Remember the days when we used to always get confused by which big culinary event was the Music City Food & Wine Festival and which one was the Nashville Wine & Food Festival? That’s no longer an issue, because the former scooted out of town apparently under the cover of darkness a few years back and completely erased its internet footprint, leaving nary a crumb (or cookie) behind.
So the Nashville Wine & Food Festival gets to claim that space in our collective attention, including at the eighth edition of the event this weekend at the Omni Hotel downtown. Organized by Corkdorks Wine, Spirits, Beer, planners of this year’s festival expect more than 1,000 attendees to descend upon the Omni between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 16. (Side note: The Preds will play the hated Chicago Blackhawks at 11:30 that day, so it could get a little rowdy in the streets around Bridgestone.)
Festival attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy food and drink from 75 vendors and meet many of the representatives from some of the nation’s leading wineries, distilleries and food purveyors. A complimentary Riedel tasting glass is included with your admission, along with a booklet listing all the vendors and a map to help navigate the tables and crowds as you sip and savor.
There will also be live music throughout the day in the Rosé Garden, Beer Garden and on a main stage. Educational seminars from spirits and sake producers and chef demos will take place throughout the event, and if you want priority seating for those events as well as access to special eats and drinks in the VIP lounge, you can opt for upgraded tickets.
Tickets range from $35 for non-drinking attendees to $90 for general admission and $150 for VIP and are available at the festival website.
