Upon arrival to the Wharf Room at the Boston Harbor Hotel on Friday, each of the 350 guests of the Boston Wine Festival's grand opening reception was welcomed with a glass of Piper-Heidsieck champagne. The event sponsorโs greeting served as palate-prep for the evening's sampling of 50 wines and an extensive menu of hot and cold hors d'oeuvres.
Executive chef Daniel Bruce, founder of the Boston Wine Festival, worked with his team to choose the wines, design the menu, and plan the 45 eventsโincluding seminars, dinners, and brunchesโthat comprise the festival. According to Bruce, the diversity of the wine and food options at the kickoff reception reflected the essence of the 23-year-old festival, which runs through March 30.
โThe event is all about wine and food,โ Bruce said. โI select different wineries and โฆ the food is based on this year's wine selection flavor profiles. The wines being poured [at the reception] are examples of some of the dinners to follow, and by tasting them, guests can determine which wine dinners they may want to attend.โ
At the reception, the foods were categorized as either red- or-white-wine friendly, encouraging guests to ask, โWhat food goes with this wine?โ instead of the other way aroundโa technique Bruce used himself when creating the eventโs flavor profiles. Using their wine and tasting menus as mix-and-match guides, guests circulated the food stations, creating their own flavor pairings. For example, some partygoers paired Californiaโs Mer Soleilโs Silver Chardonnay with Parmesan cheese, truffle and spinach risotto; others tasted Tuscanyโs Dei Vino Nobile di Montelpulciano with chestnut-whipped golden potatoes.
For guests interested in the festivalโs upcoming events, wine tables were arranged to preview the most popular themed dinners, including Battle of the Cabernets, Meritage Madness, Rising Stars, and Super Tuscans. For around $200, admission to one of the dinners includes a discussion with the winemaker, a multicourse dinner prepared by chef Bruce, and, of course, ample mouthfuls of the featured wines.
Guests sampled their wine and food on high tables covered in ivory embroidered linens provided by Boston Harbor Hotel. Converted luggage trolleys served as displays for bottles of San Pellegrino and Panna, both sponsors of the festival. Large bouquets of long-stemmed red roses, accented by clusters of red grapes on the vine, were arranged in silver wine buckets throughout the room.
According to Bruce, though, the conviviality of the event was found not in its ornamentation. โThe decor is minimal [because] it is truly all about the wine and food. With over 50 wines being personally poured and discussed with each of the guests, [that] festive feel created the atmosphere.โ