Enjoy Unlimited Wine, Light Bites, And Jazz Music At The NYC Winter Wine Festival

New York Wine Events invited hundreds of wine enthusiasts to the NYC Winter Wine Festival to savor wines from all over the world, delicious food, and amazing music.

New York Wine Events, which organizes one-of-a-kind wine festivals, transformed the PlayStation Theater in Times Square into an indoor vineyard for the annual NYC Winter Wine Festival. Guests at the event had a chance to taste world class wine, delicious light hors d’oeuvres, and artisanal snacks.

Participating wine importers and wineries sourced their selections from the world’s finest grape growing regions in France, Italy, Spain, South Africa, California, New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Argentina, Portugal, Japan, Austria, and Germany.

In addition to unlimited sampling of over 250 wines, guests also indulged in a smorgasbord of food that complement the wines, such as cheese, bread, pasta salad, fresh fruits, and crackers.

Grammy-nominee Brian Simpson and special guest J.J. Sansaverino lit the stage by providing live jazz music and setting the ambient mood throughout the evening.

Top 5 Most Unique Gifts Guaranteed To Impress Your Loved Ones

Whether you are celebrating a birthday, anniversary, or graduation, these gifts will certainly put a big smile on their face.

1. Custom designed shoes from Quero Handmade Shoes

Quero offers high-quality, customized shoes that are designed by you with infinite possibilities of colors and leathers at the comfort of your own living room. The design you submit online is brought into life by shoemakers with generations of experience in Spain. Made to fit perfectly, Quero shoes are also affordable (most shoes are priced at $185) because its online business eliminates the need for a storefront or middleman. Choose from a wide selection of stylish, sleek styles for men and women, ranging from business to casual to formal. For a limited time, you can stop by Quero’s pop-up store at the Refinery Hotel in NYC to meet the founders and browse the selections in person.

2. Summer Seasonal Beer Bucket from Gourmet Gift Baskets

Packed with a carefully curated selection of best summer seasonal beers and premium snacks to complement your favorite summer beverage, the Summer Seasonal Beer Bucket from Gourmet Gift Baskets is the perfect present this season. Enjoy beers that burst with light, fruity flavors like Fresh Slice White IPA by Otter Creek Brewing, Lemongrass Luau by Kona Brewing Company, and Curious Traveler Lemon Shandy by The Traveler Beer Co. Pair these beers with gourmet snacks, including Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper Kettle Corn, Peppered Beef Jerky, and Roasted & Salted Peanut.

2. Coffee and tea presses from ESPRO

Elevate the home kitchen coffee experience with ESPRO’s sophisticated line of presses, which you can use to perfect the traditional French press through their beautiful design and innovative technology. Unlike other presses, ESPRO features double micro-filter to create the distinct French press flavor without any mess or grit. The buffer between the filters allows coffee grinds and tea leaves to block further extraction to ensure consistent taste from the first sip to the last. Additionally, their thoughtful design, such as the walls of the press that are 40 percent thicker than competitor products, helps to keep beverages hotter for a longer period of time. ESPRO presses will help you serve the best cup of coffee or tea, all the while becoming the showpiece of any table.

3. Bracelets and gold pendant from DelicaciesDesigned with foodies in mind, bracelets and gold pendant from Delicacies celebrates the natural beauty, simplicity, and meaning ingrained in the food we eat. The delicate and minimalist design of the bracelet is centered around a signature ingredient that is cast in the highest quality sterling silver and paired with rich Italian leather. Choose from a wide range of ingredients, from chickens, octopus, lobsters, pigs, and cows to artichoke, chili, corn, carrots, pineapple, and grapes. Each ingredient comes with special meanings, such as the cow, which promotes strength, good fortune, fertility, and spirituality.

4. Dry rose from Brooklyn WineryMade from Old Vine Grenache vines planted in the 1940’s, the Dry Rosé from Brooklyn Winery boasts both the elegance and intensity of flavors. The light salmon hue invokes the pink wines made in the South of France, intertwined with a new world vibrancy that bursts from the glass. In addition to this sophisticated bottle of dry rose, Brooklyn Winery - a boutique urban winery in the heart of Williamsburg - produces other premium small batch artisanal wines made with modern techniques to ensure the best results possible.

Pair California Wines With Tapas-Style Dishes At A SF Wine Bar That Boasts The City’s Largest All-CA Wine Collection

First Crush

Boasting the largest all-California wine collection in San Francisco, First Crush Restaurant & Wine Bar - located in the heart of Union Square - pairs an impressive selection of carefully curated California wines with mouthwatering, tapas-style dishes that highlight local, organic ingredients.

First Crush

First Crush has garnered numerous accolades for its wine selection, including the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence that it has received since 2001. Upon browsing the wine menu, I was not only impressed by the comprehensive, all-California wine list that fully captured the beauty of the wines grown in this region, but also by the whimsical names given to the wine flights. Don’t the names like Bouquet of Rose andPleasure of Pinot just tickle your tongue for more?

While First Crush is best known for its wines, I also enjoyed the food menu featuring New American cuisine with a Californian influence. I would highly recommend ordering the wine flights and small plates to share - as a caveat, the portion for these “small plates” are rather large!

