Food.Fun.Stuff: 10th Annual International Wine and Food Festival ReCap (D.C.)

[ 2 ] February 18, 2009 |

Wine, Wine and more Wine! That is the best way to describe the 10th Annual Washington, D.C. International Wine and Food Festival. Wine makers locally, nationally and worldwide came out to showcase who had the best of the reds and whites and all those in between;-) Chefs and Sommelier’s from all over made presentations of their favorite recipes and wine pairings. With over 200 vendors, boredom was not an option…check out what we found on this journey through the Ronald Reagan Buildings 2-day Wine Country:

>Sebeka-One of our favorites! The wine was smooth, somewhat sweet but not bitter…
>Linganore Winecellars-A pretty sweet Merlot…unusual for Merlot…
>Vinos Cambronero-New taste. A bit fruity for a cabernet savignon…
>Barboursville Vineyards-“Felt like we were drinking water” (*Description used when asked what did the wine taste like?) The Octogan, though very light and sweet, it did remind you of water…
>D.C’s Wine Country (*Who knew?!?)- The meritage wine had a cork taste that we couldn’t seem to shake…
>Domenico Winery- This Santa Cruz winery had just enough bite for our taste buds;-)
>Don Miguel Gascon-Nice. Wine wasn’t too oaky or heavy. We spent a lot of time with this Argentina wine at the festival;-)
>Dr. Frank’s- Just what the Doctor ordered. The dry wine we tasted was “ooo, so sweet” and semi-dry was “ooo, so much sweeter”…anybody up for sweet wine??
>Finca La Estancada-Haha, the vendor operator for this wine was such a comedian (*or maybe we just thought he was funny being this was probably our 20th or 30th vendor to visit…wine will do that to you…) Anywho, the sparkling wine was not too bubbly and quite tasty;-)
>Maryland Wineries Association-The pinot grie was nothing special (*along with the attitudes…)…dry but smooth.

All in all the wine was fantastic! The food, on the other hand…well, where was the food?! This is the one thing (*major thing) that the festival lacked, there were not enough food vendors. We had the bright idea that we would eat at the festival (*being that it was called the International Wine and Food Festival…) only to find that we would have to snack on Cabot cheese (*stay away from the horseradish cheese…), biscottis (*Yum for Biscotti Goddess!) and Peppadew sauce (*which by the way is deelish and their Eswatini Swazi Kitchen line boasts some of the spiciest sauce you will ever taste). We were pleased with what we were able to munch on but disappointed that “Food” was even included in the tag line for this event (*next year, it should be disbarred from the title!)

All in all, we had a fab time tasting all the wines:-) We could, however, have done without: “Food” in the tagline (*there was not enough food for a true foodie!) and the crowd (*it was a little congested, but after a few tastes from the wine vendors, you notice it less…;-). Will we go next year?? Yup and this time we’re eating a full meal before we go!

*Disclaimer: These are only the views of JKGF and do not represent any other views outside of www.johnnaknowsgoodfood.com. JKGF is in no way a Sommelier, we just like good wine;-) Thank you and happy reading!

*More pictures coming soon!

Category: Announcements, Food.Fun.Stuff., Washington D.C.

About the Author ()

Johnna French is a Harlem NY native with deep roots in Panama, Washington, DC and North Carolina. All four places have heavily influenced her life and the foods she loves today. After graduating Howard University School of Law and beginning her life as a young professional in the city she was led to start Johnna Knows Good Food in November 2007 to keep family, friends and colleagues updated on where to go and what to eat while dining in the nation’s capitol. French, who still practices law, leads a team of three writers to cover the ever expanding Washington, DC food scene. French has been featured in print and television, appearing in Washingtonian Magazine and is a regular contributor to various local TV affiliates including WUSA 9, FOX 5 DC and WJLA (ABC Affiliate) News Channel 8. During the 2016-2017 football season, Johnna aired on Comcast Sports Mid-Atlantic (CSN) show, Redskins Life, as the weekly tailgate host. Johnna is currently a regular contributor to the FOX Baltimore Weekend morning show.

Comments (2)

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  1. Dskco says:

    i wish i could’ve gone! i haven’t been to a food festival ever, so i hope i can the next time something comes around

  2. Johnna Knows Good Food: Yum Yum, Gimme Some! says:

    It’s an awesome experience!! Come out do D.C.’s festival next year:-)

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