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Travel: Carolina Wine Festivals Promise Tasteful Opportunities

By Kathy Newbern and J.S. Fletcher,

The Raleigh Telegram Travel Correspondents

Monday, August 2, 2010

PINEHURST, NC - Raise a glass to North and South, a wine glass, that is. And you can do so in style at two outstanding wine festivals, one in Pinehurst, North Carolina; the other in Greenville, South Carolina. Both are in September.

While Pinehurst’s annual Labor Day Food and Wine Festival will celebrate its 22nd year from September 2nd - 6th, a South Carolina event called Euphoria will host its 5th such event from September 23rd - 26th.

Each brings a barrel full of opportunities to taste the fruit of vineyards from around the world.

Pinehurst centers its activities at the resort with wine and food seminars, lavish tastings and gala dinners. Euphoria leans toward a philanthropic mission accomplished through food, wine, and music events spread over downtown Greenville locations.

You can’t go wrong on either side of the Carolinas’ border.

Pinehurst Stresses Learning, Fun

We’ve sampled Pinehurst’s wine festival several times, enjoying each year’s rendition because of the great learning opportunities – the wine seminars are stellar – along with fun events from wine tastings and luncheons to a black-tie gala dinner.

Said Pinehurst food and beverage director Ed Peckels, “We have embraced this year’s theme - Old World vs. New, Modern vs. Traditional - in new and unexpected ways. In the historic setting of the resort, we bring new age cooking techniques, new world wines, and very modern techniques to both food and wine.”

Aiding in that endeavor is standout Executive Chef Thierry Debailleul, a native of France.

“I enjoy so many different cultures and so many different cuisines,” said Debailleul. “I like to give food a really unique look - eclectic, clean and above all, really appetizing.” And, of course, pairing his creations with wine.

The Pinehurst event begins September 2nd with the Festival Focus Wine Competition, in which wine experts and guests have equal votes in determining best-in-class in Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

New this year will be a North Carolina-specific category, as well.

Wine Fest Central is registration desk and marketplace where 100-or-so labels are displayed and for sale at festival-only prices.

Luis Torres, co-founder of Constellation’s Academy of Wine, will return as Master of Ceremonies, leading an all-star lineup of 13 seminars.

He’ll officially toast the festival at Friday Night’s Wine in the New Age food and wine extravaganza by sabering a bottle of champagne. The tradition of using a saber to slice open a bottle is traced to the time of French soldiers in the field. Torres does it with flair and always to much applause.

Seminar topics this year range from “Food and Wine Pairing” to “New Age Wines” to “French Wine Made New” to “Argentina’s Malbec.”

Scott Daniel, wine expert from Charlotte’s Blue Restaurant, will present “Hip Summer Sips,” while Lawrence Lohr of J Lohr Winery presents the “New Central Coast Vineyards of California.”

Saturday’s Wine Luncheon offers tastes of the Old World, and Sunday’s Ultimate Brunch will leave little room for dessert.

But perhaps the star of the weekend will be Saturday evening’s Prestige Dinner -- limited to the first 24 who respond -- featuring Schramsberg, the chief sparkling wine from the Napa Valley that has been served in the White House for more than 50 years.

The Grand Gourmet Gala Saturday evening features a gourmet, four-course formal dinner, with each course prepared by a different presenting chef and paired with vintage wine. It includes live music and dancing.

Sunday evening’s Taste of the South finishes the event, with Carolina chefs, a garden of state-bottled wines, over 24 tables of international wines, and a silent auction to benefit local charities.

Details: Pinehurst’s Food and Wine Festival starts at $292 per person per night for all events – or local guests can purchase individual event tickets starting at $30.

American Airlines is a sponsor, offering discounted fares for Food and Wine Fest travelers, and discounts on shipping wines home.

For more, visit www.pinehurstwinefest.com or call 800-487-4653 for reservations.

South of the Border, Get Euphoric

Promoted as “the Southeast’s premiere pairing of good food, wine and music,” we can testify we found all three elements in abundance at our first Euphoria, a casual, downtown-wide event in Greenville, SC. This year’s festival will be held September 23rd -26th.

Euphoria is very much a community event, organized and presented by the non-profit Local Boys Do Good (LBDG), co-founded by national award-winning singer-songwriter Edwin McCain and restaurateur Carl Sobocinski.

All net proceeds are distributed by LBDG through direct grants to other charities, mostly in upstate South Carolina, that focus on providing sustenance to those in need (food, hunger and health), educating (through music, performing arts or otherwise), or supporting children.

Euphoria’s also been very successful in promoting tourism to this up-and-coming culinary and performing arts destination, thanks in part to McCain splitting his time between his singing career and this event.

As of deadline, guest chefs for this year’s lineup include:

- Mike Lata, FIG, Charleston, SC

- David Guas, Damgoodsweet, Washington, DC

- Chris Hastings, Hot and Hot Fish Club, Birmingham, AL

- Bryan Voltaggio, VOLT, Frederick, MD (and Top Chef fame)

- Kevin Rathbun, Rathbun Steak, Atlanta, GA;

- Justin Bogle, Gilt, New York City

- Michael Kramer, Voice Restaurant, Houston, TX.

Here’s the Euphoria schedule:

• Thursday, September 23rd - Singer and Songwriter Event at the Upstate Children’s Museum featuring and others in a roundtable, open discussion about the writing process, plus live acoustic performances throughout the evening.

• Friday, September 24th - Taste of the South held under the stars downtown alongside the Reedy River. McCain, Grammy winner Shawn Colvin, and others perform. A full array of Southern dishes from a selection of the Upstate's finest restaurants will be served plus wine, beer and soft drinks. (“Upstate” is the region that includes Greenville.)

• Saturday, September 25th - The Tasting Showcase, Wine Seminars and Cooking Demonstrations take place all through the day. Participants will be able to sip, sample, and taste wines and food as they also learn how the chefs and vintners do what they do.

Saturday morning kicks off with acclaimed chefs, local culinary stars, master sommeliers and musicians sharing insights on their craft through seminars and culinary demonstrations complemented with live musical performances.

The Tasting Showcase features a Grand Wine Tasting, gourmet food sampling and has numerous lifestyle and cooking resources on display.

Saturday night features wine dinners all around town as guest and local chefs and winemakers combine their talents to host multi-course dinners at select downtown restaurants.

• Sunday, September 26th - Enjoy the Jazz Brunch, which is a New Orleans-style brunch buffet featuring dishes from nearly 20 local restaurants and live jazz music from Walter Blanding, Mark Rapp and others.

Plus there’s a Culinary Cook-off where competing chefs participate in multiple sessions of entertaining and educational live cooking demonstrations, while musicians display their talents as well.

Details: Visit www.euphoriagreenville.com, or call 864-233-5663. Tickets for the VIP Package, $795, which includes the BMW Mini Driving experience; Weekend Pass, $220; individual events, $100-125, except the Sunday Jazz Brunch and Culinary Cook-Off, which is $45 for adults and $15 for children.

Wine, food and music, in North Carolina, South Carolina, or anywhere, leads to a good time.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Raleigh-based, award-winning freelance travel journalists Kathy M. Newbern and J.S. Fletcher often incorporate their travels into their other business, www.YourNovel.com, where they put you and your sweetie in your own personalized romance novel "wild" or "mild." They are also the creators of the award-winning travel blog/podcast/radio report, www.YourSpaReport.com.

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