Westchester Magazine’s 10th annual Wine & Food Festival was held on September 21-25. It was five days of a couple of wine dinners, a Burger & Beer Bash, Party on the Pier and lastly, their signature event, the Grand Tasting Village on Saturday, September 25th.
Last years event, which normally took place in June was, not surprisingly, cancelled so I was happy to see that they decided to bring the event back this year.
I was worried that they might have scaled back the scope of the event but when but when I arrived, I was happily surprised to see that they did not. In fact it seemed like they had double the amount of spirits represented this year than at the last event. As usual they had a roped off Connoisseurs tent that featured high end wines not available in General Admission area. I remember being disappointed in the wine selection in that Connoisseurs tent at the last event but they made up for it this year, there was some very nice juice to sample this time.
As in the past, the event was held outdoors under the tents at Kensico Damn Plaza which is a few minutes walk from the Valhalla Metro North train station. That’s a leisurely 50-60 minute train ride from Grand Central Terminal and it was a beautiful late Summer afternoon for a ride to the country.
I think that this is one of the better consumer wine events to attend. It’s at a great venue with tasty food to sample and copious international wines to drink for the General Admission ticket holders.
Wines I sampled in the Connoisseurs tent:
| NV Moet & Chandon Grand Vintage Champagne | 2017 Vincent Giradin Chassagne-Montrachet |
| 2018 Robert Mondavi Reserve Chardonnay | 2015 Robert Mondavi Reserve Fume Blanc |
| 2017 Tablas Creek Esprit Blanc | 2018 Penner-Ash Estate Pinot Noir |
| 2015 Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon Sycamore Vineyard | 2016 Louis Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Rosso Vineyard |
| 2018 Pahlmeyer Cabernet Sauvignon “Jayson” | 2018 Mt. Veeder Winery Cabernet Sauvignon |
| 2015 Brewer-Clifton Pinot Noir “Machado” | 2017 Newton Unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon |
| 2018 Lucienne Pinot Noir | 2018 Orin Swift Papillon Red Blend |
| 2017 Booker Oublie Grenache Blend | 2018 Caymus-Suisun Grand Durif |
| 2018 Chateau La Gaffeliere | 2019 Caymus Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon |
| 2017 Castello Banfi Summus Toscana | 2016 Castello Banfi Excelsus Toscana |
| 2016 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino | 2016 Mastroberadino Taurasi Radici |
| 2016 Castello Banfi Poggio Alle Mura Brunello di Montalcino | 2018 Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino |
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