Boston Wine Festival: January 6-March 30
Most festivals fill your week or weekend calendar with fun events, one stacked right before the next. But the 23rd Annual Boston Wine Festival may be onto something, with nearly three months' worth of events held in and around the city. Showcasing wines from California and Oregon to Italy and Austria, this festival is like a three-month immersion course in wine.
The traditional opening reception, held in Boston Harbor Hotel's Wharf Room, will feature chef Daniel Bruce's cooking paired with more than 50 wines selected from the festival's wineries. From there, the events are obviously plentiful with wine tastings hosted by Hess Collection, Beringer Vineyards, Revana Family Vineyard, Castello di Ama, and Robert Foley Vineyards, among others.
(Photo courtesy of Flickr/isante_magazine)
One of the most anticipated events on January's calendar is the Battle of the Cabernets, which is a theme dinner where guests are led through a blind tasting of California cabernets alongside chef Bruce's cuisine. In February, festival goers flock to the Rising Stars event and where two wineries (both from Sonoma this year) are featured. The winemakers from each discuss their wines and, of course, pair them to the meal. Finally, in March, the event most likely to be sold out sooner than later is the Italian Wine Reception, where 45 wines from Italy are sampled and paired with Italian dishes.
With so many opportunities to sip, swill, and (sometimes) spit, you may find yourself braving the Boston cold more than once this winter.