Chef Chris Madsen of the Five-Diamond 1913 Room discusses the menu with dinner guests
The 2nd Annual Food and Wine Festival has arrived in Grand Rapids with hundreds of wineries, breweries, distilleries and restaurants participating in this three day festivity which started this Thursday. Every wine region and grape variety in the world is represented. Local chef's are face to face with guests in their make shift Chef's tables. Wine experts are sharing their knowledge through the several wine classes available at the event.
My wife and I scanned the ballroom first to strategize on our tasting plan. We tried the One Acre cabernet first, which was big and bold as expected, however, lacking the memorable finish. Opus One was next, while it was good, it was still too tight and failed to deliver given its price point. We eventually found our way to the Mt. Veeder booth - which didn't disappoint - and a dollar per dollar superstar of a cabernet. We ventured off to a tasting of the Chateau Greysac from Bordeaux in our haste to fill our glass with wine. Not a bad wine, but certainly a middle of the road pick. With a few more tickets in our pockets, we went back to Mt. Veeder to indulge in the sure thing. We just couldn't leave disappointed.
There is a reason this event is for three days - one day is not enough to sample all the wines and the fabulous food. The last day is today. It might be worth it for us to have one more glass of the Mt. Veeder cabernet. And if you can't make today, yes, the Mt. Veeder is available by the glass at six.one.six restaurant in the JW.
The crew at Bar Divani plating their first course
Chef Andrew, cook Abby and chef Joel of the JW setting the stage for the main course
six.one.six is the first restaurant to offer a beer tasting from Arcadia Brewery
Skandis booth
Guests at the Tre Cugini table
I'm sure this will cure the swine flu
I thought this was a pretty funny shirt
The 1913 Room table
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2 comments:
I gotta say, super disappointed in the people pouring. I know it was free labor, but can't tell you how many booths i went up to and asked about the wine and the person pouring had no clue.
Also way too many big, bulk wine houses.
The students pouring had literally minutes to learn what they were pouring + these are college students who are on bud light budgets. Usually, there was a wine rep to explain the wine. Because of the prohibitive pouring guidelines at the event, the wine reps couldn't do the pouring. Still a nice event.
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