Thursday, August 7, 2014

Savor the Flavors of Virginia’s Best Wine, Beer, & Cider at Epicurience Virginia

If you are staying at home this Labor Day weekend (Aug. 29-Sept 1) and want to enjoy a complete farm and wine to table experience then check out Epicurience Virginia - which brings a one-of-a-kind edible showcase that brings Virginia’s award-winning wines and farm-to-table cuisine to the grounds of historic Morven Park."  This event is a partnership with SAVEUR Magazine and connects attendees directly to the winemakers and farmers.  During the main event on Aug. 30th, - from noon to 6pm - Virginia’s finest wine, beer, spirits and cuisine will be available in the Grand Tasting Tent.  The tent is sponsored by VirginiaTourism Corporation, and attendees can watch celebrated chefs cook up culinary creations and attend seminars on Virginia’s wine and cider scene in the education tent sponsored by Virginia Wine. These chefs include TV host, author and chef Nathalie Dupree, Todd Gray of Equinox Restaurant (DC), Shannon Overmiller from The Majestic (Alexandria), Scott Drewno of The Source by  Wolfgang Puck (DC) and Jason Alley with Pasture  & Comfort (Richmond & Charlottesville). Ingredients for the demonstrations are being sourced from Ayrshire Farm.


One of the coolest events during the Saturday Aug. 30 Grand Tasting at Morven Park is the Speed Blending Competition. People interested in participating can enter the code EpicBlend when purchasing tickets and up to 48 winners will be randomly selected to participate. Blending sessions will run from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., with each session lasting one hour. During that time, participants will get to work with one of Loudoun’s winemakers to taste and create their own unique blend using three randomly selected Loudoun wines.A winner will be selected from each group and entered into the final competition set to kick off at 4:30 p.m. LWA members and VIPs from the community will select one winner who will get to spend time over the next year working with a Loudoun winemaker to help create a wine to be released at Epicurience Virginia 2015. How cool is that?

General admission tickets cost $85 per person, whereas a VIP ticket is $125 per person includes a food and wine pairing at Early Mountain Vineyards’ airstream, modeled after its tasting room, and the VIP tent furnished by Bella Villa and featuring exclusive tastings.

Additional culinary events will take place throughout the weekend at Loudoun’s wineries and historic estates including wine and cocktail pairing dinners, farm-to-table picnics and the opening night event at the Marshall House. One such event is the Catoctin Creek Distillery dinner at Magnolias on Sunday August 31st. Information for these events can be found at Epicvirginia.com.See you there.