Epcot Food and Wine Festival

2010 marks the 15^th year of the Epcot Food & Wine Festival. The festival runs from Oct. 1 until Nov. 14^th. There are many extra events that you can pay for and attend. If you pay the normal Epcot entrance fee, then you can walk up to any booth and purchase either a small food sampling or specialty drink.

The best place to start your day at the Food and Wine Festival is at the Festival Welcome Center. The center has a nice gift shop, wine shop, and areas for wine and culinary demonstrations.We started in the Festival center with a glass of Prosecco.

After leaving the festival center, we started walking around the world marketplace. I started with the Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce and Bonaito Puree. ($4.75) This was paired with a Bodega Norton Reserva Malbec. ($4.00) This pairing was really great. That was the largest pour of wine that I received all day long.

My friend tried the Medianoche Sanwich from the Puerto Rico stand. This was pretty much like a Cuban sandwich.

The next stop was Mexico where I had a Taco de Chilorio. This was basically a pork taco with some cheese and onions. The pork in the taco had great flavoring. While we were hanging outside in Mexico, we listened to a mariachi band.

The picture below is of the Nurnberger Sausage in a Pretzel Roll, which is offered at the Germany food stand.

Next we continued to the food stand in America. We ordered Sam Adams Octoberfest beers, crab cake with slaw, and bison chili. The bison chili was really great but for $3.50 a cup they could use larger cups. It looks larger in the picture than it is.

After this, we went to see Sugar Ray play at the outdoor theater. Yes, Sugar Ray. I went to see Sugar Ray in 1999 at the House of Blues in Orlando. I was still in high school!! The band still has it though. They rocked the Epcot Food and Wine Festival.

I like the guy there in the front who isn't even looking at Mark McGrath. Lol, he is just enjoying his beer.

Next, we headed to France and had some wine in the wine shop. I had a glass of the Chateau Bonnet Reserve Red. This is a blend of 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon. I kind of really like this wine. Some Bordeaux blends are too tannic for me. This wasn't. This wine is also inexpensive, in the world of Bordeaux.

Our final savory stop on this day of too much food and wine was at the Australia stand. I had to order the grilled lamb chop with roasted potato salad and red wine reduction. I paired this with the Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet. They also had the Marquis Philips, Shiraz. Chris Ringland makes the Marquis Philips and word on the street is his wine company is in trouble...grab up any of his wines now before they quit making them.

Back to the food...the lamb was AWESOME. I wish they gave you more. The dish cost $5.75 for the lamb chop and $2.50 for the wine. (that was a good deal for the wine)

After this, we headed to Canada and caught the band, Off Kilter. These guys are great.

Our last stop at Epcot was for dessert. We shared the Nanaimo bar which is a layered treat of graham crust, coconut, peanut butter, and chocolate. Amazing. We had a big day of food and wine. I love this festival!!! If you wish to learn more about Disney events, then check out the Disney Food Blog.