The Beaufort Wine Food Celebration, a five-day event that showcases beverages and cuisine, makes its way to the Crystal Coast for the 11th straight year.
Foodies, wine and spirits-lovers alike are invited to purchase tickets to each of the festival’s variety of events scheduled from Wednesday-Sunday, April 22-26.
The celebration will feature crowd pleasers such as dinners at high-end restaurants paired with wine wines, seminars, tastings, luncheons and more.
Many of the celebration’s events have undergone upgrades from past year’s that should rate higher with attendees. One main change is the location for the festival’s main attraction, the Vin de Mer Epicurean Village, to Front Street Village, held from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, April 25. It was previously at the N.C. Maritime Museum’s Gallants Channel Annex.
The new event venue will showcase more than 300 wines and hors d’oeuvres prepared by local and regional restaurants and allow room for a second tasting tent exclusively for North Carolina products from Got to be NC Agriculture, a division of the N.C. Department of Agriculture.
The tent will host more than 20 vendors from throughout the state ranging from gourmet bakeries, vineyards and wineries to barbecue marinades, honey, produce and much more.
Tickets to the Saturday event cost $65 per person and include cooking demonstrations from select chefs including:
•1:15 p.m. – Lionel Vatinent of La Farm Bakery, Cary.
•2 p.m. Jeremy Law of SoCo, Wilson.
•2:45 p.m. Jason Smith of 18 Seaboard, Raleigh.
•3:30 p.m. Tom Meyer of Q-Shack, Raleigh.
Vin De Mer Epicurean Village is sponsored by Emerald Isle Realty and will host a variety of local and famed vendors. For a listing of vendors, visit www.beaufortwineandfood.com.
Front Street Village will continue to host events Saturday evening for one of the festival-favorite’s Beer, Bubbles BBQ, allowing room for more guests to enjoy the fun brought by several famed pit masters combined with live entertainment and a nice variety offered from several breweries along with the featured champagne from Domain Chandon. Alex Brett of Morehead City will bring desserts for the event that costs $70 per person and will be held from 7:30-10:30 p.m. Saturday, April 25.
Not only will Beer, Bubbles BBQ guests be treated to plenty of barbecue, but also seafood and more brought in by food trucks in addition to many varieties of craft beers and sparkling wines. Dark Water Rising will provide live music entertainment.
Lindsay Parker, executive director of the nonprofit organization, shared that BWF couldn’t be more excited about the change in venues.
“We are thrilled to move our Vin de Mer and Beer, Bubbles BBQ event to Front Street Village,” she explained. “Having come onboard as a Sustaining Sponsor for Beaufort Wine Food in 2014, the generosity and involvement of Bucky and Wendi Oliver and their staff at Front Street Village, has provided us with invaluable support,” she added.
In addition to the Vin de Mer and Beer, Bubbles BBQ, the Beaufort Wine Food celebration offers visitors many opportunities to experience the food and culture that Beaufort has to offer.
The food and wine extravaganza will begin with an Opening Wine Luncheon at the Royal James Café in Beaufort at noon Wednesday, April 22. Tickets to the opening are $45 per person and will feature cuisine prepared by local chef Andy Hopper and guest chef Michael Lee of SONO Restaurant and The Oxford Gastropub of Raleigh. Wine will be supplied by Chris Leamy of Terra d’Oro.
Following will be the Opening Reception from 6-9 p.m. later that night at the Maritime Museum’s Harvey W. Smith Watercraft Center on Front Street in Beaufort. This event cost $50 per person and will feature local chef Kevin Davis of La Perla Restaurant in Morehead City, and guest chef Michael Kramer of The Lazy Goat in Greenville, S.C.
Festivalgoers are then invited for a nightcap at the Arendell Room for an event sponsored by Tito’s Handmade Vodka for $30 per person for the event named, In Good Spirits – Margaritas Mules, starting at 8 p.m.
The festival’s activities include many seminars, tastings and luncheons that showcase the various amounts of food prepared by prestigious chefs and wine from many of North Carolina’s finest wineries.
The Historic District Walkabout will be held from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Saturday, for $80 per person, and will include various stops throughout Beaufort’s historic district. The tour will feature stops at select historic homes with famed chefs who will prepare cuisine paired with wine and finished off with desserts.
The final event offers guests a celebration brunch held from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday, April 26, at Front Street Village. This event cost $80 per person and will feature live entertainment from Blue Moon Jazz. Sparkling wine and champagne will be offered in addition to featured spirits from sponsor Tres Agaves Tequila. Local chefs are Charles and Wendy Park of Beaufort Grocery Co. and guest chef Steven Goff of King James Public House in Asheville.
Even though the festival only lasts for five days, Beaufort Wine Food continues offering events throughout the year. Upcoming events scheduled include, All Things Italian, an al fresco dinner and bocce tournament in June, an oyster roast in November and the popular Chef’s Competition series held in the fall, which features a dozen local and regional chefs putting their best dish forward, battling it out all in the name of charity.
Beaufort Wine Food will also hold a handful of members appreciation events to honor its members who are critical to the success of the festival.
“Our membership program is critical,” said Nelson Owens, Beaufort Wine Food chairman.
“It provides a base of support for this organization as we grow in the future. We are also so pleased to expand Beaufort Wine Food beyond just one weekend in April. Having events year-round will keep our membership base active and help promote the Crystal Coast as a wine and culinary destination all year long,” he added.
The festival has helped promote the Crystal Coast as a wine and culinary destination. The Southeast Tourism Society has named the five-day festival a “Top 20 Event” for 2015, joining the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Ky., the N.C. Azalea Festival in Wilmington and the Beaufort Old Homes and Gardens Tour. Since the festival started in 2004, many celebrated chefs, wine industry principals and guests from all over the world have traveled to Beaufort to participate in the event.
Through the generosity and support from sponsors, members and wine and culinary participants, Beaufort Wine Food has raised more than $450,000 for area nonprofit organizations in the last decade.
Beaufort Wine Food’s main focus has always been on supporting nonprofits that promoted tourism. In 2014, the organization expanded its efforts to reach a broader range of nonprofit organizations that enrich Carteret County. In an effort to expand its giving, Beaufort Wine Food will begin accepting donation requests from any nonprofit organization that strives to improve Carteret County. For more information on how to request grant funding, contact the Beaufort Wine Food office at 515-0708 or download guidelines at beaufortwineandfood.com.
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