Philly Wine and Food Festival
On May 6th, we attended the Philly Wine and Food Festival, a showcase of over 650 different wines from around the world, accompanied by bites from some of the best restaurants in Philadelphia, hosted by Philadelphia Magazine.
Vera- The wine tasting selection was expansive and a little overwhelming. Given my limited knowledge of wine, I struggled to recall everything my wino parents have tried to impart on me over the last few years. I wandered the long rows of tables, scanning the winery name cards for anything familiar. Finally, something sparked my memory – Trimbach! I’ve been there! A colorful, quaint village in Alsace, France, Trimbach produces the sweet white Riesling and Gewurtztraminer varieties. I sampled their Pinot Gris, which was fruity but dry, something that would pair nicely with fish or mushrooms.
Moving back over to the American wineries, I next sampled Caymus Vineyards’ Conundrum California Red Blend, a pleasing mix of fruity and spicy. I finished off the evening with a sampling of Veuve Cliquot’s and Moet & Chandon’s Rosé Champagnes, both light, refreshing, and easy to drink.
Elena- I’m just gonna say it: I’m not a huge fan of wine. You may be wondering why I went to this event if I don’t like wine, and the honest truth is that I saw the word “food” in the title and assumed it would be a kind of festival where food and drink shared the spotlight equally. Not so, this event’s main focus was wine, and I felt like an ignorant heathen because I had no idea how to begin to choose which wines to try, or how to judge them. So I focused on the food, my forté.
There were samples from a decent number of restaurants including Laurel, Indeblue, Davio’s, Amada, Termini Bros, Xochitl, and, inexplicably, Dave and Busters, which had a table offering generic-looking cookies.
Amada’s bright yellow gazpacho was the first thing we tried, and it was also one of the better food offerings at the festival. It was refreshing and flavorful, just what we needed to prime our palates for some sampling!
I was surprised at how many restaurants were offering soups; at least three. The Restaurant School’s asparagus soup was decent, nothing extraordinary, but it does win points for being pretty.
Melograno’s porchetta crostini with puntarellas looked great, though I didn’t try them because I’m a vegetarian. The porchetta was being freshly shaven by hand and the crostini were being assembled in front of the increasingly tipsy hordes.
crostini with whipped ricotta and orange syrup from Zavino PC: Elena Crouch
I really enjoyed Zavino’s whipped ricotta crostini with the citrusy syrup on top. It was light and creamy and bright all at once. And of course, no food event is complete without Termini Bros cannoli, which seem to be at every food event that I go to. Not that I’m complaining.
Overall, the event was successful, although pretty overwhelming for non-wine afficionados. Next time, we will make sure to send winos!
-Vera Kirillov and Elena Crouch