A Wine-derful Evening: Philadelphia Wine & Food Festival 2014
Where can you find over 600 samplings of exclusive wines from around the world under one roof? On Saturday, May 10, the Philadelphia Wine and Food Festival was one spot. The fête brought together wines, food, a silent auction benefiting The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and high spirits.
The event took place at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum, a spacious venue with plenty of classic roadsters and race cars on display.
Of course, we were primarily there for the good spirits flowing readily throughout the event. One of the standout sips was the Moët Nectar Imperial Rosé courtesy of Moët Hennessy. It was fruity, nearly fizzy, and light.
Robert Katcher’s Selections of French Rosé wines had some standouts as well. The Tourainé rose in particular had a sweet, clean flavor.
The Cabarnet-Malbec by Rutini, with origins in Argentina, was rich, strong, and slightly bitter.
Its dark chocolate notes were surprising and original.
Dandelion’s Carbernet Savourginon was deep and satisfying.
Adelsheim’s dry Rosé from Pinot noir was refreshing and full-bodied.
They also offered a variety of other wines.
Sebarshi Kedamono offered Asian pear wines. The dessert wine was a little too sweet for our taste, but their new pear wine was fruity, bold, and tangy.
The Vegan Vine offered a flight of exclusively vegan wines, in comparison to most wines, which often have small amounts of derivatives from animal products.
Bouchard’s Chardonnay was just barely sweet and extremely crisp.
Gourmet Blends offered a variety of unique oils and vinegars. We sampled the coconut olive oil, which was sweet and tropical.
The Wooden Spoon of Phoenixville, PA, offered an array of delectable treats including a fudgey walnut brownie, puff pastry, and strawberry crumble.
They were extremely excited to show off their creations!
Velvet Sky Bakery featured chocolate ganache brownies, salted caramel cupcakes, key lime pie cupcakes, and other addictive sweet treats. They also offered “indulgence cookies”: these rich, gooey, chocolatey cookies were one of the highlights of the night.
Twelve Baskets, an online bakery, had Asian-inspired cupcakes, including a green tea cupcake with black sesame and a miso caramel apple cupcake. The cupcakes were sweet and moist; we particularly enjoyed the miso caramel apple’s flavor and texture.
Termini Bros filled their cannoli fresh right before serving them.
We had the opportunity to sample gourmet pretzels; the dark chocolate almond was a tasty blend of nutty and sweet.
We sampled a goat cheese and fig pastry and a strawberry rhubarb cream tart from Bredenbeck’s Bakery. The pastry was a little overcooked, but the creamy tart was well-done.
Luke’s Lobster offered a shrimp roll. The shrimp was cold but well seasoned, and the bread was warm, buttery, and crisp.
Chicken sausage was served up at Passanante’s Home Food Services’ booth. The meat encased inside the crisp skin was flavorful.
Lacroix served country pate with snow peas and pickled jalapeños. It was salty and refreshing.
Indeblue served a chickpeas-battered drumstick with tomato chili. The tangy chicken was countered by cool blue cheese crumbles.
Indeblue also served a mild potato samosa with chickpeas.
Alla Spina served rich chicken liver mousse on crunchy crostini with sweet strawberry jam.
Chima offered a 3-meat kebab with potato salad. The meats, including pork, steak, and chicken, were a bit dry, but we recognized that they would be far better in the freshly cut traditional Brazilian steakhouse setting.
Gnocci bolognese was served by Davio’s. The flavors were simple, but the gnocchi was soft and satisfying.
Benihana served chicken fried rice. It was not very creative, but cooked well.
Pennsylvania 6 offered a Carolina herb rice with herb butter and a poached garlic snail. The succulent, soft snail was made even more tasty paired with the grainy, seasoned rice.
Righteous Felon offered beef jerky. The Chipotle flavor was sharp and tangy.
Eatible Delights Catering served freshly-prepared pork loin and tempura broccoli.
The broccoli was cold, but the warm meat was moist and tender.
Delicias served a marmalade arepa with cheese. The contrast of savory and sweet on soft dough was delicious.
Catering by Mario’s served a pork sandwich with peppers. The meat was tender, and the peppers added a kick of flavor to the sandwich.
Veg n’ Go served a chocolate walnut brownie, cheesy spinach bite, and couscous.
The festival gave us and fellow attendees a new appreciation for wine. We were impressed by the global footprint of all the fare and look forward to the offerings next year!
— Farrel Levenson & Nicole Woon