March 3--6, 2011, Charleston South Carolina turns into a wine mecca as it hosts citywide events for the annual Wine + Food Festival. Celebrity chefs Bryan Voltaggio, Dave Martin, Kevin Gillespie and Carla Hall from past seasons of "Top Chef" make appearances. Master sommelier Andrea Immer Robinson will be on hand. Local sommeliers will compete for the top spot, and beverage seminars are available for expanding your wine knowledge.The four-day event highlights everything from pinot to sake and cuvee to microbrew.
Individual event tickets can be purchased online. As of January 2011, Grand Weekend Passes are available for $360 per person.
Blowing Rock, North Carolina, comes alive the first week of April for the annual Blue Ridge Wine & Food Festival. Twenty local wineries participate in the three-day event, providing tastings and food pairings. Wine seminars and cooking classes are available. Ten local restaurants host prix fix menus to highlight the local wines as part of the Vintner's Dinner series. The event ends with the final round of the Fire on the Rock Chef's Challenge, an Iron-Chef-type event in which local chefs battle to create the best three dishes from a mystery ingredient.
The Northern Georgia Winegrowers' Association sponsors an annual highway weekend for locals to enjoy the mountain wineries of the area. In 2011, it is scheduled for the first weekend in March. Several bed and breakfast inns offer accommodations for visitors to the area. The Cedar House Inn and Yurts offers unique and affordable lodging near the Wolf Mountain Vineyards & Winery, one of the stops along the Highway. Wolf Mountain produces French-style blended wines of high quality.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, hosts Coastal Uncorked, an annual food and wine event, May 8--15, 2011. Food Network star Paula Dean will be providing a cooking demonstration. Other events include a golf tournament and a two-day trolley ride and tasting. The event ends with the annual food fight, with local chefs battling for top honors.
