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January 2012 Food & Wine Events Calendar
Seasonal
Tip:
It's OYSTER harvesting time. Have them with Champagne to ring in the new year! This is also the season
for wild mushrooms, tangerines and oranges,
as well as Camembert and blue cheeses. Look
for these ingredients in markets and on restaurant
menus. |
January
9-February 2
Yosemite,
CA — 2012 Chef's Holiday |
Join some of the world's most innovative and acclaimed chefs for Yosemite's 27th Annual Chefs' Holidays at The Ahwahnee. The eight sessions showcase a range of cooking styles, personalities and trends in American cuisine. Chefs from all over the U.S. come to participate, including Peter Chastain of Prima Ristorante, Rick Moonen of RM Seafood, and Suzanne Goin of Lucques. Chat with the chefs at a special "Meet the Chefs" reception, enjoy the five-course Chefs' Holiday Gala Dinner including four paired wines, and learn the ropes at their cooking classes, demonstrations and behind-the-scenes kitchen tours. Guest packages including lodging are available. Visit www.yosemitepark.com |
January
12-15
Cayman Islands — Cayman Cookout |
Join chef Eric Ripert for a weekend celebrating food, wine and the natural beauty of
the Caribbean at the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman. Some of the world's best chefs,
wine experts and spirits blenders will offer tastings, demonstrations, tours and dinners
amidst the blissful surroundings of the Cayman Islands. Some of Cayman Cookout's
memorable events will include a casual Caymanian beach party with epicurean
spreads from Cayman Cookout's top chefs, a multi-course dinner at Camana Bay's top
restaurants with an extensive dessert buffet by famed pastry chef François Payard
and a Cayman Cookout Gala Dinner featuring a seven-course meal. For more information visit www.caymanislands.ky |
January
12-22
Algarve, Portugal — International Gourmet Festival |
Attracting visitors from throughout Europe and the United States, Portugal's 6th annual International Gourmet Festival will be held at the Vila Joya in Albufeira-Guia (Algarve). The festival honors the best of international cuisine while highlighting the beauty that Portugal offers and promoting local artists, designers, vineyards and various businesses. Throughout the 10-day event, Vila Joya's chef Dieter Koschina will welcome over twenty internationally renowned chefs, each presenting a tasting menu combined with several wine pairings. Chefs April Bloomfield, Laurent Gras and Shaun Hergatt will represent the United States. Travel packages are available so guests can tailor their experience to their own personal needs. For more information, visit www.internationalgourmetfestival.com |
January
13-16
Napa, CA — Napa Truffle Festival |
The second annual Napa Truffle Festival features a unique gathering of truffle cultivation experts and
scientists, expert chefs and special guests from the food and wine world. Programs and activities
throughout the weekend will include culinary/cooking classes, lunch in local wineries, a truffle orchard
tour excursion with a truffle-hunting dog, a lively Epicurean Marketplace showcasing local artisanal
vendors, a Truffles & Wine Dinner at La Toque featuring a multi-course
truffle and wine pairing menu and truffle cultivation programs with top truffle scientists based on
the latest and most rigorous scientific methodology and research principles. For more information, visit www.napatrufflefestival.com |
January 16-22
Boston,
MA — 21st Annual Boston Wine Expo |
Beginning January 16, wineries will host exclusive Vintner Dinners at some of the city's most enticing restaurants. Saturday and Sunday's Grand Tasting features wines from four regions of the world, as well as food and wine pairings from more than 40 restaurants. Ticket admission covers all wine and food samples, and allows consumers to enjoy two Chef Stages showcasing demonstrations from celebrity chefs including Christopher Coombs of Deuxave and Patricia Yeo of OM Restaurant & Lounge. The educational series has been extended to offer three days of seminars featuring top winemakers and industry experts. The Boston Wine Expo donates to many charities each year through the Boston Guild of Oenophilists, Inc., having given more than $700,000 to more than 27 charitable organizations. For more information and tickets, visit www.wineexpoboston.com |
January
20-29
Mendocino, CA — 13th Annual Mendocino Crab & Wine Days |
Every year, Mendocino County celebrates two of its best products: wine and crab. For the thirteenth straight year, locals and visitors will celebrate Dungeness crab by pairing a wide variety of crab dishes with fine, locally-crafted Mendocino wines during the Crab & Wine Days. Enjoy gourmet, crab-themed dinners in top restaurants, family-style cioppino feeds and the ever popular Crab Cake Cook-off on January 21 in Fort Bragg. And to wash down the abundance of crab, local winemakers will be pouring at winemaker dinners throughout the county and also at the official Wine Tasting Competition, held in conjunction with the Crab Cake Cook-off. For more information, visit www.visitmendocino.com |
January 24-26
Sacramento, CA — Unified
Wine & Grape Symposium |
