Thursday, October 9th - Did Someone Say Free Wine???
During the Food & Wine Festival there are daily "events" taking place at the Festival Welcome Center. Some of them are pre-paid and some of them are complimentary - in years past the festival was chock full of complimentary food and beverage events every day. Of course, Jay and I never managed to take advantage of any of these events either because of scheduling conflicts or because those being offered during our days at Epcot just didn't sound all that appealing.
Welcome to 2008 ... not much has changed except that Epcot has massively scaled back on the freebies, especially on weekdays. Jay and I scoured the program one of our DISfriends mailed to us before our trip (thanks dizneykid!) and we managed to find one event that fit into our schedule that we thought would be worth attending. Just for reference, the wine seminars typically last about 45 minutes and are led by the featured winery principal - attendees usually get to sample between three and four different wines.
The Banfi Wine seminar was slated to begin at 12:15 on Thursday afternoon. Jay and I arrived at the Festival center about 30 minutes before the start time and found this:
A Sea of Thirsty People!
I can't say I was completely surprised since Banfi was bound to be popular with F&W junkies because of the likelihood of free Rosa Regale. Heck, that was the only reason we were trying to get in!
We hurried over to the end of the line where a CM was standing with a few precious line tickets left in her hand. I nabbed 96 and 97 for Jay and me and breathed a sigh of relief. One hundred attendees is the maximum for the wine seminars, so we were really lucky to squeak in at the not last minute.
And this is precisely why we didn't try to attend any other freebies during our vacation. We just didn't want to spend that much time in the Festival center waiting in line for tickets and then waiting in line for the event and then sitting through the event. That's just too much wasted eating time for us!
Of course I had to make a bathroom run before the seminar began ... here's another picture of everyone waiting in line. At least we were all able to wait inside in nice, cool air conditioning.
Hey! I know that guy!!!
We were seated in one of the last rows of tables, which was fine by us since it gave us a bit more breathing room. There was a gentleman who introduced the Banfi representative (I can't remember her name, sorry), and then we sat through 45 minutes of company / wine-making history. And in between it all we were able to sample four different wines including the Rosa Regale, which came with a dark chocolate Hershey's kiss to further enhance our enjoyment. Yum yum good!
Introducing the Winery Representative
Mmmmmmm...wine, wine, wine, and wine!!!
Here's some information for you from the program guide about the wines we tried, all of which we thought were pretty good.
San Angelo Pinot Grigio: White-gold color with a fresh bouquet - notes of pear, banana, peach, anise, and honey. The taste was fruity and crisp - very refreshing.
Centine: Made from a combination of 60% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 20% Merlot grapes, this wine's color was an intense ruby red. The bouquet was fragrant with dark fruit and floral nuances while the taste was medium-bodied with black cherry, tart plum, and spice flavors.
Cum Laude: Made from a combination of 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 25% Sangiovese, and 15% Syrah grapes, this wine also has a deep, intense ruby red color. The bouquet was full with an aroma of blackberries and plums complemented by licorice, black olives, and even pipe-tobacco (hey, these are their tasting notes not mine!). The taste was full-bodied with supple tannins.
Rosa Regale: Made 100% from Brachetto d'Acqui grapes, the color is described as "festive cranberry." The bouquet is aromatic with hints of raspberries, strawberries, and Bulgarian rose while the taste is that of fresh raspberries with a crisp acidity.
All in all a pretty good free seminar and we left pleased by the experience but not enough so to hang around for anything else. However, on the way out we happened by some people who were waiting for a Kitchen Conversation with Ming Tsai and I saw someone I thought looked familiar. Taking my courage in hand (I don't usually approach people unless I'm sure of who they are ... I don't want to scare anyone) I approached this lady and asked her if she was ------, otherwise known as Webray here on the DIS.
I was right! She and I had PMd each other about trying to meet up on Thursday but we both left our cell phones somewhere other than on our persons (pay attention - this is an ongoing theme during our trip). Jay and I chatted for a bit with Webray and her hubby before leaving to head back to SSR for a nap before dinner. Meeting them was really a delight - we felt like we'd known them forever.
Coming soon ... dinner at CA Grill!
I'd love to do a wine seminar, but not all those reds unfortunately. I know everyone raves about the Rosa Regale; is it as heavy as all the other reds? Sweeter? 