Fritto Misto ($14)

Think of this plate as everyone’s beloved fried calamari, but with an addition of rock shrimp as well as jalapeno, Fresno chili, and green onion for an extra layer of spiciness. While I would have preferred the the sauce to be on the side to prevent the shrimp and the calamari from becoming soggy, the sweet and spicy sauce really made the Fritto Misto special.

Roasted Trio of Organic Beets ($15)

Chunky pieces of juicy gold and red beets with ornamental kale, pistachios, Laurel Chenel goat cheese, tangerine pieces, and watermelon radish were tossed in white balsamic vinaigrette to create this plate of fresh, colorful beets salad. I loved the interplay of different textures, from the creamy goat cheese to the crunchy pistachios.

Cabernet Marinated Mini Lamb Lolipops ($20)

Even though it was cooked a bit too well done for my liking (I personally prefer my red meat to be rare), the lamb lollipop had beautiful sear on the outside on top of creamy, triangular piece of polenta with mushroom bits and micro greens. The lamb was glazed with Cabernet-infused demi glace to accentuate the rich flavor.

Ahi Tuna Tartare ($18)

Fresh chunks of tuna sashimi was mixed in with avocado, cucumber, red onion, jalapeno, Meyer lemon, and daikon sprouts, and then topped with a dollop of wasabi caviar over a bed of green seaweed. The side of crispy taro root chips and a drizzle of wasabi aioli on the plate complemented the tuna tartare perfectly.

Cheers to an Afternoon of Drinking, Dining, and Dancing at the NYC Winter Wine Festival

My wine glass wasn't the only thing being filled at the 6th annual NYC Winter Wine Festival earlier this February. I also filled my stomach with savory and sweet bites, while perusing through the magnificent Best Buy Theater in Times Square filled with live music provided by the Grammy-nominated Special EFX. Without a doubt, it was an afternoon filled with joy! Of the two sessions offered--the first in the afternoon from 3 to 6 p.m. and the second in the evening from 8 to 11 p.m.--my boyfriend and I chose the day drinking option. We figured the earlier session would be less popular and therefore less crowded than the later one, but little did we know that both sessions were sold out with a total of 1,800 people in attendance! After making our way through the crowded Times Square, I was a bit intimidated by the long line that formed outside the Best Buy Theater. Luckily, the high ceiling inside the theater provided an illusion of spaciousness, so I didn't feel too trapped among the crowd. Having food in the stomach prior to drinking is crucial, so we first headed to the table featuring wine's best accompaniments, including cheese and crackers, strawberries and grapes, and olives and nuts. While nibbling on these fares, we browsed through different venues pouring endless glasses of white, red, and sparkling wines curated by the experts of Vintry Fine Wines. Despite having attended several wine events in the past and even being a member of the Wine Society in college (admittedly, my roommate was on the executive team and convinced me to join), I will confess that I am no wine connoisseur. In fact, blindfold me and serve both white and red wines at room temperature, and I probably won't be able to tell one from the other. On that note, my favorite "vendor" at the NYC Winter Wine Festival wasn't a vineyard, but a media start-up called Vinepair whose mission is to remove the pretentiousness of wine by educating consumers about this age-old drink. The representatives from Vinepair brought bottles of Cabernet and Merlot wrapped in silver foil. We sampled a sip of both, and had to guess which was which. According to Vinepair, the flavor of Cabernet is more acidic and gives the mouth that drying sensation, while that of Merlot is softer and supple. I can now flaunt this knowledge at a dinner party! In addition to the wine and the hors d'oeuvres, I also got to sample sweet treats from local artisanal food companies. My favorite were the decadent lemon-lime cheesecake and sweet potato pound cake, both from the Luscious Little Dessert Company. Underneath the top layer of the light, fluffy lemon-lime cheesecake was the chewy gingerbread crust that added an interesting dimension of flavors. Likewise, the moist sweet potato pound cake was drizzled with brown sugar glaze for an extra kick of sweetness. While the general admissions ticket, which gave me access to more than 250 wines, selection of hors d'oeuvres and sweets, and live music, was more than enough to entertain me for the 3-hour duration of the event, this year's event also featured a premium VIP Suite Ticket. Those with the exclusive VIP wristband had access to the lounge area with high-end wines, such as Chateau Montalena, Louis Roederer Cristal, and Dom Perignon, as well as deluxe bites like tuna tartar, fois gras, and filet mignon. About half way into the tasting, the Grammy-nominated Special EFX--led by award-winning guitarist Chieli Mnucci--graced the stage. Founded in 1983, Special EFX is known for paving the road for contemporary jazz during its early years, and has continued to innovate and evolve its style every decade. The smooth jazz music was perfectly fitting for the occasion. I would still not label myself a wine connoisseur by the end of the event, but the NYC Winter Wine Festival's grand tasting not only introduced me to different wines from around the world, but also helped me to assuage the feeling of anxiety and intimidation that naturally accompanies this drink. Perhaps at future wine tasting events, I will learn to distinguish between Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Photos courtesy of Timothy Balsamo and Peter Evangelista