This annual three-day trade show combined with a series of seminars provides information important to wine and grape industry professionals. The event, created by the American Society for Enology and Viticulture and the California Association of Winegrape Growers, showcases more than 650 vendors to more than 12,200 people, giving them direct access to all the latest information. Sessions focus on today's issues, while interfacing the topics and trends of the future of grapegrowing and winemaking. To register, visit www.unifiedsymposium.org |
January 25-28
Taos Ski Valley, NM — Taos Winter Wine
Festival |
This four-day event of wine-focused seminars and dinners is hosted by the city of Taos and Taos Ski Valley, NM. Happenings include a Reserve Tasting night, an Around the World of Pinot Noir tasting, a Biodynamic Italian wine tasting seminar and a 7-vintage vertical of Heitz Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Nightly dinners feature wines from Joseph Drouhin, Calera, Charles Neal, Vivac, Ravenswood and more at various venues. The festival culminates in a Grand Tasting on Saturday night, featuring more than 75 wines from 30 wineries. For registration information, visit www.taoswinterwinefest.com |
|
The 21st annual Zinfandel Festival offers samples from more than 250 wineries specializing in Zinfandel from all over California, including Artezin Wines, Saddleback Cellars, Three Wine Company and Starry Night Winery. Expect to mingle with around 10,000 fellow guests over three days at four separate events. The festival kicks off with the Epicuria Food & Zin Pairing event, where award-winning wineries match up with noteworthy restaurants to bring you the ultimate in artful food and wine pairings. During the Zinfandel Advocates and Producers' fundraising dinner event oenophiles will have the opportunity to purchase one-of-a-kind Zinfandels and other fun, wine-related packages in a live auction, which benefits ZAP programming, education and Heritage Projects. For more details and ticketing information, visit www.zinfandel.org |
January 26-28
Beaver Creek, CO — 14th Annual
Master Chef Classic |
The Beaver Creek Resort in Colorado is hosting the 14th Annual Master Chef Classic. The weekend’s events include a Master Chef challenge, cooking classes, wine and spirits seminars, and the Grand Tasting event. Beaver Creek chefs will be joined by guest chefs such as John Besh (Restaurant August in New Orleans), Stephanie Izard (Girl & the Goat in Chicago), François Payard (Payard Pâtisserie & Bistro in Las Vegas), Marco Canora (Hearth in New York), Joey Campanaro (Kenmare in New York), and Jose Graces (Mercat a la Planxa in Chicago). Various ticket and package deals are available. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Bright Future Foundation. For more information, and to purchase tickets, visit www.beavercreek.com/masterchefclassic |
January
27-29
Eugene, OR — 7th Annual Oregon Truffle Festival |
The 7th Annual Oregon Truffle Festival will be held in and around Eugene over three
brisk winter days. Created to celebrate the magnificent Oregon truffles as they reach the peak of
ripeness in their native soil, it is the first festival of its kind in North America, dedicated to sharing
the experience of the chefs, foragers and fans of Oregon's wild truffles, from their hidden source in
the forest to their glory on the table. The festival is packed full of seminars, truffle dog training sessions, tastings, dinners and more. Tickets are available for individual events or as part of a package. For more information, visit www.oregontrufflefestival.com |
January
27-29
Naples, FL — Naples Winter Wine Festival |
 |
The 2012 Naples Winter Wine Festival begins on January 27 with a tour of children's charities, followed by a luncheon wine tasting, with wines poured by top vintners. Vintner dinners take place in the evening. The next day, the festival's 550 guests gather at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples, where chef George Fistrovich will oversee culinary action stations featuring cuisine from the resort's distinctive dining experiences. After the luncheon, the festival's auction begins, with 65 lots available for bidding, including rare wines, exotic trips, excursions, fine jewelry pieces and a vintage automobile. The festival closes on the third day with a farewell brunch. The funds raised by the festival, which have totaled $94.5 million since its inception in 2001, fulfill the Naples Children & Education Foundation's mission of supporting programs, services and long-term strategic initiatives that have a profound impact on the quality of life for underprivileged and at-risk children. For more information, visit www.napleswinefestival.com |
January
28-29
Uncasville, CT — Sun WineFest |
Mingle with great chefs, winemakers and craft brewers at this weekend-long tasting event. Todd English, Bobby Flay, Robert Irivine are just a few of the celebrated chefs featured. Returning this year is the Elite Cru Tasting, which offers guests the opportunity to discover vintages from premium wineries around the world. In the Mohegan Sun WineFest Grape Stomp, sixteen teams will compete to stomp out the most juice to benefit the American Diabetes Association. There will also be a Champagne reception presented by Moët & Chandon and a silent auction. For more information, visit www.mohegansun.com/sitelet/winefest |
Main Calendar
(Updated:
01/05/12 BH) |
