We are planning to go to the F&W Festival some time soon! Thought I'd share this article by Scott Joseph from the Orlando Sentinel.
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Wining through Epcot
Even without stinky cheese, the Epcot Food & Wine Fest offers ample choices.
By Scott Joseph | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted October 25, 2002
This is the seventh year that Walt Disney World has been offering the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, and each year there's always something a little different. This year, I'm sad to report, the stinky cheese is no longer available. But we'll come back to that. There's still plenty of tasty, if less aromatic, food to satisfy, and some interesting wines too.
The biggest difference I noticed while sipping and noshing my way around the World Showcase wasn't in the festival itself but rather in the goers. Everywhere I looked, I saw people perusing their fest guides trying to come up with a plan for which seminars to attend and which food and wine booths to visit.
That's no easy task. Not only are there myriad choices -- 11 to 13 seminars and culinary demonstrations daily -- but the guide is more confusing than it has been in years past. And what's even more annoying is that there's no way to know what seminar or demonstration is happening on which days until you get to the park and pick up a guide - or call ahead and have one delivered to you.
Once you have the guide, you have to do a lot of flipping through the pages, finding the right day on the listings, then cross-referencing the one-line listing corresponding to the time of day with the map indicating where the seminar or demonstration is taking place.
And don't think that you can just hop from one seminar to the next -- one may be clear across the World Showcase from the other.
I lucked out when I arrived at the park this week and found that a seminar on Champagne Pommery was about to take place. I lucked out further because the seminar was held in the Odyssey pavilion in glorious air-conditioning. Most of the other seminars and demonstrations are held outdoors or under open-air tents. And as long as that air that they're open to is still in the upper 80s, it can be pretty unpleasant.
But even without taking into consideration the added comfort of the cool air, the seminar was one of the better ones I've attended at the Epcot festival over the years. Pommery representative Fabian Gay gave a detailed talk on the Champagne region in general and a quick description of the various styles and methods of sparkling wines without taking for granted that the audience knew the information already and without talking down to them. Never mind that only one of the three samples he poured was worth drinking; it was a good seminar.
Some wine seminars and culinary demonstrations are held in a tented area designated "the terrace." There was a culinary demonstration on desserts with Daphne Higa of Trading Post Cafe in Rancha de Taos, N.M., but by the time my wine seminar was over and I made it over to "the terrace," stopping a couple of times to sample food and wine, the demonstration was under way. And under the hot sun. Thanks anyway.
There are a couple of other returning demonstrations this year: The History of Beer in America, sponsored by the Boston Beer Co., and From Vine to Wine, a presentation of the Robert Mondavi winery. The beer history lesson is in a beer garden set up next to the American Experience pavilion, which just sort of makes your chest swell with pride, and the Mondavi primer -- and we're talking real basics in this one -- is near the main entrance to the World Showcase. Those take place at regular intervals throughout the day, so you'll have plenty of opportunities to attend.
You should note, however, that all of these seminars and demonstrations are limited in size, so if there's something you want to attend, you'll have to get there well in advance -- 30 to 40 minutes for the popular ones -- and stand in line.
Of course, at the center of it all are the food and wine stands set up around the World Showcase, highlighting the cuisines and wines of the world. I had tasty food from the Ireland booth, which was serving boxty, a thick potato pancake, with corned beef, cabbage and cider cream sauce; potato and Dubliner cheese root vegetable cake; and toasted oatmeal and whiskey flan. Yum.
I was disappointed at the exclusion of Switzerland this year, and I hope it has nothing to do with the United Nations or anything like that. Switzerland's booth always had raclette, a heated smelly cheese usually served with dried beef. On second thought, I can see why it's gone.
But why did they feel they had to make room for the booth called "fresh from Florida"? I stopped by there to show my state support and had the grouper cake -- a drier, more flavorless puck you couldn't imagine. I would have ordered one of the wines they were serving, but they had only wines made with citrus. Yuck.
There are two major additions to the booths around the showcase, representing the Cape Region of South Africa and Andalucia, Spain. Both have walk-through displays with information about the country, region and food and drink specialties. The Andalucian display is impressively elaborate, a minipavilion that looks like a Spanish courtyard.
The South African booth will be serving Durban spiced chicken on a sugar cane skewer with white corn meal cake and curried meatloaf throughout the fest. From the Andalucian booth, I sampled veal on a rosemary skewer and octopus salad served on a purple potato. All of it was tasty.
By the way, all the sips and samples are priced separately, ranging from $1 to $4.50. And here's another change from years past: recipe cards for the foods being offered are no longer available at the individual booths. But if you stop by the Festival Welcome Center, you can pick up the recipe cards or request to have them mailed, conventionally or electronically,
In years past, each Saturday a grand tasting was held in the Odyssey space, which was woefully small to handle the mass of people. This year, the weekly event has been moved to the pavilion that was used for the millennium celebration in the World Showcase between Canada and Great Britain. It has been renamed Party for the Senses, and for the $79 fee, you get to attend the 5 p.m. performance of the Eat to the Beat concert series, eat and drink yourself silly until 9 p.m. and then watch Illuminations, the fireworks show.
There are other events, such as special winemaker dinners and vertical tastings, but they were virtually sold out before the event began and weren't even included in the official guide.
On top of everything else, admission to Epcot is required and that's $53 for adults. It isn't the cheapest wine event in the area, but it continues to be one of the most elaborate.
Now if the weather will just turn a little more autumnal, I'll be back out there again before it's all over Nov. 17.
