Wine Dinners at the Boston Wine Festival 2010

2010 marks the 21st year of the Boston Wine Festival. It is the nation's longest running wine and food pairing dinner series. Each year it it held at the Boston Harbor Hotel overlooking Boston Harbor. Chef Daniel Bruce is the host and the creator of the Festival. This year's Festival starts with its Grand Opening Reception on Friday, January 8th. This reception will feature 50+ wines that will be shown throughout the entire Festival. The Festival offers a series of 42 wine dinners that run until its close on April 2nd. This year's dinners include some of my favorite wineries.

On January 20, 2010 at 7pm, Joel Peterson of Ravenwood comes to town. His dinner will feature 7 of his classic wines. I just awarded the 2007 Icon Mixed Blacks with 93 points! It will be a hit with the guests. I can't wait to try his 2007 vineyard designate Zinfandels later this month.

February's schedule features one of my favorite wineries, Kendall Jackson. Winemaker Randy Ullom will be here showing off his Grand Estates, Highland Estates, and Stature offerings on Wednesday, February 17th. Not only does Randy make great wine, but he also makes you feel like you are right in the vineyard when he is describing his wines. It is truly a great experience. These wines are highly acclaimed and offer great values. I have been covering these wines for 3+ years now and have found them to be superior. I can't wait to see this year's line up at the Festival. You can read my reviews of these wines on KensWineGuide.com.

March also features many great wineries. The three that I highly recommend are Hanzell, Joseph Phelps, and Tom Eddy. Jean Arnold Session and winemaker Michael McNeill from Hanzell are coming to town on March 3rd. If you love Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, this is a must attend dinner. They are also doing a seminar before hand which I am sure will be a great fun and feature some incredible offerings.

On Thursday, March 18th Damian Parker of Joseph Phelps conducts a seminar on their new Freestone project. This project covers both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. After the seminar, they will offer a 4 course meal including their famous Insignia which finished near the top of our high end red tasting every year.

Closing out the month of March is Tom Eddy. If you love Cab, this should be one of your top selections. Read my reviews on his last 3 vintages. His 2002 Cab rocks and the 2003 is terrific as well. The man knows how to make Cab! You should take advantage of this opportunity as his wines are small production. There were only 543 cases made of the 2003 Cab.

The entire calendar of events is on the Festival's website. You can also purchase tickets for events on the website as well. I am certainly looking forward to seeing some of my favorite winemakers as they come to town. Perhaps I will see you there.

Cheers,

Ken