Tuesday, April 7, 2009

13th Annual Nantucket Wine Festival

Over the past 12 years the Nantucket Wine Festival has become one of the country’s most celebrated and prestigious wine and food events. Situated within the heart of downtown Nantucket, and attended by world-renowned winemakers, chefs and celebrities, the 13th Annual Nantucket Wine Festival takes place May 13-17.

Highlights include:

· Expansion of last year’s tremendously popular luncheon symposium program. The equivalent of a graduate course in advanced wine philosophy, the symposia features an hour-long tasting and discussion, followed by a luncheon of exquisite food paired with the wines of the participating vignerons.

· Sultans of Sonoma Coast: San Francisco Chronicle Winemaker of the Year EBoldhren Jordan will be joined by two other star winemakers, David Hirsch and Andy Peay, as they explain the attributes of California’s hottest new viticultural region, the Sonoma Coast.

· The Nantucket Historical Association Auction Dinner, held at the White Elephant Hotel and featuring the culinary talents of Daniel Bruce of Meritage at the Boston Harbor Hotel, who is celebrating 20 years of winemaker dinners at the Boston Wine Festival, and the king of all Spanish wine, Jorge Ordóñez of Fine Estates from Spain, the winner of last year’s Luminary of the Year award. The auction is always exciting and this year promises even more excitement as the centerpiece of the auction will be an 1870 Barrister’s bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild, considered by man to be the finest example of pre-phylloxera claret.

· Towle’s Hill, a one-man show by former Nantucketer Mark Kenward, which chronicles over 150 years of history at one of California’s oldest wineries, Gundlach Bundschu in Sonoma.

· The Nantucket Wine Festival has been famous for the number of great winemakers who visit us in May, and this year’s array of winemakers is absolutely stunning, featuring many of the best talents in the world of wine. Ehren Jordan, owner of Failla Vineyards and the San Francisco Chronicle’s Winemaker of the Year; Ray Coursen, owner/winemaker of Elyse Vineyards and the winner of the NWF’s 2009 Luminary of the Year award; Jean-Luc Pépin, Directeur Commercial, Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé; Jean-Charles Thomas, Head Winemaker, Maison Louis Latour; John Kolasa, General Manager, Château Rauzan-Segla and Château Canon; Rob and Maria Sinskey, owners, Robert Sinskey Vineyards; Jorge Ordóñez, president and founder, Fine Estates from Spain and the winner of the NWF’s 2008 Luminary of the Year award; Jim Clendenen, owner/winemaker of Au Bon Climat.

· The Festival’s signature event, The Grand Tasting, will be held for the 3rd year at the historic Nantucket Yacht Club

Located on Nantucket Harbor, the White Elephant Hotel serves as NWF’s home base and hosts many of the Festival’s events, including The Charity Gala, The Celebrity Chef and Winemaker Auction Dinner and the majority of Wine & Food Seminars. The White Elephant is a Nantucket “grande dame” and is the center of our activities. Events are also held at locations throughout the island, including restaurants and private homes.

The Festival is attended by over 150 wineries from countries throughout the world, each typically represented by the winemaker or vineyard owner. Celebrity chefs from Boston, Nantucket, Providence, Newport, Austin, New Jersey and New York lead seminars in wine and food pairing, perform cooking demonstrations and mingle with attendees. The Nantucket Historical Association and the Nantucket New School are the Festival’s charity partners and the beneficiaries of over $145,000 in 2008 alone.

For a complete description of all events, attendees, lodging and ticket packages and price information, contact the Nantucket Wine Festival online or by phone at (508) 228-1128.

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