The 2017 Greenwich WINE + FOOD Festival presented by Serendipity in Greenwich, Connecticut was truly a Luxury Experience! Imagine an all-day festival dedicated to wine, spirits, and food, with Greenwich’s own Kathie Lee Gifford pouring her wines for attendees, cooking demos by Mario Batali, Adam Richman, Mary Giuliani, Samantha Benjamin, Alex Guarnaschelli, Kevin Des Chenes, Lindsay Perkins, Scott Conant, and Julia Deane, and more food and drink than you could possible consume, even in only small bites. The platinum-selling Pop band, TRAIN, was the grand finale, and as the icing on the cake, the festival benefitted the Mario Batali Foundation, The Friends of James Beard Benefits and the Town of Greenwich Parks and Recreation Foundation.
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Stella Artois
September 23,2017 was a glorious autumn day in Greenwich, Connecticut at the Roger ShermanBaldwin Park, with beautiful blue skies and summer temperatures, perfect tocelebrate the seventh anniversary of the Greenwich WINE + Food Festival, andLuxury Experience’s fourth consecutive year in attendance.
Spiked Seltzer
There was afull-day’s line-up of events that began at noon and culminated at 10:00 pm whenthe platinum-selling Pop band TRAIN finished theirperformance. Wine, beer, and spirits flowed throughout the day to helpattendees quaff their thirst while sampling their way through the Grand TastingTent, that was open from noon to 5:00 pm, consisting of more than 150 tastingsfrom local restaurants, soft and hard beverages, and well as culinary products.
Granola Bar OnTheMarc
Oysters NoMa Social
We indulgedfully in the event, sampling products both culinary and liquid libations. Asampling of a few of the many delicious items we tasted during the eventincluded gazpacho with crabmeat from NoMa Social, inspired tapas of tunapoke with cucumber in a thinly sliced round of jicama from OnTheMarc Events,roasted oysters cooked on a smoky grill from Knot Norm’s Catering Co.,Hamachi Crudo with Piri Piri & Compressed Melon, and Crab Maison withGrapefruit, Remoulade & Avocado from The Restaurant at Rowayton Seafood, Bagelsand Lox from The Granola Bar, and Potato LeekSoup from Baldanza Café.
The Playful Pantry Pepsi Cola Ginger Cola
Del Frisco’s Grille Fjord Fish Market
Tastingscontinued with mussels from Fjord Fish Market, and moretastings from Washington Prime, DelFrisco’s Grille, and Nonno’s Trattoria at Empire City Casino,Crispy Chili-Garlic Shrimp from CHAR Restaurant, gluten-free cake from By TheWay Bakery, and salts and oils from The Playful Pantry.
Nonno’s
Eleva Coffee RISE Brewing Co.
By The Way Bakery
Libationsflowed in abundance throughout the day, and we happily tasted teas from Pure Leaf,and Tea GuysSparkling Tea, and coffee from Elĕva Coffee, and RISE Brewing Co., 1893 Pepsi-ColaGinger Cola, which we found to be a perfect addition when mixed with arum at the event, and Manny’s Ultimate Bloody Mary AuthenticNon-Alcoholic Mix.
Kathie Lee Gifford and Edward F. Nesta – GIFFT wines
More potentpotables we sampled included GIFFT wines poured by owner Kathie Lee Gifford, wines from WineWise poured by owner SteveMillhouse, a selection of Spiked Seltzer, MionettoProsecco, StellaArtois Cidre, TRIIBE Celtic Liqueur, and ElBuho Mezcal, to name a few.
El Buho Mezcal Mionetto
Wine Wise TRIIBE
Mary Giuliani (Mary Giuliani Catering & Events) provided great ideas for a cocktailparty with her "Small Bites, Big Drinks" demo, where she created a tequilapunch and grilled cheese bites drizzled with Truffled Honey; both sampled, andvery much enjoyed.
Mary Giuliani
Adam Richman, whom many in the audience knew fromhis former television show, Man vs. Food,engaged the audience with his wit, restaurant travel suggestions, and demoedhow to create "Pulled Pork Egg Rolls."
Adam Richman and Debra C. Argen
On thespirits side, we attended the Woodford Reserve: Distiller’s SelectKentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, where we had the opportunity to sample bourbon,rye, and their double barrel, presented with food pairings. Cheers!
