Wine & Food Festival

 
*Photos: Burt Wolf & Kevin Zraly


8th ANNUAL SARATOGA WINE & FOOD FESTIVAL
September 4-6, 2008

Saratoga Wine & Food Festival delights oenophiles and epicures for three days and nights with dining, dancing to live music, decanting rare spirits, expert presentations about wine and food, live and silent auctions of luxuries, and a Grand Tasting of the world's greatest grapes.

The Honorary Chairs of this year's Festival are Sonny and Julie Bonacio from Bonacio Construction. Saratoga Performing Arts Center would like to thank the Bonacio's for their generous support. Additionally, Sonny and Julie have donated a Custom Built Wine Cellar (see photo above) for Saturday's Live Auction:

Custom Built Wine Cellar
" Three 48" wide x 54" tall wine storage cabinets, African mahogany hardwood construction. Each cabinet will hold 120 bottles of wine, top to be divided to receive display bottle and remainder of case to be stored in the below slots.
" One 36" wide x 54" tall wine bulk storage cabinet, African mahogany hardwood construction. Each of the six compartments will hold 12 bottles of wine, for a total of 72 bottles. Cabinets to receive hand applied oil finish.
" Grand Cru 4200 Wine Cellar Cooling Unit (Black) (Max Room Size = 1000 Cu Ft)
" One decorative fixture, allowance of $900.00.
" 8'-0" x 10'-0" Room, Framing, drywall, finished taping, one dimmer switch, and one ceiling fixture, painted floor and painted walls, ceiling to be 3/4" Doug Fir bead board, stained and finished.
" One entry door and hardware, allowance of $600.00.

www.bonacio.com

Wine & Food Festival - Dinners
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Special Festival menus are paired with superb wines for your enjoyment and education. Dinners are hosted by specially selected wineries giving you an opportunity to discuss fine dining and perfect wine accompaniments with food and wine experts.

The following restuarants have been confirmed for 2008:

  • 677 Prime/Clarendon Hills from Australia
$120.00/person All Inclusive/Menu
SOLD OUT

  • Prime at Saratoga National/Groth Vineyards Hosted by Sherry Lehman Wine and Spirits with Special Guests Andrew Groth and PBS Wine and Food Personality Burt Wolfe
$120.00/person All Inclusive/Menu
SOLD OUT

$120.00/person All Inclusive/Menu
SOLD OUT

$120.00/person All Inclusive/Menu

$120.00/person All Inclusive/Menu
SOLD OUT

$120.00/person All Inclusive/Menu

$120.00/person All Inclusive/Menu

To make reservations at any of these fine restuarants please call John Laura at 518.584.9330 x121

Wine & Food Festival - Live on Stage
Friday, September 5
An exclusive invitation to dine, dance to the smooth sounds of "Soul Session", decant rare wines, and bid on must-haves at silent and live auctions sponsored by Sherry-Lehmann, back-stage and on-stage in SPAC's amphitheatre.
  • Cocktail Attire
  • Valet Parking
  • Tickets are $150.00 per person
  • Festival Package also available at $200.00 per person. This includes tickets to both the Live on Stage and Grand Tasting events.

New this year
  • Premium Port Wines will host a port sampling station to accompany a wide array of desserts.
  • Enjoy Wine Cellar Sorbet's located in our dessert area, "The Adult Dessert for Sophisticated Palates".
  • Classic Martini Bar hosted by Opulent Vodka.

To make reservations for this event please call John Laura at 518.584.9330 x121

Wine & Food Festival - Grand Tasting
Saturday, September 6
  • Over 250 fine Wineries from around the globe
  • 25+ Restaurants and Specialty food venders provide tasting samples
  • Throughout the Grand Tasting, bid on luxuries, exceptional wines, jewelry, destination packages, and original art, at a silent auction.
  • Live Auction of Luxuries conducted by Kevin Zraly, founder of Windows on the World One-Hour Wine Expert, sponsored by Sherry-Lehmann. Bid on rare wines, objets d'art and extravagances. Items from past events include Knicks Tickets for the Sky Box at Madison Square Garden; custom cabinetry; rare wines and more.
  • Desserts and Champagne served during the Auction
  • Advance ticket purchase is recommended
  • Tickets are $80.00 per person, available through the SPAC Box Office or Ticketmaster.


Raffle Drawing
Win an extravagant week for four at Palazzo Santiterzi a magnificent 16th century hilltop house in Umbria, Italy. renovated for 21st century comfort, the Palazzo offers old-world charm with modern conveniences, including satellite television, internet access, swimming pool and breathtaking views of the countryside. Roundtrip airfare from New York, NY is included. Sales limited to 350 tickets at $100 each.Tickets will be available after March 15. The raffle winner must be at least 21, but need not be present to win. The drawing will take place on Saturday, September 6, at the Grand Tasting.
Ticket details: 518-584-9330 ext. 121 or E-mail jlaura@spac.org
For more Palazzo details:www.PalazzoSantiterzi.it
2008 Grand Tasting Event Participants:


For more information about the Saratoga Wine and Food Festival or to purchase tickets contact John Laura at jlaura@spac.org or 518.584.9330 ext. 121.

2008 Participating Wineries


Saturday SEMINARS

KEVIN & BURT EXPLORE ITALY
Kevin Zraly, master wine connoisseur and founder/author of the Windows on the World Complete Wine Course, along with Burt Wolf, TV personality/author and renowned cultural historian discuss Italian wines and the regions that they come from at this fun, educational seminar which includes tastings of 6 Italian wines. After the seminar, attendees are encouraged to test their newly acquired knowledge by visiting the Grand Tasting tent and sampling the many wines from around the world, and bidding on some of the exceptional vintages at the Silent and Live Auctions.

Seminar to be held at 12:30PM in the seminar tent adjacent to the Grand Tasting Tent on SPAC grounds. Admission Cost $25.00
Tickets still available. Contact John Laura 518.584.9330 X121.
Or purchase online through Ticketmaster.
Underwritten by Citi/Smith Barney

Kevin Zraly Official Website
Burt Wolf Offical website


EATING FRESH AND LOCAL THROUGHOUT ALL FOUR SEASONS
seminar by Kirk Childress of H Childress and Sons

Eating fresh, healthy, and phenomenal food all year round is the right way to eat and it is very possible. We all know the glory of picking fruit from the tree when it's ripe, with its juices and nutrients filling our bodies. And we all know the taste of fruit that has been shipped across interstates in plastic containers. We naturally understand and know the greatness of fresh, real food, but we tend to think it is only available in the peak summer season. This seminar sets out to show the bounty and the availability of our region throughout all four seasons.

Seminar to be held at 2:00PM on the South Portico-Open to all Grand Tasting Ticketholders


SLOW FOOD USA - MAINTAINING AND RENEWING OF AMERICAS FOOD TRADITIONS
Presented by John M. Sconzo, Culinary Writer, Photographer and Food Enthusiast. This talk will concentrate on the ways food producers, chefs and consumers come together to develop and promote conservation strategies, sustainable food production and awareness of the endangered food and farming traditions of the United States. The Ark of Taste and Presidia programs identify high-quality, traditional foods in danger of extinction and promote them in the marketplace. Through partnerships with farmers, fishers, breeders and artisans these projects also offer promotional and technical assistance.

Seminar to be held at 3:00PM on the South Portico-Open to all Grand Tasting Ticketholders