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Culinary Rapture! The Greenwich Wine & Food Festival

9/26/2015

A Feast for the Eyes, Taste Buds and Tummy!

Fairfield County "It" had the pleasure of attending the Greenwich Wine & Food Festival, sponsored by Serendipty and benefitting Paul Newman's The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp.

Upon entering the Grand Tasting Tent attendees were wined by Angelini Wine, Ltd which offered a wide range of Vino opportunities from Italy & Argentina and some Tequila too. I started off with a Torrontes from Argentina, which was fresh with lychee, green apple and a mild vanilla end.

Next we headed over to Barcelona Restaurant for a sliver of their savory Proscuitto paired with a tasty red Sangria.

One Twenty One, a farm to table restaurant, from South Salem, NY offered a lovely herbal carrot soup and a creamy riccota with arugula on grilled ciabatti. Both dazzling with refreshing simplicity.

After, we wandered over to try out Manny's Ultimate Bloody Mary mix and were very pleased with the quality of the concoction. Here are Manny Ferreira and Mitch Berkoff manning the booth.

We learned about Kathy Lee Gifford's wine, GIFFT, that she created in partnership with Scheid Family Wines in Southern Monterey County, California. The wines are all about Authenticity. Here is her representative sporting the Pinot Noir Rose'.

We were delighted to find Gabriella Carbonetti of Val's Putnam Wines of Greenwich and David Noto owner of Altaneve pouring his delicious Prosecco as well as numerous other libations for the foodie crowd.

Mezon's Tapas Bar & Restaurant delighted with a tasty beef, hominy puree and fried Yucca ensemble.

At Germonimo's Tequila Bar & Southwest Grill we enjoyed the watermelon enhanced salsa and tasty guacamole with a hint of bacon. Mexican Yum!

A number of people were entertained by painting their inspiration at Pinot's Palette Stamford. A fun place to paint and sip.

Our sweet teeth were very pleased with the chocolate fudge treats from sherry b dessert studio. I loved the salty caramel and Denise the dark chocolate that delighted with a hint of salt.

Celebrity Chefs were available for book signings and interviews.

We checked out the Bartender Showdown. My favorite drink was Keel over and Die. A mixture of mulled pineapple and Keel Vodka with hot peppers. An interesting combination of sweet and heat!

Dinosaur BBQ's barbeque bite was a delicious find to combine with that fiery cocktail.

For the finale, GRAMMY award winning Little Big Town was a huge hit with the crowd! They came out with an intense light show and followed through with a great performance! One of my favorite songs was Day Drinking after a day of drinking, eating, listening to exciting music and having an amazing time!

Looking forward to a Fabulous Fall!

"It" Woman Kyle

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The Count of Buena Vista Winery @ Post 154!

9/15/2015

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It's not every day you meet a 19th century Count!

Fairfield County "It" had the pleasure of sampling wines from Buena Vista Winery of Sonoma, California on a lovely late summer evening on the delightful patio of Post 154 Restaurant in Westport, Connecticut.

The Count explained how he created Buena Vista Winery, the oldest winery in California, after immigrating from Hungary. He brought Old World Wine vines and methodology to the New World. The winery is owned by Boisset Family Estates.

Here is a list of the wines:
Buena Vista North Coast Sauvignon Blanc
Buena Vista Sonoma Chardonnay
Buena Vista Carneros Chardonnay
Buena Vista Sonoma Pinot Noir
Buena Vista Carneros Pinot Noir
Buena Vista Sonoma Merlot
Buena Vista Carneros Merlot
Buena Vista Sonoma Zinfandel
Buena Vista 'The Count' Founder's Red Blend
Buena Vista 'The Sheriff' Sonoma Red Blend

"It" Event Planner Gayle's favorite wines of the tasting were The Sherriff and the Carneros Chardonnay.

You can see the guests were entertained by the Count's world wide stories of adventure, success and failure.

Chef Alex Rosado of Post 154 came out to talk to us about the wonderful food he prepared to pair with the wines.