For information, reservations to the Saturday Party for the Senses or to request a copy of the guide book, call 407-939-3378.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Wining through Epcot
Even without stinky cheese, the Epcot Food & Wine Fest offers ample choices.
By Scott Joseph | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted October 25, 2002
This is the seventh year that Walt Disney World has been offering the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, and each year there's always something a little different. This year, I'm sad to report, the stinky cheese is no longer available. But we'll come back to that. There's still plenty of tasty, if less aromatic, food to satisfy, and some interesting wines too.
The biggest difference I noticed while sipping and noshing my way around the World Showcase wasn't in the festival itself but rather in the goers. Everywhere I looked, I saw people perusing their fest guides trying to come up with a plan for which seminars to attend and which food and wine booths to visit.
That's no easy task. Not only are there myriad choices -- 11 to 13 seminars and culinary demonstrations daily -- but the guide is more confusing than it has been in years past. And what's even more annoying is that there's no way to know what seminar or demonstration is happening on which days until you get to the park and pick up a guide - or call ahead and have one delivered to you.
Once you have the guide, you have to do a lot of flipping through the pages, finding the right day on the listings, then cross-referencing the one-line listing corresponding to the time of day with the map indicating where the seminar or demonstration is taking place.
And don't think that you can just hop from one seminar to the next -- one may be clear across the World Showcase from the other.
I lucked out when I arrived at the park this week and found that a seminar on Champagne Pommery was about to take place. I lucked out further because the seminar was held in the Odyssey pavilion in glorious air-conditioning. Most of the other seminars and demonstrations are held outdoors or under open-air tents. And as long as that air that they're open to is still in the upper 80s, it can be pretty unpleasant.
But even without taking into consideration the added comfort of the cool air, the seminar was one of the better ones I've attended at the Epcot festival over the years. Pommery representative Fabian Gay gave a detailed talk on the Champagne region in general and a quick description of the various styles and methods of sparkling wines without taking for granted that the audience knew the information already and without talking down to them. Never mind that only one of the three samples he poured was worth drinking; it was a good seminar.
Some wine seminars and culinary demonstrations are held in a tented area designated "the terrace." There was a culinary demonstration on desserts with Daphne Higa of Trading Post Cafe in Rancha de Taos, N.M., but by the time my wine seminar was over and I made it over to "the terrace," stopping a couple of times to sample food and wine, the demonstration was under way. And under the hot sun. Thanks anyway.
There are a couple of other returning demonstrations this year: The History of Beer in America, sponsored by the Boston Beer Co., and From Vine to Wine, a presentation of the Robert Mondavi winery. The beer history lesson is in a beer garden set up next to the American Experience pavilion, which just sort of makes your chest swell with pride, and the Mondavi primer -- and we're talking real basics in this one -- is near the main entrance to the World Showcase. Those take place at regular intervals throughout the day, so you'll have plenty of opportunities to attend.
You should note, however, that all of these seminars and demonstrations are limited in size, so if there's something you want to attend, you'll have to get there well in advance -- 30 to 40 minutes for the popular ones -- and stand in line.
Of course, at the center of it all are the food and wine stands set up around the World Showcase, highlighting the cuisines and wines of the world. I had tasty food from the Ireland booth, which was serving boxty, a thick potato pancake, with corned beef, cabbage and cider cream sauce; potato and Dubliner cheese root vegetable cake; and toasted oatmeal and whiskey flan. Yum.
I was disappointed at the exclusion of Switzerland this year, and I hope it has nothing to do with the United Nations or anything like that. Switzerland's booth always had raclette, a heated smelly cheese usually served with dried beef. On second thought, I can see why it's gone.
But why did they feel they had to make room for the booth called "fresh from Florida"? I stopped by there to show my state support and had the grouper cake -- a drier, more flavorless puck you couldn't imagine. I would have ordered one of the wines they were serving, but they had only wines made with citrus. Yuck.
There are two major additions to the booths around the showcase, representing the Cape Region of South Africa and Andalucia, Spain. Both have walk-through displays with information about the country, region and food and drink specialties. The Andalucian display is impressively elaborate, a minipavilion that looks like a Spanish courtyard.
The South African booth will be serving Durban spiced chicken on a sugar cane skewer with white corn meal cake and curried meatloaf throughout the fest. From the Andalucian booth, I sampled veal on a rosemary skewer and octopus salad served on a purple potato. All of it was tasty.
By the way, all the sips and samples are priced separately, ranging from $1 to $4.50. And here's another change from years past: recipe cards for the foods being offered are no longer available at the individual booths. But if you stop by the Festival Welcome Center, you can pick up the recipe cards or request to have them mailed, conventionally or electronically,
In years past, each Saturday a grand tasting was held in the Odyssey space, which was woefully small to handle the mass of people. This year, the weekly event has been moved to the pavilion that was used for the millennium celebration in the World Showcase between Canada and Great Britain. It has been renamed Party for the Senses, and for the $79 fee, you get to attend the 5 p.m. performance of the Eat to the Beat concert series, eat and drink yourself silly until 9 p.m. and then watch Illuminations, the fireworks show.
There are other events, such as special winemaker dinners and vertical tastings, but they were virtually sold out before the event began and weren't even included in the official guide.
On top of everything else, admission to Epcot is required and that's $53 for adults. It isn't the cheapest wine event in the area, but it continues to be one of the most elaborate.
Now if the weather will just turn a little more autumnal, I'll be back out there again before it's all over Nov. 17.
For information, reservations to the Saturday Party for the Senses or to request a copy of the guide book, call 407-939-3378.
