Events
A Week Of Events For Wine & Food Lovers!
Monday, May 14
5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Inside Columbia’s Culinary Adventure Center
This year’s Wine & Art event puts a whole new spin on the wine bottle. Join us on Monday, May 14, at Inside Columbia’s beautiful, state-of-the-art Culinary Adventures Center at 47 E. Broadway. Guests will have the opportunity to sample from a variety of festival wines and enjoy appetizers prepared by our festival chefs.
The evening’s highlight is the live auction, where the bidding is sure to get fierce for artsy, one-of-a-kind wine bottles decorated by local celebrities. These painted, bejeweled and bedazzled masterpieces will add a fun, decorative touch to any home, and the proceeds from the evening will help support the important and empowering programs of Sol House, a Columbia-based emergency shelter and transitional living center for teens.
Click here to preview works by some of this year’s participating local celebrities.
Tuesday, May 15, and Thursday, May 17
6:30 p.m. at Selected Restaurants
It’s an unforgettable dining experience when Columbia’s best local chefs break free from their traditional menus and prepare extraordinary, imaginative meals created specifically for the Wine & Food Festival’s Wine Dinners.
Choose from among these participating restaurants:
Tuesday, May 15, 2012 — Sycamore, Peachtree Catering, Churchill’s, and the Club at Old Hawthorne. CLICK HERE to see the Wine Dinner Menus for each restaurant.
Thursday, May 17,2012: Bleu, Les Bourgeois, and Wine Cellar & Bistro. CLICK HERE to see the Wine Dinner menu for each restaurant.
Each dinner will feature a five-course meal paired with two to three wines selected to complement the evening’s menu. The chef and a leading wine expert will share information about the food and the wines as each course is served.
Your $75 ticket includes your meal and wines, but does not include gratuity. Please reward your server for his or her attentive service.
Because of the complexity and artistry of these finely prepared meals, the chefs will not be able to accommodate special dietary requests.
Only 40 seats are available at each Wine Dinner and may sell out prior to the ticket sales deadline.
Wednesday, May 16
6:30 p.m. in the Picadilly Room, Holiday Inn Executive Center
It’s a dining experience unrivaled by anything else you will experience in Columbia. When the doors to the Picadilly Room swing open, you’ll be wowed by the exquisite presentation of beautifully set tables adorned with sparkling Riedel glassware. And that’s just the beginning of this remarkable evening of food and wine.
Sicilian-born Ignazio Munna, the new chef at Churchill’s, will share his culinary heritage through a spectacular seven-course meal, accompanied by a selection of Italian wines specially paired with the evening’s fare. Chef Munna will introduce each new course and winery representatives will share information about the six wines you’ll enjoy during the evening.
Your $125 ticket includes this magnificent meal plus free access to a safe ride home provided by Doc & Norm Direct.
The Menu
Amuse Bouche
Grape caprese salad with aged balsamic
Course 1: Veal Carpaccio
Thinly sliced veal with roasted peach, wilted arugula, aged balsamic and Parmigiano-Reggiano
Wine Pairing: Rocca delle Macie Morellino di Scansano
Course 2: Contemporary Caesar Salad
Romaine, ciabatta croutons, Parmigiano cookie, anchovies and homemade Caesar dressing
Wine Pairing: Rocca delle Macie Orvieto Classico
Course 3: Sweet Roasted-Tomato Bisque
Wine Pairing: Rocca delle Macie Sasyr
Course 4: Sorbet
Wild berry sorbet “Affogato” in Chambord liqueur and garnished with a fresh berry
Course 5: Tortellacci Emiliani
Large, veal-stuffed pasta in a black truffle oil cream sauce with pancetta, English peas and porcini mushrooms
Wine Pairing: Rocca delle Macie Chianti Classico
Course 6: Tenderloin Siciliano
Center-cut beef filet lightly dusted, grilled to perfection and then finished with fontina cheese and brown velouté , served with broccolini and a Parmesan biscuit
Wine Pairing: Rocca delle Macie Ser Gioveto
Course 7: Dessert
Double-chocolate mousse with raspberry coulis and passion fruit
Friday, May 18
6 to 9 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Expo Center
This is the night Columbia’s wine lovers look forward to all year long. This year’s Grand Tasting showcases more than 400 wines. Stroll through the Holiday Inn Expo Center and sample the wines that intrigue you most. Previous festival participants have asked for more opportunities to visit one-on-one with winery representatives, and we’re delivering with a more intimate event that will enhance the knowledge of both the beginning wine drinker and the experienced oenophile.
Your ticket comes in the form of a passport. You’ll want to make the most of your Grand Tasting travels as you make your way to the booths of participating festival chefs to sample their exceptional culinary creations.
Grand Tasting attendees will enjoy live music throughout the evening and will take home a Riedel Degustazione wineglass as a keepsake. Doc & Norm Direct will be standing by to offer a safe ride home to any Grand Tasting guest.
