Perfect storm for food and wine lovers

Local chefs escaping to the mountains, cheese makers and winemakers gathering offshore and the sound and taste of salsa in Newport are all on the calendar for the upcoming summer. The season is heating up with food and wine events all over the state and elsewhere in New England. In chronological order, here is a taste of some food and wine festivals and events planned for the region between now and August.
The Nantucket Wine Festival is well-known among area foodies as one of the premier festivals in New England. The 16th annual festival runs from May 16 through May 20 at various venues on the island. The headquarters location for the festival is the venerable White Elephant Hotel and the organizers are touting that most of this year’s events will be held in downtown Nantucket. One of the popular features is the Luncheon Symposia, featuring distinguished winemakers discussing their wines, sort of a C-SPAN “Book Talk” for wine enthusiasts. This year among others will be Scott Johnsen, a viticulturist behind the vineyards at MacMurray Ranch, one of my favorites.
Seminars will also be given by Boston-area food personalities, such as cheese maker Ishan Gurdal and chef-restaurateur Andy Husbands among others who return to Nantucket year after year.
The nine wineries of the Coastal Wine Trail are moving their early summer event to Massachusetts this June. The group – Sakonnet Vineyards, Greenvale, Newport Vineyards, Langworthy Farm Winery, Westport Rivers, Running Brook, Travessia Urban Winery, Coastal and Truro Vineyards – are putting on a Wine, Cheese and Chocolate Festival on June 24 at Westport Fairgrounds. It is instructive to note that the winery owners chose to move their event out of state from Sakonnet, where it has been held for nearly two decades. According to a spokesperson for the Coastal Wine Group, this was done to facilitate wine sales in a farmers-market setting, which is allowed in the Bay State but not in Rhode Island. The Newport Flower Show to be held June 22-24 on the historic grounds of Rosecliff Mansion is enhancing its ties to food and wine during this, its 17th year as one of the premier summer flower shows. This year’s theme is Salsa – A Celebration of Latin Cultures. At the show’s opening-night cocktail party on June 22, the theme will be “Tapas and Tango,” with a cocktail buffet, live music and dancing and a seaside supper. This is in addition to the sampling of signature menu items from selected Newport restaurants and caterers, which is always a favorite at the opening-night gala.
Making its debut at this year’s Flower Show will be the Wines of Spain trade group, which will be participating at this year’s party by pouring select Spanish wines. One winery that will be featured is Finca La Estacada. The winery located in La Mancha was popular at this year’s Boston Wine Expo. The wine made from purplish-red Tempranillo grapes received good reviews from nationally known wine writer Robert Parker, who gave it a score of 88 points. Parker can give higher ratings but they are few and far between.
That same weekend, Providence chef, restaurateur and cheese monger Matt Jennings is getting out of town. He will be one of the celebrity chefs at the 14th annual Stowe Wine and Food Classic in Vermont. Gathering in the mountaintop resort town will be chefs and winemakers from all over the country. Jennings has a connection to the Green Mountain State, where he attended culinary school. He was a James Beard Award nominee this year. The proprietor of Farmstead spends time in Vermont on a regular basis visiting farmers and suppliers who make the artisan cheeses he features in his shop and restaurant. The ubiquitous “farm-to-table” theme runs through the Stowe festival, as participating chefs will have access to many local growers for fresh ingredients. Their signature dishes will be paired with an estimated 100 wines from around the world. The winemakers – and some brewers – will be led by an interesting father-and-son winemaking team from California. Joel Peterson, who founded Ravenswood Winery, and son, Morgan, who started a boutique winery known as Bedrock, will be at the festival leading seminars and tastings. Peterson the elder is no stranger to Rhode Island and has conducted tastings on my radio show. The organizers of the festival refer to it as “upscale meets down-home.”
The much-anticipated summer version of Providence Restaurant Weeks, which is becoming one of the mainstays of the dining scene throughout New England, returns in July. Dates for the prix-fixe dine-around presented by the Providence-Warwick Convention and Visitors Bureau will be July 8 through July 21. Prices and participating restaurants will be announced in the weeks to come.
The Coastal Wine Trail wineries are planning a Food and Wine Festival at Sakonnet Vineyards Aug. 5 with restaurant chefs’ sampling stations and all nine member wineries participating.
And the popular PBS series “Downtown Abbey” is the inspiration for an Edwardian-themed wine tasting at The Seasons assisted-living residence in East Greenwich on Aug. 19.
Some good advice is to choose a favorite local restaurant as a base of operations for your food- and-wine-festival excursion. Then head out to experience the perfect storm of great wines, foods, chefs and hopefully perfect weather in the Ocean State. &#8226


Bruce Newbury’s food and wine talk radio show is heard Saturdays and Sundays locally on WPRV-AM 790, on radio throughout New England and on the Stitcher mobile application. He can be reached by email at bruce@brucenewbury.com.

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