Tickets are on sale now for the 2nd Annual Divas Uncorked Wine & Food Festival, the Vineyard's premier multi-cultural wine and food experience with wine sponsors Vibrant Rioja, Barefoot Wines, Beaulieu Vineyards and Hess Collection. Festival events will be held at many of the island's trendiest locations beginning on Thursday, August 7 through Sunday, August 10, 2008. In its first year, the Divas Uncorked Wine+Food Festival attendance topped 500, "selling out" its headline vintner dinners. This year, the event will again provide support for the Island Grown Initiative, the Vineyard's non-profit dedicated to building community on Martha's Vineyard by supporting small family farming and raising consumer awareness about locally grown food.
The festival returns to the Vineyard after its inaugural 2007 event with a line-up featuring wine expert and sommelier Joshua Wesson, winemaker Domenica Totty and culinary stars Jody Adams and Gordon Hamersley; along with trend setting TV talents and Celebrity Chefs Robert Rainford and Marvin Woods. This epicurean event offers Wine & Food lovers the chance to learn from and mix with many of the nation's top wine experts and chefs---the Divas call it "sipping, swirling and scholarship"!
Designed for consumer wine education in the "wine savvy, not wine snobby" style that has become the trademark of Divas Uncorked, this interactive event allows visitors to discover all there is to know, taste, and explore in the world of wine. The Divas Uncorked Wine+Food Festival surprises and delights wine lovers with:
- Demonstrations by top wine experts and chefs
- Grand Tasting featuring over 30 top wine brands and premier restaurants
- Author book signings
- Exclusive vintners dinner
- Live and silent auctions
In addition to an already exciting line-up, Divas Uncorked has added four new events including a Divas Night VIP Party, Books for Wine lovers' book signing and wine sip, a Backyard Reggae Sunjam and a chic champagne event, Bubbles on the Barbie pairing grilled foods with sparkling wines!
Thursday August 7
Wine Sponsor: Hess Collection Wines
"Books for Wine Lovers" at Cousen Rose Gallery, Oak Bluffs, MV
5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Book Signing with Jessica Harris author of "The Martha's Vineyard Table"
Open to all! Sip great wines and sample great reads!
Divas "VIP Night," Private home in Meadow View Farms, Oak Bluffs, MV
7:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
All Access pass only!
Friday August 8
Wine Sponsor: Vibrant Rioja
Travel "via the vine" to one of Spain's most spectacular wine regions...Rioja! A passion for life and culture and the love of food and flavor is captured in a family of expressive reds and whites from Vibrant Rioja! Paired with the inspired contemporary cuisine at Harbor View, you'll spend this exclusive and intimate evening overlooking Edgartown Harbor and sampling some of Spain's best boutique wines!
VIP Vintners Reception at Harbor View Hotel, Edgartown, MV
6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Table+Vine Vintners Dinner at Harbor View Hotel
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Chocolate Sponsor: Richart Chocolates
Chocolate+Caberet: Richart and Rioja Dessert Reception
9:00 - 10:00 p.m. (Please note: Table+Vine includes "Chocolate+Caberet")
Saturday August 9
Divas Grand Tasting at Outerland, Edgartown, MV
12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Featuring over 50 wine and food exhibitors and wine education and cooking demos.
Backyard Reggae Sunjam at Outerland
4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Beach Party in the Courtyard!
Bring your sandy toes and irie vibe to our courtyard and chill out with live reggae music, food and drink specials. Enter 'round back and join the summer party. Please note: Grand Tasting ticket includes this event.
Wine sponsor: Barefoot Wines
"Bubbles on the Barbie" at Outerland
7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Don't miss this 'moving feast' pairing sparkling wine and grilled foods, featuring Josh Wesson, Jet Blue's 'Low Fare' Sommelier and founder of the wine retail chain Best Cellars. Josh will walk us through a menu of sparkling wines with cuisine from these well-known chefs: Jody Adams of Rialto, Boston; Gordon Hamersley of Hamersley Bistro, Boston; Robert Rainford of Toronto; Marvin Woods of Atlanta with special musical guest, national Bill Board jazz recording artist, Andre Ward.
After Party at Outerland
10:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.
Featuring specialty cocktails from the festival.
Sunday August 10
Wine Sponsor: Beaulieu Vineyards and Diageo Chateau & Estate Wine
"Jazzed by Wine" Brunch at Lola's Southern Seafood, Oak Bluffs, MV
Noon - 3:00 p.m.
Toast the end of our Divas Uncorked Wine+Food Festival with sumptuous and satisfying comfort food and live jazz! What could be jazzier, Southern Cuisine paired with wines from California's Beaulieu Vineyards! Associate Winemaker Domenica Totty shares some of the secrets of this landmark Napa Valley winery. Beaulieu Vineyard wines are produced by Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines.
"All Access" Passes for the entire Divas Uncorked Wine+Food Festival on Martha's Vineyard are $345, and along individual tickets are available for purchase online at www.divasuncorked.com. Some events are free and open to the public.
About Divas Uncorked, Inc.:
The mission of Divas Uncorked, Inc. is to make wine more approachable to women and people of color by breaking down the intimidating image of the wine world. Since forming in 1998, the vivacious African-American women of Divas Uncorked have met monthly at each other's homes, pairing wine with food, exploring wine's inherent social and style characteristics, identifying the nuances of bouquet, and discovering the tradition of vintage. "Wine savvy, not wine snobby" is their mantra. They take this unique approach public by offering women a chance to improve their appreciation of and comfort around wine through their annual "Wine, Women and..." conferences in Boston, and through educational wine dinners open to all. In 2004, the Divas launched a novel company unprecedented in its field, the Divas Uncorked Collaborative Consortium, to help wineries, distributors, and retailers expand to reach new consumer markets. The Divas' journeys into the world of wine have been chronicled in Oprah Magazine, Newsweek, Ms., Heart & Soul, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Boston Globe, Boston Business Journal, and Boston Herald, and they have been guests on NBC's The Today Show and Simply Wine with Andrea Immer on Fine Living TV.
www.divasuncorked.com
About Island Grown Initiative:
On-site donations and partial proceeds go to the Island Gown Initiative. Island Grown Initiative is a non-profit dedicated to building community on Martha's Vineyard by supporting small family farming and raising consumer awareness about locally grown food.
www.islandgrown.org
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2nd Annual Divas Uncorked Wine and Food Festival
