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Other Future Events of Interest

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Niagara Icewine Festival
Niagara Region, Ontario
January 14 - 30, 2011

 

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Ontario Icewine has gained accolades from around the world, garnering gold medals at the world's foremost wine competitions in Europe, Asia and throughout North America.

To meet VQA Standards, Ontario Icewine is produced in perfect winter conditions during December, January and February at temperatures of at least -8° Celsius. While the berries are frozen as hard as marbles, the grape is pressed, allowing a concentrated juice terrifically sweet to slowly trickle from the spout. From this exceptional concentrated juice the world's finest sweet wine - Ontario Icewine - is produced.

With so many Ontario Wineries continuing to win international wine competitions, Ontario Icewine is now firmly established in the elite of all wine products.  The Niagara Grape & Wine Festival is pleased to host this event as part of their continuing commitment to presenting visitors with exceptional events which profile the quality wine that is produced by Ontario's wine masters.

For three weeks in January the Niagara region is transformed into a wintry wonderland, celebrating one of Canada's most cherished products, Ontario Icewine. From Gala evenings, ornate ice bars and Winemakers' Dinners, to roasting chestnuts, late night Icewine grape picking and sleigh rides along Niagara's famed wine route, the 16th edition of the Niagara Icewine Festival offers plenty for every taste.

Come celebrate Canada’s largest Icewine Gala featuring Ontario’s internationally acclaimed Icewines with the best in haute cuisine, all in a spectacular setting guaranteeing you an unforgettable experience.

For further information, click HERE or call (905) 688 0212.

 

 

 

Boston Wine Expo
Boston, Massachusetts
January 22 - 23, 2011

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Celebrating its 20th anniversay, America’s largest consumer wine event welcomes you!  Sample over 1800 wines from over 300 wineries from around the globe.  “It’s simply the bbiggest and the best!”   

Click HERE for more information about this H U G E wine event.

 

 

 

Taos Winter Wine Festival
Taos, New Mexico

January 26 - 30, 2011

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An artists’ colony, Taos is a cultural extravaganza with its adobe homes, its 800 year-old Taos Pueblo, and its 400 year-old Spanish heritage. For skiers, it is a legendary Mecca as well.  The 25th  Annual Winter Wine Festival is a 5-day non-stop array of wonderful wine and food events, drawing gourmets from far and wide to this truly unique town.  

For information about this Festival, call (505) 438 8060, or click HERE.

 

 

Zinfandel Festival
San Francisco, California
January 27 - 29, 2011

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Zinfandel has a unique spot in American cultural history as well as American viticulture. There are a number of aspects to this: for example, Zinfandel is the only wine grape varietal considered to be unique to the U.S.  It once was the most widely planted varietal in California. Zinfandel is possibly the most stylistically diverse wine made in the U.S.  If you love Zinfandel, consider attending this major annual Festival celebrating this wonderful varietal. This year, they’re “Celebrating 20 years of Zinspiration.”

ZAP, the Zinfandel Advocates & Producers, is the group that includes all major producers and growers of Zinfandel.  The following is the line-up of events for the annual ZAP Festival:

Good Eats & Zinfandel Pairing
Thursday, January 27, 2011

 

Flights! Stories from the Vineyard
Friday, January 28, 2011

 

Evening with the Winemakers
Friday, January 28, 2011

 

20th Annual Grand Tasting
Saturday, January 29, 2011

 

Call (530) 274-4900 or click HERE for more information about this major Zinfandel festival.

 

 

Naples Winter Wine Festival
Naples, Florida
January 28 - 30, 2011

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Naples is one of the premiere resort cities in the world.  It has miles of perfect beaches, fantastic sunsets over the Gulf, and incredible restaurants.  Now in its eleventh year, the Winter Wine Festival is a world-class wine event for the benefit of local children’s charities.

Those of you who know Naples know that there are some pretty magnificent homes in this town.  A unique aspect of this Festival is the first evening’s event, which features small intimate Winemaker Dinners at fifteen fabulous homes.

Click HERE or call (239) 514 2239 for further information about this very special event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Washington D.C. International Wine & Food Festival

Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center

Washington D.C.

February 10 - 13, 2011

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You don’t want to miss the Mid-Atlantic’s Premier Wine and Food Event. What a great opportunity to sample over 600 wines from around the globe at this exciting wine show! More than 100 international and domestic wineries pour their greatest vintages at the Grand Tasting.

Along with the Grand Tasting, this year’s Festival offers a comprehensive seminar program featuring some of the world’s greatest wine experts, an all-star celebrity chef line-up, a vintner dinner and much more.

For more information about this big event, click HERE.

 

 

Montréal High Lights Festival

Montréal, Québec
February 17 - 27, 2011

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Once again this year, over the 11 days of festivities, numerous grand chefs, wine experts, teachers, producers and artisans, all practitioners of the culinary and wine arts, will offer the public more than 200 occasions to partake of delicious meals and taste fine wines. Over fifty restaurants and hotels have joined forces to create a varied program, one that includes activities for all tastes and all budgets.

Click HERE for further information about this wonderful Festival.

 

 

 

South Beach Wine & Food Festival
Miami Beach, Florida
February 24 - 27, 2011

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A unique wine, spirits, and culinary celebration, the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, now in its tenth year, will unite renowned international wine makers and top beverage producers, acclaimed chefs and restaurateurs, and savvy wine and food enthusiasts for an exceptional epicurean experience.   The Presenting Sponsors for this year are Food & Wine magazine and the Food Network, and together with the organizers, they invite you to an event that distinguishes itself by offering an unsurpassed series of world-class wine and food tastings, star-studded dinners, wine seminars, and cooking demonstrations.

