Ciarrai Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 WEEK OF VINTNER DINNERS LAUNCHES THE 2008 WASHINGTON D.C. INTERNATIONAL WINE & FOOD FESTIVAL EVENT RETURNS TO RONALD REAGAN BUILDING AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTER, FEBRUARY 29-MARCH 2 WASHINGTON, DC (8 February 2008) - The Ninth Annual Washington D.C. International Wine & Food Festival, which returns to the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center (1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW) from February 29 through March 2, added a new signature event in 2007, with a Grand Cru night serving as the weekend’s elegant kick-off party on Friday night. This year, things get even more exciting, with a full week of vintner dinners being held in the District’s top restaurants, featuring wineries that are in town to participate in the Festival over the weekend. The Washington D.C. International Wine & Food Festival Week is designed to highlight the extraordinary talent of the local culinary community beyond the Festivals traditional chef demos. Several top local chefs with be paired with outstanding vintners for dinners created to showcase the best of food and wine. In addition, many of these dinners will involve not just a restaurant’s chef, but also the sommelier – a role whose importance on the DC dining scene has increased dramatically in recent years. Wine & Food Festival Week participants are: Monday, February 25 • Café Trope-Chef Howsoon Cham 202.223.9335 o Four Vines Winery • OYA-Sommelier Andrew Stover 202.393.1400 o Amity Vineyards Tuesday, February 26 • Bangkok Joe’s-Chef Aulie Bunyarataphan 202.333.4422 o Moet Hennessy USA, Rodney Strong Vineyards and others • PS 7s-Chef Peter Smith 202.742.8550 Wednesday, February 27 • Butterfield 9-Chef Michael Harr 202.289.8810 Thursday, February 28 • Equinox- Chef Todd Gray 202.331.8118 o Adelsheim Vineyard • Rustico Restaurant-Chef Frank Morales and Beer Director Greg Engert 703.224.5051 o Blue Moon Brewery and Dogfish Head Craft Brewery A limited number of reservations are available for each and must be made in advance, calling the individual restaurants directly. Tickets for the Washington D.C. International Wine and Food Festival can be purchased by calling 1-800-343-1174 or by visiting www.dcwinefestival.com. Public show hours are 2-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. One-day ticket prices are $85 per person prior to February 22/$95 each after that. A $2.50 handling fee is added to all Grand Tasting tickets ordered in advance. Grand Cru tickets are $175 and must be purchased in advance. Seminar prices vary. No refunds allowed. Picture ID required. No one under age 21 allowed including children and infants in strollers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Boy Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Not sure about the winery dinners, but I think the expo itself is way, way overrated, and overrun with folks out to get sloshed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the squire Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 As with any large event, there are bound to be a few folks that get out of hand and take advantage of unlimited tastings. However, the vast majority of folks attending are there to sample the variety of different wines from all over. It does provide the perfect venue for being daring and trying new things, without worrying about the risk of paying for a glass/bottle of wine that you don’t like. Anything that promotes wine, I’m in! I understand they increased the space this year to help better accommodate the crowds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPW Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 As with any large event, there are bound to be a few folks that get out of hand and take advantage of unlimited tastings. However, the vast majority of folks attending are there to sample the variety of different wines from all over. It does provide the perfect venue for being daring and trying new things, without worrying about the risk of paying for a glass/bottle of wine that you don’t like. Anything that promotes wine, I’m in! I understand they increased the space this year to help better accommodate the crowds.Would this per chance be Mark of a certain wine board? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Boy Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 As with any large event, there are bound to be a few folks that get out of hand and take advantage of unlimited tastings. However, the vast majority of folks attending are there to sample the variety of different wines from all over. It does provide the perfect venue for being daring and trying new things, without worrying about the risk of paying for a glass/bottle of wine that you don’t like. Anything that promotes wine, I’m in! I understand they increased the space this year to help better accommodate the crowds. Hey squire...I agree on all of your other points. It is a great way to try a wide variety of wines, for pretty cheap when you consider the volume you can try for the overall cost. But, aside from the lushes that swarm the event, I find the entire event just too darn crowded. I hate crowds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpschust Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Hey squire...I agree on all of your other points. It is a great way to try a wide variety of wines, for pretty cheap when you consider the volume you can try for the overall cost. But, aside from the lushes that swarm the event, I find the entire event just too darn crowded. I hate crowds.On top of that, the best part of tasting wine with a rep is getting to interact with them about the wine production- to ask the questions you might not otherwise get to ask. Tasting to taste can be done with a decent pocketbook and a good wine shop. This festival isn't unlike many others where you can't get the level of interaction that makes it worthwhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciarrai Posted February 21, 2008 Author Share Posted February 21, 2008 Last year, with the return to the Reagan Building, the show had its first sold-out date, on Saturday , with Sunday coming very close. Producers felt that the crowds - and the layout - were areas for improvement this year, so they have cut back on the number of tickets available both days, increased the level of the wines, added both beers and some spirits, and in general increased the overall quality of the show. I recommend checking out the list of exhibitors on the Website - www.dcwinefestival.com - as well as the other activities that are part of this year's event. For example, if the Grand Tasting isn't your style, check out the seminar schedule - there are 12 of them this year, and guests do not have to purchase a Grand Tasting ticket in order to purchase a seminar ticket. The Vintner Week dinners I posted above are individual dinners in restaurants, something completely new this year; Friday's night's Grand Cru Wine Lounge is much smaller and more exclusive than the Grand Tasting. The Website features details on all of the activities, AND - there's a $10 price break for Saturday and Sunday tickets which only goes through this Friday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Riley Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 (Not sure if this belongs in this forum or under "events" but here it is all the same) If anyone needs tickets for this, please stop by my store, I've got dozens of pamphlets about it, including a $10 savings on One Day Saturday or Sunday tickets. You can also go to www.DCWineFestival.com and enter the word WINE in the promotion code box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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