We’re nearing the end of the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, the 11th year that this festival has run. It’s truly better than ever.
Wow, lots to report, so little time or space. What a problem to have, huh? 
So far on this trip between samples, seminars and dining, I’ve tried about 50 wines in the course of three days. Anticipating a big night tonight (see below), I have taken it easy today. Once I get back to the home tasting facility (Catherine rolls her eyes), I’ll have to sit down and do a complete write up of wines I’ve had. The best wine I’ve enjoyed thus far was the Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2003. Phelps’s Insignia won Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year in 2005, and it’s not the first time that this wine producer has won accolades from the wine writers out there.
Tonight is a big event, the Party for the Senses. Held in a terrifically-lit exhibition hall (you’d never know it’s a hall), the Party for the Senses features the works of roughly 30 chefs from around the world and about 70 wines. Entertainment comes from the cast of Cirque du Soleil’s La Nouba, with stunning acrobatics and music. Every sense is triggered–seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and of course the sense of touch as well as delicious foods and wines tantalize the palate.
The challenge this evening will be to sample as many of the 70 wines as possible while maintaining a condition of sobriety (and I’m not joking). The samples that are poured are pretty hefty, and I usually end up dumping most of the wine in the provided containers (which is kind of heart breaking). The food is all-you-can-eat, but the samples are relatively small, so it’s tricky to get oneself a full stomach. The wine is also all-you-can-drink, but it would not be cool to get tanked. My working plan is to take along a mug to spit the samples into, which I will occasionally dump. Then, I can decide which few samples I want seconds of that I can enjoy completely. This is a working party for me, as my briefcase will go along with business cards and a place to stuff the various forms of propaganda the wine producers provide. The tasting journal and a pen are going along as well. Hopefully I’ll also make some contacts to do interviews for the podcast over the next several weeks.
Time to wrap this up. If you ever get the chance to visit the Walt Disney World Resort during the Food & Wine Festival, please do so. It’s well worth the effort.
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