September 25-28, 2008

Presenting Sponsor:

Guided Tastings/ Wine & Food Pairings

Travel around the world and visit the greatest wine producing regions without leaving Newport, by attending any of the multi-level Guided Tastings offered over the weekend.  Led by industry experts, the sessions are designed for both the curious new wine drinker and the most seasoned connoisseur.

In addition to the Guided Tastings, several Wine & Food Pairing sessions are scheduled with chefs, cookbook authors and other instructors. 

All Guided Tastings and Wine & Food Pairings have an additional fee, and advance reservations are required.  You do not have to purchase a ticket to the Grand Tasting in order to purchase a ticket to any of the seminars, with the exception of the "One Hour Wine Expert" with Kevin Zraly on Saturday, September 27, which is sold only as a package.  Prices and times of sessions vary.  See below.


                                             Preliminary Seminar Schedule

Please check back for complete details of all seminars.    Tickets for these sessions will be on sale soon.


Friday, September 26



11 am to 1 pm
Rosecliff Cooking Pavilion

Cheese and Wine Pairings
Ihsan Gurdal, Formaggio Kitchens, Cambridge, MA

Take a cheese tour of the Piedmont and Lombardy regions of Italy with Ihsan. Northern Italy is one of the most prolific cheese producing regions in Italy with a large diversity of milk types, styles, and flavor profiles.  We work directly with producers, selectors and agers who send us the exquisite results of their labors.  Formaggio Kitchen acts as the exclusive importer on many of these cheeses as well as numerous other products specifically selected for their natural pairing abilities.  On this tour we will sample a range of robiolas, Taleggio and Gorgonzola as well as several more obscure handcrafted specialties.  Each cheese will be paired with accompaniments ranging from the traditional Piedmontese cugnà to hand-made organic apricot confettura.     $50 per person

Noon to 1 pm
Rosecliff Lecture Tent

A Look at New Zealand Pinot Noir
George Geris and Stuart Devine, Villa Maria Estate

What are the main characteristics to look for? Concentration, complexity, intense aromas, silky texture, seduction and elegance are a few qualities to be discussed.  How does New Zealand achieve this?  Site selection, international viticultural leadership, green priorities and sustainability, small batch winemaking and keeping the process as natural as possible are the methods reviewed. Throughout the discussion, taste some of the best Pinot Noirs New Zealand has to offer from the award-winning winery of Villa Maria Estate.
$40 per person

1 pm to 2 pm
Rosecliff Cooking Pavilion   
                                                                     
A Taste of New England
Annie Copps, Food Editor, Yankee Magazine

Join Annie as she demonstrates how to make some of New England's most loved foods:  lobster rolls, oysters, and clam chowder.  Helen Gallo from Winebow will join Annie to pair these dishes with some exciting Italian wines. $40 per person
                                                                                             
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2 pm to 3 pm
Rosecliff Lecture Tent

Building a Montalcino Super Tuscan-The Making of a Masterpiece
William Whiting, Banfi Vintners

Enjoy a unique tasting of varietal component to understand how they harmonize in the Montalcino  Super Tuscan cuvees Cum Laude, SummuS and ExcelsuS from the Castello Banfi Vineyard Estate in Montalcino.  Experience a rare, first-hand look at the result of three decades of research and study by Castello Banfi together with the universities of Milan and Pisa, including clonal development of the Sangiovese grape, perhaps best known for the region's Brunello wine but a key component in the mirror "Sant'Antimo DOC" denomination.   $40 per person

3 pm to 4 pm
Rosecliff Cooking Pavilion 
                                                                     
America at a Turning Point: Authentic Italian Products
vs. Imitation Products
Julia della Croce, Italian chef and cookbook author

Julia della Croce is a journalist, award-winning author of eleven Italian cookbooks, chef and noted authority on Italian food.  The genuine products originate in many regions of Italy and will represent many producers whose high quality appellation products will include cheeses, salumi, conserved tomatoes, dried pasta and other foods. A comparative tasting of authentic Italian versus imitation Italian food products will follow. 
$40 per person

Presented by

Saturday, September 27

10 am to 11 am
Rosecliff Lecture Tent

Explore 2004 Chateauneuf-du-Pape With Alain Junguenet
Alain Junguenet and John Junguenet, Wines of France, Inc.

