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Tuesday, May 22, 2007
The mystery and intrigue of next month’s super-secret VineFest
First, thank YOU for all of the comments on Sunday’s Fleurs de Fete. I directed some of your questions about single-tent gridlock to Fleurs organizers, and you can see their response here.
Now, we turn our attention forward, starting with the National City Ohio Wine Fest to be held June 1-2 at the Second Street Market in good ol’ downtown Dayton.
But there’s another local wine festival approaching fast, and it’s a mystery wrapped in an enigma.
My Fraze Pavilion program lists a “Festival of the Vine: Fine Wine and Cool Jazz” event from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday, June 24. “Sample wines from all over the world,” the program says, invitingly. “Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, as well as U.S. wineries from California, Ohio and Washington State!”
Am I, like, the last person on earth who hasn’t heard of this event? Can anybody tell me more about it?
Click on “Continue reading” for a recap of the Fleurs — including some comments about the wines and the auction bidding.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
Here’s a draft version of a wine column scheduled to run in Friday’s Dayton Daily News — but because you’re special, you get the “exclusive” …. Your thoughts?
Sunday’s Fleurs de Fete attracted near-record crowds of more than 1,500 well-fed — if occasionally cramped — attendees.
Oh yeah, there were plenty of wines there, too.
The Dayton area’s premier wine-and-food event was a smashing success for the charity organization that benefits: the Wellness Connection of the Dayton Region, formerly the Dayton Area Heart and Cancer Association. Advance ticket sales (at $50) were brisk, but walk-ups who paid $60 also helped swell the ranks — and the charity’s ledgers. A gorgeous spring afternoon that defied weather forecasts helped bring out a crowd of last-minute deciders who made trip to Carillon Park. And the live auction spurred spirited — make that very spirited — bidding, to occasionally stratospheric heights.
The Fleurs de Fete attracted a record 26 restaurants this year, and collectively, they delivered. Many restaurant owners rightfully view the festival as a chance to impress potential customers, and they came from as far away as Sidney to do just that.
Among the highlights: TomKatz in Springboro put out quite a spread — multiple selections that could have been a small meal unto itself, while they lasted (and the restaurant brought 1,750 servings): Baby Octopus Salad, Crispy Chorizo Sausage Mezzaluna, Lobster Empanada, Smoked Mussel and Serrano Ham Fritters, Gazpacho, and Lemon Artichokes and Olives.
From Sidney, Toone P. Wiggins provided Mini Crabcakes with Mustard Aioli that generated some raves, as did the sliced beef tenderloin in a creamy sauce flavored with goat cheese and bacon offered up by Carver’s, in Washington Twp. Bahn Mai Thai Cafe in Washington Twp. cleansed some palates with Panang curry shrimp and mango salad, while the Peerless Mill in Miamisburg helped attendees put down a good base for wine-tasting with Portobello-stuffed ravioli with creamy crab alfredo sauce. And there were 21 more selections.
The wines were interesting and varied. As the afternoon sun heated things up inside the large tent, the German rieslings started tasting better. The 2005 vintage in Germany speaks to my soul — or at least it did on this particular Sunday afternoon, from producers such as Richter to Zilliken to Monchhof to Bert Simon. Among the many impressive reds was one of Ohio’s very own, the 2004 Kinkead Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon, poured by the winery’s owners, Ron Barrett and Nancy Bentley.
Here’s what Bentley had to say to Uncorked, the wine web page on our very own DaytonDailyNews.com: “This is the first time we poured at the Fleur. I thought the venue, food and music (and weather) were wonderful. The wine selection was impressive, whether you’re into the sweetest Riesling or heavy reds. … I thought everything went off flawlessly. Clearly the guests were having a happy experience. Great value for the admission price.”
Many of the patrons agreed. First-time Fleurs de Fete attendee Lisa told Uncorked that the festival was “an awesome chance to try some great wines and help a local charity. The food was spectacular and worth at the admission price alone. I definitely would attend this event again.”
Still, the event shows signs of becoming a victim of its own success. Uncorked reader Bruce said, “… the large crowd was horrible, especially for the first hour. It was a claustrophobic atmosphere, and I was uncomfortable being bumped into and pushed around. … I was frustrated by the difficulty in locating the food and wines that I wanted to try. Finding a particular wine or winery was like looking for a needle in a haystack. …
“As the crowd inside the tent thinned out at around 3 p.m. or so, I was able to move about freely. Much good food and wine remained to enjoy, although most of the high end wines were long gone. The Fleurs de Fete is a wonderful event, but it has become so large that it is not as enjoyable as the days when the event was smaller … Perhaps the organizers might want to consider a second tent … .”
I posed that question to Lynda Weide, vice president at the Wellness Connection, who said the existing large tent with the tables and chairs represent the festival¹s single largest expense, of more than $10,000. A second tent would certainly add to the expense. But Weide said organizers will consider all options for next year.
For an event that turned sweet 16 this year, the Fleurs de Fete continues to grow and prosper, and despite the occasional inconveniences, it continues to be a very fine way to spend a Sunday afternoon in May.
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