Tickets Available at the Door
$55 (includes tax)
Saturday, May 19
11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Here’s your passport to great wine and delicious discounts! This year’s Sip & Stroll invites you to 20 local shops and restaurants. Each of the 15 participating shops and five participating restaurants will offer exclusive discounts — some as high as 50 percent off one item — for Sip & Stroll passport holders. You’ll also have a chance to sample a red and a white wine at each location. Many locations will feature a festival chef who will present tapas and small plates.
Sip & Stroll passport bearers are the only ones eligible for the fantastic discounts, wine samples and the small plates. Purchase your $20 passport in advance and pick it up at the Inside Columbia office, 47 E. Broadway, the week prior to the event, at the Grand Tasting on Friday night, or at the Sixth and Cherry Street Garage any time after noon on Saturday. Volunteers will be manning the garage throughout the event to answer any questions you may have.
Doc & Norm Direct will be standing by at the Sixth and Cherry Street Garage to offer free sober chauffeur service.
This year’s Sip & Stroll vendors include:
- Bluestem Missouri Crafts (40% of any wood cutting board or wooden utensil)
- Breeze (40% off entire purchase)
- Calhoun’s (Free wine-themed notepad and pencil; 20% off any one item)
- Dryer’s Shoe Store (40% off one item in the store)
- Elly’s Couture (40% off any one in-stock item and 15% off the remainder of your in-stock purchase with complimentary cocktails)
- Frameworks Gifts & Interiors (50% off any fragrance for body, bath or home)
- Gary B. Robinson Jewelers (50% off entire purchase — excludes loose diamonds and special orders)
- Girl Boutique (40% off any one item)
- Glik’s (40% off any one item)
- Hoss’s Market & Rotisserie (40% off one Mizzou clothing item; 40% off all Stonewall kitchen products; 40% off all Hoss’s label nonperishable retail products)
- Kent’s Floral Gallery & Gifts (40% off any one item; Mama Jones Creations Dips & Cheeseball mixes, buy 3 get 1 free)
- KT Diamond Jewelers (50% off Roven Dino watches or 40% off any one item — excludes custom design, Verragio, Chad Allison, Bellarri, loose diamonds and Tissot watches)
- Lizzi & Rocco’s Natural Pet Market (40% off one toy, treat or accessory, plus a free gift)
- Makes Scents (40% off any one item)
- McAdams’ Ltd. (50% off entire purchase — estate collection excluded)
- S. Stewart Home (40% off metal flower wall sculptures; 40% off ceramic pears; complimentary food samples from Rabbit Creek and The Resident Chef Gourmet Mixes)
- Songbird Station (Free copper hummingbird window feeder, retail value $12.99)
- Swank Boutique (40% off any one item; 50% off sale merchandise)
- Tallulah’s (50% off Wusthoff two-stage sharpener with cutting board)
- Treats Unleashed (Free “Doggie Bag” full of treats for your pet, $12 value)
Escape to Columbia for the weekend to experience a culinary adventure at the city’s annual Wine & Food Festival. The Wine Lover’s Weekend Package gets you access to The Grand Tasting and Sip & Stroll, and a keepsake Riedel wine glass. While in town, enjoy fantastic shopping at chic boutiques, an abundance of quiet cafés, soothing spas and art galleries galore! Break free from the hustle and bustle of the city and discover an oasis of fun less than two hours away. This pass, especially for out-of-town guests, is just $59. You must live 75 miles outside of Columbia in order to purchase this special pass.
Your Weekend Agenda:
Friday Evening: The Grand Tasting, 6 to 9 p.m.
• More than 200 wineries on hand with samples of more than 400 wines from all over the world.
• Enjoy live music and delicacies created by the area’s finest chefs.
• Receive your complimentary Riedel wine glass at this event.
Saturday: Sip & Stroll, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Combine two of America’s favorite pastimes – shopping and wine! This is your chance to sample great wines from around the world while you shop at Columbia’s finest merchants.
• Passports provide discounts up to 50% off any item and sometimes even a FREE gift
Local chefs will be on hand at many venues serving tapas and small plates — available exclusively to Sip & Stroll passport holders.
Recommended Hotels: These hotels are offering special rates for Wine Lover’s Weekend ticket holders.
- Baymont Inn & Suites, $79/night. No code necessary. 573-449-4422
- Drury Inn, $129.99/night. No code necessary. 573-445-1800
- Holiday Inn on Port Way, $119/night for standard room. Promo code “Inside Columbia rate.” 573-474-4444
- Stoney Creek Inn & Conference Center, 10% off any room rate. Promo code “AAA discount rate.” 573-442-6400
- Hampton Inn on Clark Lane, $92/night. Promo code “WFF.” 573-886-9392
- Hilton Garden Inn, $109/night for single or double room. Promo code “Food and Wine Festival rate.” 573-814-5464
- Holiday Inn Executive Center, $99.95/night. Promo code “WFF” or mention Wine & Food Festival. 573-445-8531
- Fairfield Inn & Suites, $105/night for standard room. Mention “Inside Columbia Wine and Food Festival” 573-886-8888
- Courtyard by Marriott, $86/night for deluxe king or double queen room. Promo code “FWFS” 573-443-8000
- Days Inn on I-70 Drive SW, $69/night. Promo code W&FF. 573-445-8511