To learn more about wine, you've gotta get off your duff and taste tons of it. Fortunately, there are plenty of large wine tastings around to make the learning process fun. Here's a list of those in the Southeast, most of which benefit charity.
FLORIDA
Abilities Food & Wine Festival, March 15, 2003. Winner of the Weekly Planet's Best Wine Tasting to Benefit a Charity. A veritable playground for food and wine lovers. More than 300 wines, 50 award-winning restaurants and 400 auction items. VIP Tasting $125, Grand Tasting $60. Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida. More info: www.abilitiesofflorida.com.
Florida Wine Fest & Auction, April 24-27, 2003. Quite the affair with winemaker dinners, wine luncheons, Friday's black tie gala, and a sip & shop around Sarasota's St. Armands Circle. Definitely the A-List crowd. Prices vary per event. Ritz Carlton Sarasota, Sarasota. More info: www.floridawinefest.com.
Bern's Winefest, April 25-28, 2003. Wine seminars presented by winemakers and a grand tasting on Sunday feature more than 150 high-quality wines and three educational seminars. My money's on this one. Admission cost of $65 in advance includes your own Spiegelau glass. SideBern's Restaurant in Tampa. More info: www.bernssteakhouse.com.
Epcot Food & Wine Festival, runs from the second week of October until Thanksgiving. Plenty of culinary demonstrations, seminars, food samplings, wine tastings, special dinners, food and wine big shots, and live entertainment. Festival included in the price of Epcot admission, but various special dinners and events cost $25-$135 additional. Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista. Go to www.epcot.com for details.
GEORGIA
High Museum of Art Wine Auction, March 27-29, 2003. Merging art and wine is only the beginning at this premier wine tasting event. It's easily one of the best wine events in the nation, with over 120 first-class wineries in attendance. Winemaker dinners, a first-rate auction featuring rare large-format bottles and amazing wine vacations, and the gala dinner dance. Tickets start at $75 and go up. High Museum of Art in Atlanta. More info: www.atlanta-wineauction.org.
Wine South Festival, Sept. 27-28, 2003. Wine South is an all-day event celebrating food, wine, art and music. Tickets include a souvenir glass, wine samples, gourmet food samples, wine seminars and live music. Wine tasting areas are divided into regional pavilions. $50 for daily ticket, $95 weekend pass. Gwinnett County, Atlanta. More info: www.winesouth.com
Wine Festival at Villa Christina, June 8, 2003. An all-day extravaganza of wine, food, art and music. The second annual event is held in the restaurant and rose gardens of Villa Christina. It boasts hundreds of wines from around the world, gourmet food samples from Atlanta's best restaurants, chef demonstrations, art by the renowned painters, live entertainment and plenty of wine-related merchandise vendors. $45 in advance, $50 at door. Watch www.villachristina.com for more details.
CAROLINAS
North Carolina Wine Festival, June 7, 2003. This festival introduces local wine from across the state. More than a dozen wineries, food, entertainment, and arts and craft vendors. Tanglewood Park, Clemmons, N.C. More info: www.ncwine.org.
Yadkin Valley Wine Festival, May 16-17, 2003. Eight wineries from the new Yadkin Valley Viticultural Area will be pouring their wines. Festival also features music, arts/crafts, and food with no admission fee. $10 per person in advance, tickets required for wine tasting only. Elkin Municipal Park in Elkin, N.C. More info: www.yvwf.com.
Hilton Head Island's Wine Festival, March 15, 2003. The largest outdoor, tented wine tasting on the East Coast, with more than 500 domestic and international wines, continuous entertainment and gourmet meals from Hilton Head Island's best restaurants. Tickets are $30 each and include a souvenir wine tasting glass. Purchase tickets in advance over the phone at 800-424-3387 or at the event. Shelter Cove Community Park, Hilton Head Island, S.C. www.hiltonheadisland.com/hospitalityassociation
This article appears in Mar 5-11, 2003.