The leaves are beginning to fade from bright green to brilliant shades of red and yellow, the smell of cider is filling the air, and pumpkin flavored EVERYTHING is available at the most surprising places. What does that all mean? It’s Food and Wine Festival time! And in its second year, the festival’s lineup doesn’t disappoint – particularly in my favorite field: wine!
The 2014 festival is jam-packed with great juice. Napa, New Zealand, France, and Italy are well represented, with more than a hundred producers from around the globe making appearances. As Eat It and Like It’s resident “Cork Dork” I am here to lay out the events, wineries, and sips that most excite me – the ones you should not miss!
The happiness kicks off for me with the Heitz Cellars Wine Dinner hosted by Vic’s on the River on Monday, November 10th. Heitz Cellars is based out of Napa Valley, and produces some incredibly bold and powerful wines – most notably their Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2004 Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet offered is ‘knock your socks off’ delicious and, in my opinion, almost worth the $109 ticket price by itself. And while Cabernet is king with Heitz Cellars, the best sip here is the 2013 Heitz Grignolino Rosé. Grignolino is a fantastic, rare, and oft mispronounced wine (Green-o-lean-o) that is known as the “little strawberry” in its native Italy. Crisp, refreshing, and lovely… this is the perfect start to the Heitz Dinner and a festival full of great wine.
Wednesday provides two different wine dinners for two different types of wine drinkers. If big, bold, new world red wine makes you smile, look no further than the Realm Cellars dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. This Napa producer is well regarded for both Cabernet and red Proprietary Blends. And Master Sommelier and host Desi Echavarrie has saved the best sip of the night for last: Beckstoffer To Kalon. This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon is named after the Napa Vineyard where the grapes are grown and in wine circles, To Kalon is quite a heavy hitter. These wines are lush, elegant, deep, and almost over the top… which is just how I like them.
On the other end of the wine spectrum, Circa 1875 has paired with Gerard Bertrand for their dinner. Gerard Bertrand, recently named Europe’s Winery of the Year, is based in southern France and has been a driving force in putting beautiful Mediterranean wines on the map. No longer is Provence just for rosé… look for deep, earthy, elegant wines at this dinner.
Thursday sends me jubilantly back to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse to celebrate the wines of Savannah native James Foley and his Seamus Wines. These California wines are extremely small production and genuinely fantastic. And the most exciting part of this evening is the inclusion of two stunning white wines: Seamus Pinot Gris and Seamus Chardonnay. One of my favorite wines at the entire festival, the Seamus Pearl Pinot Gris is unlike any other in the world. This wine is beautifully creamy, easy-drinking, and effortlessly elegant – the type of wine you could drink all day and still feel good about when dinner rolls around. Look for beautiful notes of toasted pineapple, lychee, and cream – I promise you won’t be disappointed.
The perfect conclusion to the festival is the Jazz & Bubbles Brunch at AquaStar, Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa. This easygoing event is the perfect way to unwind from a busy week. Producers of incredible sparkling wines from all over the world are featured with a beautiful buffet style breakfast. I’ll have a spinach and goat cheese omelet with a glass (or two) of Billecart-Salmon please! And while it’s always sad to see the festival end, it only seems right to do it with a glass of gorgeous champagne in your hand. See you all there.
