/western/index.htm), across from the Asheville airport. This year the festival will feature over 60 wineries, most of them North Carolina Wines! In May, keep an eye out for the WNC Chefs Challenge, a competition featuring the best chefs in WNC and a chance for YOU to be the judge and pare down the competitions for the Final Iron Chef Challenge at the festival.

Please go out and enjoy our wonderful culinary traditions in WNC. Support the local restaurants, chefs, local food, wine stores, and, of course, local wineries. Also, plan to attend your local Wine and Food Festival. You will have more fun than you could possibly expect.