Saturday, August 29, 2009

Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival

Food & Wine magazine and American Public Television (APT) will sponsor the 4th annual Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival, taking place September 25-27, 2009. The Festival is set in a picturesque settings—the historic mansions of the legendary Vanderbilt family, The Breakers and Marble House—in the seaside resort of Newport, Rhode Island.

Food & Wine has become the presenting sponsor of the Festival, and two of APT's most popular celebrity chefs, Jacques Pépin and Joanne Weir, will be featured through the weekend. Also appearing in the Celebrity Chef Cooking Tent over the weekend will be Chef David Burke of David Burke Prime at Foxwoods, as well as other culinary experts.

The Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival is hosted by and benefits the historic preservation efforts of The Preservation Society of Newport County.

Internationally-renowned chef, teacher and cookbook author Jacques Pépin, host of APT's Jacques Pépin: More Fast Food My Way, will be honored for his lifetime of culinary achievements at the Festival's Friday night gala event, A Vintage Evening at The Breakers. The gala will feature food samplings, tastings of specialty wines, music, and a live auction of collectible wines and luxury goods, with auction services provided by Christie's.

The Saturday and Sunday Grand Tastings will feature more than 100 of the world's finest wineries pouring 400-plus wines for tasting. Nearly two dozen restaurants and caterers will provide food samples, and high-end lifestyle exhibitors will also be on hand to display their latest products and services. Both days will also include a silent auction, featuring wines, hotel stays, restaurant gift certificates, sports memorabilia and other items.

Sunday will also feature the popular Jazz Brunch on the terrace of Marble House, with a menu designed by Annie Copps of Yankee Magazine.

In addition to Pépin, Weir and Burke, the Celebrity Chef Cooking Tent will also feature free demonstrations by Annie Copps of Yankee, Roseann Tully of Intermezzo, and noted chefs from some of the best restaurants in Newport and Providence: Walter Potenza of Walter's Ristorante d'Italia, Kyle Ketchum of The Spiced Pear, Kevin Thiele of One Bellevue, and chocolatier Andrew Shotts of Garrison Confections. Wine expert Tyler Colman, known as "Dr. Vino," will also do a special wine presentation.

Tickets and more detailed information about the Festival weekend events are available online at http://www.newportmansions.org/. Special pricing is available on tickets purchased before September 14, 2009.

I will be attending this event so hope I see some of my readers there too. There appears to be some excellent wineries that will be presenting at the Grand Tasting, and there should even be some Sake as Ty Ku International will be there. Plus, I am hoping to see Tyler Colman's wine presentation. I am also intrigued by some of the auction items, so maybe I will win something cool too.

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