Woodford Reserve Tasting Seminar
Woodford Reserve Tasting Flight
Woodford Reserve Bourbon, Rye, and Double Oaked
Booksignings, panel discussions, lawn games, a product tent, and "gambling" in theEmpire City Casino tent were also an interesting part of the event. Later inthe day, the smokers and grills were flamed to perfection for Bud &Burgers, The Tailgate Party where all things grilled were in abundance, The DonJulio South of the Border Fiesta celebrated with tempting cocktails, and TheWhey Station cooked up their amazing gourmet grilled cheese sandwichesin their food truck.
Author Dina Cheney Book Signing
There wereeven contests! In the Burger Battle,HapaFood Truck took home the Judge’s Choice award, and the DarienButcher Shop received the People’s Choice award. Top Bartender Showdown winners: Juan Meyer of Eastend in Greenwichearned the Judge’s Choice, and JamieJohel from Craft14 Kitchen + Bar in Wilton walked away with the People’s Choice award.
Manny’s Ultimate Bloody Mary
As a grandfinale to the Greenwich WINE + FOOD Festival 2017, the Ian Murray Band withspecial guest Pete Francis of Dispatch started the party going so that whenTRAINtook to the stage, the audience was on its feet, and we collectively danced thenight away on a warm, starry night by the Long Island Sound. The band playedmany of their hits including MeetVirginia, a cut off their 1998 debut release album, self-titled Train, Drops of Jupiter off their 2001 album bythe same name, along with such favorites as Hey Soul Sister, Play That Song, Bruises, MarryMe, Oh, I Swear To You, as well as cuts off their 2016 Train Does Led Zeppelin II release. It was the perfect culminationof an incredible day and evening in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Ian Murray Band
Train
The 2017GREENWICH WINE + FOOD FESTIVAL was another amazing year celebrating wine, food,music, friends and fun to benefit local charities, and we look forward toattending the 2018 GREENWICH WINE + FOODFESTIVAL.
Luxury Experience being Luxury Experience
ABOUT THE 2017 GREENWICH WINE + FOODFESTIVAL
"The 2017Greenwich Wine + Food Festival is a multi-day event that celebrates the area’srich culinary landscape, and showcases innovation in the food and beverageindustries. The mission is to strengthen our communities’ non-profit partners,local businesses and renowned food culture. It will benefit multiple charitableorganizations, including the Mario Batali Foundation, The Friends of JamesBeard Benefits, and Town of Greenwich Parks and Recreation Foundation. TheFestival is partnered with Serendipity magazine. Sponsors to date include 1893Cola, 90+ Cellars, Aitoro, Alfa Romeo, Angela Swift of Houlihan Lawrence, Ashforth, Blancpain, Bender, Brockman’s Gin,Budweiser, Caesar Stone, Chelsea Piers, Citi, Coldwell Banker, CPG Architects,Culinary Works, Dacor, Deane Rooms Everlasting, Delamar, Deutsch Family Wine& Spirits, Don Julio, Ethan Allen, Empire City Casino, Hospital for SpecialSurgery, JHouse, Manfredi, Marriott Stamford, Magneto, New York Post,NuKitchens, Ketel One, PepsiCo, Rhone, Rudy’s Executive Transportation, StarrTent, Stella Artois, Sysco, Tea House Collection, Val’s Putnam Wine &Liquors, Whole Foods Market, Westby, Woodford Reserve, Wüsthof and BarbaraZaccagnini."
ABOUT THE 2017 BENEFICIARIES
"The mainbeneficiary of this year’s Festival is the Mario Batali Foundation.Founded in 2008, MBF raises funds to provide literacy programs, as well asnutrition information and access to emergency food organizations tounderprivileged children and their families. MBF also funds pediatric diseaseresearch. Other Festival beneficiariesinclude The Friends of James Beard Benefits and the Town of Greenwich Parks andRecreation Foundation."
Forinformation on attending the GreenwichWINE + FOOD Festival 2018 presentedby Serendipity, please visit thewebsite: www.SerendipitySocial.com/greenwich-wine-food/
GreenwichWINE + FOOD Festival
Greenwich,Connecticut, United States
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