Greenwich Wine Food Festival
Greenwich Wine and Food Festival
A few weeks ago my husband Kiril (Vintner Project co-founder) and I had the pleasure of attending the Greenwich Wine + Food Festival, held at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park in Greenwich, CT. The event is like the Super Bowl for local food and wine connoisseurs – showcasing Westchester and Connecticut’s finest culinary talents and wine/spirits. It is a multi-day festival that benefits numerous charitable organizations and includes a robust schedule of day and night-time events, booths and demos. The Saturday program included a Grand Tasting during the day, a VIP dinner in the evening and a music headliner late-night for all daytime ticket holders. This year, the country sensation Little Big Town performed – their hit “Girl Crush” topped charts last year.
As residents of the area, we were happy to see some of our favorite local vendors and chefs pouring delicious wine and serving up bites. We had an absolute blast chatting with other winos and sampling eats. My husband dubbed me his “intern” for the day – questionable title if you ask me.
A little about the Wine
Below are a few of our favorite wines from the day.
La Belle En Rose – Rose of Pinot Noir
It’s made of 100% pinot noir grapes from the Sancerre region. Light and easy drinking like a summer rose should be – I could drink this all day. It is the perfect light pink color with notes of strawberry and mineral-driven.
Two friends, and popular locals: Peter Deutsche (of Deutsche Family Wine & Spirits) and Jim Nantz (legendary sportscaster) joined forces to create a delicious lineup of wines. They started the venture to honor both of their fathers. Jim and Peter worked closely with renowned winemakers Dan Goldfield, Wayne Donaldson, and James MacPhail on every step of the winemaking process. The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are sourced from the Russian River Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon from Alexander Valley. Our favorite was the 2017 Pinot Noir with a beautiful cherry aroma and medium-body.
Kiril had a great time chatting with Clement, who hand selects and imports a unique portfolio of French wines, exclusively from small artisanal producers. Clement travels extensively across Bordeaux, Burgundy, Provence, and the Rhône searching for small, artisanal producers. We loved the Provence rose, Coteaux Varois en Provence.
A little about the food…
We arrived at the event around lunch. The entrance was like walking into a modern music festival with a winding path, a step and repeat and a massive main tent. The day time sessions included the Grand tasting in the main tent and multiple showcases and booths around the outside of the tent. Vendors included local business such as Acqui Santa Fe, Nit Noi Provisions, Fjord fish market, Jesup Hall, Rowayton Seafood, Vals Putnam Wine and Liquor, Sail to Trail Wine Works and Cap Cork and Cellar. Outside in the periphery of the main tent, they had a burger battle tent, the ultimate taco tent and a tent serving our favorite spirit of the day, a clementine cocktail from Oko in Westport, CT.
Our favorite bites included the veggie dumpling from the Thai soup geniuses at Nit Noi Provisions, the salmon poke bowl from Fjord, an amazing local fish market, and the bacon on a stick from American Cut. We left the event ridiculously stuffed and with one too many glasses of wine behind us.
Hoping to return next year, we certainly recommend the festival for anyone into food and wine in the tri-state area or even further a foot. There were plenty of attendees from all over the country. It is a pricey ticket at $250 a pop for the general session. However, proceeds benefit charity and, considering food and wine is unlimited and you get a top tier concert included, it’s worth the buck …all overlooking the long-island sound.
Cheers and happy drinking!
Amanda (and my intern Kiril)