The 10th annual Newport Mansions Wine and Food Festival kicks off in just over two months, so if you haven’t put it on your calendar yet now is the time. It will be held September 25-27 at various venues, including the Friday night gala Wine and Rosecliff (at Rosecliff of course), the Collectibles Wine Dinner at The Elms and the Grand Tastings Saturday and Sunday at Marble House. There are other things going on as well, including seminars on Friday at the Viking Hotel, while we’ll preview soon. We’ve attended many seminars over the past few years and can tell you they are always fun and informative. This year Taittinger, Antinori and Bouchaine will be leading sessions highlighting aspects of their wine and the wine making process. It’s amazing how different wines from the same grape, clone, vineyard and year can be, and these seminars frequently display amazing aspects of what starts as simple fruit juice.
Lists for the exhibiting restaurants and wineries are firming up, and they are their usual impressive selves. Some (just some!) wineries include Antinori, Blackbird, Bouchaine, Grgich Hill, HALL/WALT (always excellent), J. Lohr (also always excellent), Joseph Phelps, Silver Oak and Larkin. Sean Larkin’s wines last year were amazing, and he took home the #1 and #3 wines in our Top Ten Reds list from the event (which you can see by clicking here). Some other wineries you may not have heard of and should definitely visit are: Galerie – a newer label, with the reds just out, and someone to keep an eye on. Raats Family – from Stellenbosch, South Africa, Bruwer Raats does some great things with Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc and other grapes. You can read an in depth article on Raats by clicking here. Another producer you have to try is Revana, not inexpensive but amazing quality. Also stop in to try the wines from Vinska Klet Goriska Brda, located just over the northeast Italian border in Slovenia. They’ll have some whites you’ve never experienced before which are really very good, and some surprising reds as well. Try something different, which is really one of the best things about events like this.
For restaurants there will be more than ever, with several top New York and Boston restaurants cooking and serving. Many leading Newport area establishments will also be there of course. We’re hoping Tallulah’s visit on Sunday means they’re bringing the taco stand again.
There’s really something for everyone if you happen to like wine and food. If you love wine and food it is a totally hedonistic weekend, and who doesn’t need one of those every now and then?
For more information and tickets visit the festival website at: http://www.newportmansions.org/events/wine-and-food-festival
I almost forgot to mention that Jacques Pepin and many other chefs will also be demonstrating their skills over the two days of the Grand Tastings on the KitchenAid Stage.
Here’s the latest press release with more details – a votre sante!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival Celebrates 10th Year with Martha Stewart, Jacques Pépin, Claudine Pépin & More
Champagne and Conversation with Stewart and Pépin Added to Weekend
NEWPORT, RI (July 9, 2015) – The Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival, one of the East Coast’s most sophisticated and anticipated events, returns for its 10th year from September 25 – 27, 2015. Once again, the Marble House lawn will be the setting for the two-day Grand Tasting, which offers guests the chance to sample hundreds of wines from around the world and cuisine from nearly two dozen regional restaurants and caterers.
Martha Stewart will return to the Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival for her second year, headlining a brand new signature event with French chef Jacques Pépin. During A Conversation with Martha Stewart and Jacques Pépin, guests can enjoy a lively and engaging conversation with the lifestyle expert and the French chef while sipping Champagne Taittinger in the Marble House Gold Ballroom before heading out to the Grand Tasting. Stewart, an Emmy Award-winning television host, entrepreneur and best-selling author of 83 books (and counting), and Pépin, an internationally recognized chef, cookbook author, and cooking teacher who has published more than two dozen books and hosted 11 acclaimed public television cooking series, will discuss what’s hot and what’s not in lifestyle and food trends, providing the audience with a rare opportunity to engage with them in a spectacular setting.
Chef Pépin will also join daughter Claudine Pépin for a cooking demonstration on the KitchenAid Culinary Demonstration Stage during Sunday’s Grand Tasting. Claudine Pépin joined her father in preparing delicious meals and sharing cooking techniques on three public television shows and has served as a Brand Ambassador for Moet & Chandon and Dom Perignon Champagne. She recently wrote her first book, Kids Cook French, a collection of thirty favorite, simple, classic French recipes in both English and French, illustrated by her father Jacques and daughter Shorey.
Also participating in the weekend cooking demonstrations will be several other local and regional favorites. Ben Pollinger, Executive Chef of Oceana restaurant in New York City, is known for blending the finest seafood with the best ingredients from a global pantry. A 2015 James Beard Award Rising Star Semifinalist and Chef de Cuisine of The Cecil in Harlem, NY, JJ Johnson is constantly in search of new flavors and has found them everywhere from Ghana and back to some of New York’s most esteemed kitchens. Hailing from Brooklyn, NY, Allison and Matt Robicelli of wholesale bakery Robicelli’s have reinvented the cupcake craze for a more sophisticated palate, making each a small piece of the greatest cake ever made. Another sweet demonstration will feature Amy Guittard, author of the Guittard Chocolate Cookbook, and “Mr. Chocolate” himself, Jacques Torres. Rounding out the weekend’s cooking schedule will be local favorites Matthew Petersen, Executive Chef of Newport Harbor Corp; Jamestown Fish Owner and Executive Chef Matthew MacCartney; and Frank Terranova, Johnson & Wales instructor and host of the NBC10 daily television segment “Cooking with Class.”
The elegant Friday night Wine & Rosecliff gala will feature a special selection of fine wines and food amid seaside Gilded Age splendor. Also returning is the Collectible Wine Dinner at The Elms on Saturday night. This esteemed dinner will give guests the chance to taste and learn about a variety of high-end collectible wines paired with delectable dishes. All of the wines will be hand-selected by the Festival’s Director of Wines, Michael Greenlee, a 25 year veteran of the industry.
Guests will have an extra opportunity to enjoy late night bites and cocktails by some of the Festival sponsors with the return of Newport After Dark, taking place on Saturday night at Forty 1˚ North on the Newport waterfront.
Seminars will take place on Friday at the Hotel Viking Newport, allowing visitors the opportunity to learn about wines from different regions of the world. Guests are encouraged to ask some of the industry’s most respected experts about tasting, pairing and buying of wine.
The Presenting Sponsor of the 2015 Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival is FOOD & WINE Magazine. Additional sponsors include National Trust Insurance Services, KitchenAid, Alex & Ani, Atria Senior Living, Newport Hospitality, Inc., Hyatt Regency Newport, Hotel Viking Newport, Residence Inn Marriott Newport/Middletown, The Newport Harbor Hotel and Marina, Alaska Seafood, Chef Works, Arrow Prestige Limousine & Coach, Marchesi Antinori, Maple Leaf Farms, Ruffino, Dock & Harbor Maine, Harney & Sons Fine Teas, WhistlePig Rye Whiskey, Verterra Dinnerware, Meridian Printing, Brinley Gold Shipwreck Rum, Bouchaine, Coravin, Guittard Chocolate Company, Champagne Taittinger, Sequoia Grove, Nobilo, Coca Cola Bottling Company of Southeastern New England, and United Airlines.
All proceeds from the Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival benefit The Preservation Society of Newport County, a non-profit organization accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and dedicated to preserving and interpreting the area’s historic architecture, landscapes and decorative arts. Its 11 historic properties—seven of them National Historic Landmarks—span more than 250 years of American architectural and social development.
For more information and to purchase tickets for the 2015 Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival, visit www.NewportMansionsWineAndFood.org, or call (401) 847-1000.
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