Media Event
Who doesn't love Wine Cheese and Chocolate?
I know, right?
So when the Coastal Wine Trail contacted me about their Third Annual Wine Cheese and Chocolate Festival, you know I was on board! The Coastal Wine Trail is a member of the Southeastern New England American Viticultural Appellation (SENE AVA) that encompasses Cape Cod through the South Coast of Massachusetts and Coastal Rhode Island and Coastal Connecticut. This year the SENE AVA is celebrating 30 years of wine making!
The region boasts a close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and coastline giving it warmer waters from Gulf breezes in the summer and fall. Known as a cool grape growing region, the climate is perfect for superb white and sparkling wines.
Wine purveyors included Connecticut's Stonington Vineyards, Massachusett's Westport Rivers, Coastal Vineyards, Running Brook Vineyards, Travessia Winery, and Truro Vineyards. Rhode Island's Lanworthy Farm & Winery, Newport Vineyards, Greenvale Vineyards, and Carolyn's Sakonnet Vineyard.
Of course we paired our wine with some cheese! I absolutely loved the savory cheesecakes from Wicked Kickin'. They come in a wide variety of flavors, but the two I sampled were a Buffalo Chicken and The New Beige. Both were fantastic, with a nice heat. Yup!!! They were Wicked Kickin'!
I also stopped at everybody's favorite Cabot Cheese Creamery, who were offering a nice pepperjack. We learned that naturally aged cheddar cheese is Gluten Free and Lactose-Free!
After all that heat, it was time to move on to the chocolate portion of the festival. YUM! Look at the offerings from Brigadeiro Barn Truffles and Dorothy Cox Chocolates!
I also loved the custom made copper pizza oven and the gourmet pizzas that were available from the Gilded Tomato Company, a mobile artisan wood-fired pizza catering company.
I loved walking through the festival and seeing EVERYONE having a great time. It was a beautiful New England day and everyone was enjoying both the weather, the atmosphere, and the fine wines, cheeses, and chocolates. Here's one group who were celebrating a friend's birthday at the festival!
This year's event was offered in three sessions at the Westport MA Fairgrounds.
Session 1: 11am-1:30pm
Session 2: 2:30pm-5pm
Session 3: 6pm-8:30pm
Other vendors at the event included organic coffee roasters, honeys and jams, artisan imported olive oils, and several local bakeries.
The Coastal Wine Trail offers many monthly events. Check their website often for upcoming events. If you have the chance, take their passport tour of the Coastal Wine Trail's vineyards which winds through the heart of the Southeastern New England AVA. Make a mini-vacation of it and spend two to three days traveling through historic cities and charming New England villages and visit the nine locally owned wineries that call this beautiful region home.
For more information log on to the Coastal Wine Trail at http://www.coastalwinetrail.com/
For more pictures visit the Home Place facebook page HERE and while you're there don't forget to "like" us!
Have you been to a wine fest recently?
Or visited a wine trail?
I'd love to hear about it in the comment section below!
I enjoyed trying wines from a variety of vineyards around New England. It would be a fun summer adventure to go visit all of them.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly would make a fun weekend getaway or daytrip!
DeleteLooks like a fun afternoon!
ReplyDeleteJessie, it was a wonderfully informational event. Great to meet the local vineyard operators and find out about each wine.
Delete