He is originally from Puerto Rico and brings with him an impressive culinary lineage from the prestigious Ritz Carlton in San Juan, Puerto Rico, The Biltmore Hotel in Miami, Florida, and Executive Chef of Little Palm Island in Little Torch Key, Florida. He has won numerous awards including Best Chefs of America.

The food was delicious! We had:

chilled oysters
shrimp cocktail
octopus & avocado pinchos
seared tuna rolls
smoked salmon sliders
brussel sprouts
eggplant meatballs
adobo chicken pops
BBQ short ribs & black beans
seared scallops & grits

It was a perfect night to wine and dine on Post 154's outside patio.

The fun summer evening closed with some final words from the Count of Buena Vista!

Thank you Post 154 Restaurant!

"It" Woman Kyle

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Spanish Wine Legend - Telmo Rodriquez! At Barcelona - SoNo

9/10/2015

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Meet the man behind the bottle!

Fairfield County "It" had the pleasure of meeting Telmo Rodriquez owner of the wine company Campania de Vinos Telmo Rodriquez at Barcelona restaurant in South Norwalk.

He created his first wine in 1994, made from the grapes of an old Garnacha grapevine bush in Navarra, Spain and named it Alma, which means Soul.

His wine approach to me has "Spanish Soul" in that he is devoted to making wine from native Spanish grape varietals and working with the terroir of the region to create authentic Spanish wines.

We enjoyed the following wines:

2014 Verdejo Blend, Basa - Rueda
2014 Godello, Gaba do Xil - Valdeorras
2012 Mencia, Gaba do Xil - Valdeorras
2013 Mencia, Gaba do Xil - Valdeorras
2012 Mencia Blend, As Caborcas - Valdeorras
2013 Monastrell, Al-mouvedre - Alicante
2008 Tempranillo Blend, Lanzaga - Rioja
2012 Tempranillo, Gazur - Ribera del Duero
2013 Tempranillo, Dehesa Gago -Toro
2012 Tempranillo, Gago -Toro
2011 Tempranillo, Pago La Jara - Toro
2012 Tempranillo, Gazur - Ribera del Duero
2005 Moscatel, Molino Real - Malaga

Telmo spoke about his advocacy in the Spanish wine industry for the use of native grape varietals tied to the climates and conditions of their sites, and his passion for making world-class wines from undiscovered as well as known regions.

He studied viticulture and oenology at the University of Bordeaux and was the winemaker at his family winery in Rioja, before setting off on his own in the early 1990s to discover new vineyards and regions all around Spain.

Barcelona started off the evening with a stand up wine tasting and passed around the following tasty appetizers:

Cured Salmon dill cream cheese
Duck Confit grapes, whole grain mustard aioli
Gazpacho
Vegetable Tortilla
Migas quail eggs
Pastry Wrapped Escargot garlic butter
Fried Olives stuffed with lamb sausage
Potato Croquetas piquillos, onions

For the splendid Spanish inspired dinner, Barcelona served:

House-Made Porchetta
Fideos sweet corn, mushrooms
Spinach and Chickpea Cazuela
Cauliflower and Fennel Cazuela
and for dessert:
Almond Cake

paired with Telmo's bordeaux- esque red and yummy dessert wine.

Telmo stopped by each table to say hello and answer any questions.

It was a delight meeting Telmo and getting immersed in Spanish wine and cuisine!

"It" Woman Kyle

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Culinary Rapture! The Greenwich Wine & Food Festival

The Count of Buena Vista Winery @ Post 154!

Spanish Wine Legend - Telmo Rodriquez! At Barcelona - SoNo

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Culinary Rapture! ﻿ The Greenwich Wine & Food Festival

The Count of Buena Vista Winery @ Post 154!

Spanish Wine Legend - Telmo Rodriquez! At Barcelona - SoNo

Author

Archives

Categories

Culinary Rapture! The Greenwich Wine & Food Festival