Further information about this festival is available by clicking HERE.

 

 

Cincinnati International Wine Festival
Cincinnati, Ohio
March 10 - 12, 2011

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Now in its 21st year, this charity event is the largest wine and food festival in the Midwest.   More than 600 wines from 150 wineries are poured, accompanied by fabulous food, live music, wine and food auctions, and other special events.

Further information about this festival is available by clicking HERE.

 

 

 

Boca Bacchanal
Boca Raton, Florida

March 18 - 20, 2011

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The Boca Bacchanal features fine-wine gatherings, lunch tastings, gourmet dinners prepared by local and international chefs, and silent auctions -- all set in historic and cultural sites and private residences throughout this lovely city.

Call (561) 395 6766 or click HERE for more information about this event.

 

 

 

Paso Robles Zinfandel Festival
Paso Robles, California
March 18 - 20, 2011

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The San Luis Obispo area of California’s Central Coast is beautiful and decidedly laid-back, much like the Napa Valley of the 1970s. The region is a very high quality producer of Cabernets, Merlots, Chardonnays, Syrahs, and Zinfandels. If you like Zinfandel as much as I do and find yourself in California in mid-March, take a drive to Paso Robles for a true celebration of this marvelous varietal.

Click HERE for further information about this festival.

 

 

 

 The Toronto Wine & Cheese Show
International Centre
Mississauga, Ontario

March 18 - 20, 2011

 

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A world of award-winning wines, beers, single malt whiskies, cigars, specialty foods and cheeses await you at The Toronto Wine & Cheese Show. Taste and compare rare and famous wines (at cost) and savour the flavours of cuisines of the world by an international array of leading restaurants.

For more information about this great event, click HERE.

 

 

 

 

 

Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival
Vancouver, British Columbia
March 28 - April 3, 2011

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The Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival is a fundraising event for The Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company.  It is a major Canadian wine event featuring over 600 wines from 150 wineries from 15 countries. 

There are over 40 special events during this week-long Festival including wine tastings, educational seminars, wine and food pairings, Winemakers’ Dinners, the popular Vintners’ Brunch, and the opulent Bacchanalia Gala Dinner.

If you plan to be in Vancouver during this time, make sure you visit this wonderful Festival!

For details about this important Festival, click HERE.

 

Taste of Vail
Vail, Colorado
April 6 - 9, 2011

 

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Imagine getting a Champagne buzz at 11,000 feet!  Over the years, 15-20 of my friends and I have done so at the Mountaintop Picnic (just one of many events!) at Taste of Vail. Taste of Vail, now in its 21st year, is a charity event with the finest chefs in the Vail Valley preparing the food, and all the best wineries in California supplying the wine (60+ of them). The wineries are obliged to send their owners and/or their winemakers so it's a splendid opportunity to mix and mingle with these people in a magical mountain setting. Visit the web site (www.tasteofvail.com) for an outline of all the events, or call (970) 926 5665.

Editor’s Note:  I have attended Taste of Vail many times and this event is really really superb. Of course if you are a skier, spring skiing in Vail is enough of a draw, but I would estimate (by counting the number of tanned faces) that fully 2/3 of the people who attend this event do not come to ski at all! The amazing food coupled with the best wines, the conviviality of the events, and the beauty of this majestic mountain setting are what have been bringing people to Taste of Vail for the past twenty years.

 

World Gourmet Summit 2011
Singapore
April 11 - 25, 2011

 

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Once again, the world is bracing itself for the premier gastronomic event of the year, The World Gourmet Summit 2011. In a spectacular epicurean celebration, now in its fifteenth year, wines of renown and hosted by some of the most prestigious restaurants and hotels in Singapore, this popular event has already garnered a huge following and has left a trail-blazing mark on the international epicurean scene.

If you need more information about this marvelous event, click HERE.

 

The Grand Wine & Food Affair
Houston, Texas
April 27 - May 1 2011

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For some serious fun, get uncorked at The Grand Wine & Food Affair, a festival to provide knowledge, enjoyment and exposure to fine wines and foods.  The annual series of events highlight the great chefs of the world and the culinary traditions that have been enhanced by the rich ethnic diversity of this region of Texas. Enjoy a variety of entertaining events from winemaker dinners, an elegant grand tasting, casual sip & stroll, cooking demonstrations, wine seminars conducted by the world’s wine authorities and an around the globe bistro brunch.

Click HERE for more information. 

 

 

25th Annual  Sandestin Wine Festival
Baytowne Wharf
Destin, Florida

April 28 - May 1, 2011

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The Sandestin Wine Festival has become a rite of Spring to many, featuring as it does over 800 wines from more than 100 wineries, several charity benefits, a wine auction, fascinating seminars, winemaker dinners,  and a Grand Wine Tasting!

Vintners from around the world attend, bringing with them their premier wines. Festival guests are encouraged to sample the wines and speak with the growers about the vintage. This one-on-one experience, of direct communication with so many different wine-makers, is part of the sterling appeal of the Festival. Another unique opportunity gives attendees the ability to immediately purchase your favourite selections at the Retail Tent at a discounted price.

 

More information about this great festival can be found by clicking HERE.

 

 

Florida Winefest & Auction
Sarasota, Florida

April 28 - May 1, 2011

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Vintners and winemakers from around the world gather on Florida’s Suncoast to collaborate with the finest chefs from Florida to create this world-class gastronomic event.  This is an important one.

 

For information about this Festival, click HERE or call (941) 952 1109.