There is a good reason that Rhone fanatic Robert Parker declared Alain Junguenet "Mr. Chateauneuf-du-Pape":  Alain is a longtime devotee of the region and its wines.  His company, Wines of France, represents many of this southern Rhone appellation's top estates.  The region's vineyards produce rich, complex, excellent red wines that perfectly match the robust flavors of the local cuisine.  All in all, the southern Rhone is a historic, architectural and gastronomic showcase.  Enjoy a tasting tour of 2004 Chateauneuf-du-pape with Alain and his son John, and taste eleven different wines from their portfolio.  Wines include Bosquet des Papes 'Tradition' 2004, Clos des Brusquieres 2004, Domaine de la Cote del l'Ange 'Tradition' 2004, Chateau Fortia 'Tradition' 2004, Domaine Moulin-Tacussel 2004, Domaine des Relagnes 'Tradition' 2004, Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils 'Tradition' 2004, Cuvee du Vatican 'Tradition' 2004, Le Vieux Donjon 2004, Clos des Papes 2004, and one other surprise vintage.    $40 per person

10:30 am to 11:30 am
Marble House Celebrity Chef Cooking Tent   
                            
The Many Expressions of Cabernet Sauvignon
Gloria Maroti Frazee, Wine Spectator, and Doug Fletcher, Terlato Wines International

Cabernet Sauvignon is the key grape in some of the world's greatest wines.  Learn the keys to great Cabernet as you taste through a range of Cabs--including the big and bold, the eloquent and balanced, as well as masterful blends.  Taste wines from Napa Valley, with side trips to Sonoma County and South Africa. 
$40 per person

Presented by

11 am to 12 pm
Marble House Terrace      
                                                                  
A Taste of Italy with Kevin Zraly
Kevin Zraly, Windows on the World Wine School

Sample the remarkable wines produced from the different regions of Italy with an informative and entertaining wine tasting including Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montelpulciano, Brunello di Montalcino, Barbera, Barolo, Barbaresco, and Amarone.  You'll laugh and learn during this fun tasting tour of Italy.

This session sold ONLY as a special combo ticket with the Saturday Grand Tasting--Save $20 on the package.

Preservation Society Members                $100 per person
General admission thru September 15    $115 per person
General admission after September 15   $125 per person

Presented by

$60 per person

Presented by

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This special wine tasting seminar is dedicated to the wines and producers that inspired Italian Wine Merchants (IWM) owner, Sergio Esposito, to write his new book, Passion on the Vine: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Family in the Heart of Italy. Bill Buford describes the memoir as “the best book about Italian wine today," and it’s the perfect summer read, integrating wine, food, and Italian culture in an engaging, accessible style.  Author Sergio Esposito will lead the tasting, retracing his footsteps through Piemonte’s rustic landscape to the rolling hills of Toscana to the volcanic soil of Campania. Included are selections from Movia, Biondi-Santi, Mastroberardino, and Barolo from its rising star, Anselma, completing our book-to-wine experience.
$40 per person

Sunday, September 28



10 am to 11 am
Rosecliff Lecture Tent

The One Hour Wine Expert
Kevin Zraly, founder & instructor, Windows on the World Wine School and author of the Windows on the World Complete Wine Course

Noted author and lecturer Kevin Zraly leads his highly acclaimed one-hour, fast-paced, action-packed wine seminar.  Zraly, often called the "one man Cirque due Soleil" takes you on a tasting tour of Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon wines.  Join him for this extraordinary opportunity to learn first-hand from the "one hour wine expert." 

Sunday Seminar only:  $50 per person

Special combo ticket- Sunday seminar plus Sunday Grand Tasting, save $20 on the package.
Preservation Society Members             $ 90
General admission thru September 1    $105
General admission after September 1   $115

Grapes and Italy have been a match made in heaven since before the good citizens of Rome worshipped Bacchus and Cupid.  Today, Italy resembles one endless vineyard. The vines stretch across a range of climates, from the slopes of the Alps in the north down to the island of Sicily off the tip of the Italian boot, producing more than 300 different wines in 20 distinct regions.  What makes Italian wines so exciting? Why are they coming on so strong and offering such great value? What are some key regions and how are they distinct? What are the different styles you can expect to find?  In this seminar, you won't sample all 300+ wines, but you will answer these questions --and more-- as you taste wines from some of our favorite Italian regions. We'll start in the north with a pair of crisp whites from Trentino-Alto-Adige, then we'll head west to Piedmont and south to Tuscany for pairs of velvety reds, and we'll wine-d down in Sicily, where anything goes.
$40 per person


Presented by

11 am to 12 pm
Rosecliff Cooking Pavilion

Beyond Pizza and Lasagna

Perhaps no region of Italy contributed as much to what was to become Italian-American food as the region of Campania and particularly its capital, Naples. This fertile area of the Mezzogiono gave us such popular and well-known foods as pizza and Lasagne Carnevale—housewives' dishes. Less familiar are the more sophisticated, yet easy-to-make dishes of the  aristocratic legacy that is part of Campania’s bountiful culinary heritage.  In this seminar, Nancy Verde Barr will demonstrate a Neapolitan wild mushroom soup enriched with an egg and cheese liaison, slow roasted herbed tomatoes and a baked meat roll filled with sautéed spinach, prosciutto, pine nuts and olives. To top it off—a delicious cherry chocolate ricotta cake in the noblest Neapolitan tradition.  
$40 per person

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