2013 Midatlantic Wine + Food Festival Announces Full Schedule

The MidAtlantic Wine + Food Festival has unveiled its full schedule of 44 events celebrating fine wine, gourmet food, premium spirits and craft beers, all taking place in venues that stretch from the Brandywine Valley to Delaware’s Culinary Coast. The Festival will start on March 6th and run through March 10, 2013.

Tickets for all events, ranging from $25 tickets to the Festival Village to $1000 private dinners, are now available for purchase at midatlanticwineandfood.com. Events are highlighted below; click links for further details.

New Castle County

· Gala Winemakers Dinner + Live Wine Auction, the climax of the festival, a black tie gala with a five-course, 10-wine dinner, and a world-class live wine auction

· Tasting with the Pros, with visiting winemakers pouring their wines and telling their stories

· 1,000 Point Wine Tasting, the best of the best, a tasting 10 wines, each with a perfect 100-point rating

· Winemakers Dinners at private homes and exclusive properties, including Mt. Cuba with Tatiana and Gerret Copeland; Oberod with Vance Kershner; The Manor House and Barn at Applecross with Chris and Penny Saridakis; and the private homes of Ellen and Michael Kullman and Drs. Laurie Jacobs and Barry Roseman

· Scrapplegasm, a traditional Hotel du Pont breakfast with a chef’s reimagining of the MidAtlantic’s favorite breakfast meat

· Bourbon + Bacon, a tasting of small-batch bourbons and pork pairings

· He Said Beer, She Said Wine, a wine/beer dinner hosted by Dogfish Head’s Sam Calagione and sommelier Marnie Old

· Pop-Up: Restaurant 2020, a multi-course wine dinner with six of the region’s most forward-thinking chefs

· South African Braai, a traditional South African barbecue featuring grilled food, wine, art, and music from South Africa

· Gospel Brunch, brunch kicked up a notch, with 80 wines, and the 60-member choir from Dover’s award winning Calvary Baptist Church

· The MasterChef Tasting Experience, featuring six past contestants and one winner of Gordon Ramsay’s “MasterChef” on Fox, offering tastings from each chef, which they will prepare live

· Welcome reception, a meet and greet with visiting chefs and winemakers

· Restaurant luncheons with winemakers and around-the-world themes at: Piccolina Toscana (Mediterranean Lunch), Buckley’s Tavern (A Taste of South Africa), Orillas Tapas Bar and Restaurant (Rioja and Tapas), Harry’s Savoy Grill (Don’t Cry for Me Argentina), Domaine Hudson (Down Unda with Château Tanunda; Pinot Envy with Regina Martinelli), University & Whist Club (The French Connection), Harry’s Seafood Grill (Taste of the Chesapeake), and Union City Grille (Belgian Beer Lunch)

· The Craft of Beer, where the best regional brewers sample their suds

· Master the Blind Tasting, where you can match your wits against a Master Sommelier

· Scotch + Cigars, a relaxing end of the day with a snifter and some of Delaware’s top cigar aficionados

· The Centennial Tea, celebrating the Hotel du Pont’s 100th birthday with a certified tea master and all the tea party trimmings

· 937-Point Wine Tasting, the little brother of the 1000-Point tasting, with 10 wines averaging 94 points each

· Single and Malty, a tutored tasting event of rare single malt scotches

· Desserts by Dana Extravaganza, a pairing of sweets with a tutored tasting of dessert wines

· In the Mix: Mixologists and DJs, inventive cocktails made with American spirits in the late night lounge

· Sweet William Bakes, where you can taste the creations of this 12-year-old baker

· Wine + Chocolate Tasting, a sinfully good tasting of wines chosen to complement fine chocolates

· Champagne + Caviar Tasting, featuring sustainable American caviar paired with a flight of champagne

Kent and Sussex Counties

· Winemakers Dinner at the home of Susan and Dr. William Johnston, Wesley College president, in the historic Annie Jump Cannon House

· Bourbon + Bacon (one each in Kent and Sussex Counties), a tasting of small-batch bourbons and pork pairings

