Last year I attended my first Asheville Wine & Food Festival as a VIP attendee at the Grand Tasting. This year I am excited to be a part of the official media team covering SWEET on Friday, August 23 and the Grand Tasting on Saturday, August 24.
The Asheville Wine & Food Festival began in 2007 as a celebration of “all that’s worth savoring in the Blue Ridge Mountains.” In its seventh year, next week’s festival is presented by EDISON at The Omni Grove Park Inn and has grown to four events, which include:
WNC Chefs Challenge – An Iron Chef-style competition for the title of Best Chef in Western North Carolina, with semifinal challenges to be held next week at Pack’s Tavern and the finale at The Grand Tasting on Saturday, August 24.
Elixir – A mixology competition and libations at The Venue, which will include craft spirits from North Carolina distilleries such as Troy & Sons Moonshine (Asheville), Cardinal Gin (Southern Artisan Spirits, Kings Mountain), and Carriage House Apple Brandy (Carolina Distillers, Lenoir).
SWEET – Billed as a “decadent evening of desserts,” local bakers, chocolatiers, pâtissiers, wine vendors, and distillers will offer irresistible pairings in the Grove Arcade, which will be open late for your shopping, sipping, and noshing pleasure.
The Grand Tasting – The culmination of the festival at the U.S. Cellular Center, which includes 125 local, regional, and international wine distributors and vintners, artisan food producers, chefs, cookbook authors, farmers, craft brewers, and distillers. A list of participants can be found here.
The good news is that tickets are still available at this link, so I hope you will join me next week for this year’s festival! Cheers!
Can’t wait for you to stop by the English Farmstead Cheese tent and sample our aged cheddars, cheddar curds and soft cow’s milk spreads!
I will absolutely stop by! I love cheese and dairy!