· MasterChefs: Up Close and Personal, where six contestants and one winner from Gordon Ramsay’s “MasterChef” on Fox prepare bites to taste, with VIP preview reception option

· Sundowner Wine + Apps, South African wines paired with delicious appetizer bites at the home of Donna and Steve Hadley

· James Beard House Dinner Revisited, as chef Jay Caputo recreates his James Beard House dinner

· Brunch & Bloody Mary Throwdown, a pro-am recipe face-off, rounded out with brunch and prosecco

· Hands Across the Atlantic, a champagne brunch marrying the cuisine of chefs from Africa, the Caribbean and Rehoboth Beach

New this year, the Festival Village will be open on Rodney Square in Wilmington from Friday to Sunday. International chefs and winemakers will be on the scene at the Festival Village for demonstrations, and wine, beer, spirit and food tastings will be offered. Vendors will also be on site, including the official Festival Bottle Shop, where many of the wines and spirits offered throughout the weekend will be on sale. Culinary adventurers can purchase Village passes for any of five timeslots; a full weekend Village pass is also available. The schedule at the Village includes:

· Friday, 11:30am-2:30pm; a Dana Herbert appearance is confirmed

· Friday, 3:30pm-7pm

· Saturday, 9am-1pm; including The Great Coffee Roast led by Panamanian coffee grower Rich Lipner

· Saturday, 2-5pm

· Sunday, Noon-3pm; last chance to visit the Festival Bottle Shop

The list of visiting chefs continues to grow, with confirmed appearances:

· Chef Owen Andrews (Australia)

· Chef Gregory Engelhardt (US Virgin Islands)

· Pastry Chef William Hutchisson (South Carolina)

· Chef Santiago Macias (Argentina, Colombia)

· Chef Craig Miller (Panama)

· Chef Javier Cuesta Muñoz (Spain, St. Vincent & The Grenadines)

· Chef Hugo Uys (South Africa)

· Chef Pierre Van Zyl (Botswana)

· MasterChef contestants Jennifer Behm, Christian Collins, Tracy Kontos, Dave Miller, Derrick Prince, Becky Reams and Suzy Singh

The list of visiting wineries now includes:

· Achaval Ferrer and Hand of God (Argentina)

· Bouchaine Vineyards (Napa)

· Chateau Tanunda (Australia)

· Domaine Kikones (Greece)

· Martinelli Winery (California)

· Quoin Rock (South Africa)

· Weingut Lothar Kettern (Germany)

· Willamette Valley Vineyards (Oregon)

· Wines of South Africa

Regional chefs helping to create culinary adventures include Eric Aber, Kate Applebaum, David Banks, Jason Barrowcliff, Jennifer Behm, Dan Butler, Jay Caputo, Matthew Curtis, Patrick D’Amico, Laurie Diaz, Tom Hannum, Dana Herbert, Bill Hoffman, Mike Kelly, Julio Lazzarini, Robert Lhulier, Keith Miller, Michele Mitchell, Roger Surpin, Susan Teiser, and Gary Trevisani.

For more information, visit midatlanticwineandfood.com or call 302-660-2200.

About the MidAtlantic Wine + Food Festival

The MidAtlantic Wine + Food Festival boasts dozens of events over four days in formats ranging from small, intimate dinners to gala black-tie events. The region’s premier food and wine event has grown with the support of scores of partners, sponsors, friends, committees, restaurateurs, chefs, vendors, distributors, the Wine Guild, international winemakers and visiting chefs, and wine and beer experts.

Tatiana and Gerret Copeland, proprietors of Bouchaine Vineyards in Napa Valley and long-time patrons of the arts, co-chair the 2013 festival with Ajit Mathew George, chairman of Strongpoint Atlantic.

All net proceeds from the 2013 festival will benefit nine Delaware arts organizations through the MidAtlantic Food + Wine Feast Charitable Fund at the Delaware Community Foundation. The 2013 beneficiaries are the Christina Cultural Arts Center, the Delaware Art Museum, the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, the Delaware Symphony Orchestra, the Delaware Theatre Company, the Grand Opera House, the Kent County Fund for the Arts, OperaDelaware, and the Rehoboth Beach Film Society.

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