The line to enter the Grand Tasting stretched far and wide, but it was worth the wait.
With 15 minutes until the gates opened, the line to get into the Columbus Food and Wine Grand Tasting stretched 50 people.
By 8 p.m., the mass of wine and food lovers that had flooded through those gates on the Franklin Park Conservatory grounds was in the hundreds, all there to partake in food from the finest restaurants in town and pourings from wineries spanning the globe.
We had all gathered for the 11th annual “must attend food and wine event of the year,” a benefit for the Central Ohio Restaurant Association that has reached near mythical proportion among the gastro set.
The Grand Tasting actually marks a month of celebration surrounding culinary senses, starting with the Wine Competition in August and the Cena di Vino on Sept. 19.
Although I had Cheryl as a date last year, she was otherwise engaged this year leaving me to share the evening with my husband, Brian–and it was a special night indeed: We were marking five years since he had been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and 4-1/2 years since he went into remission.
The city’s finest food was paired with celebrated wines for a culinary extravaganza.
If ever there was a night to celebrate, this was it, and this was the way to do it.
Entering the grand tasting grounds was like the scene where Willie Wonka’s visitors make their way to the candy floor–there were simply too many delicacies to know where to turn.
With wine glasses extended, we sought pours like we had just wandered 40 days in the desert, and then tested our coordination by balancing plates that overflowed with delicacies like ox tongue in cheek, scallops, shrimp and sweet potatoes and bananas foster.
The Refectory, Milestone 229, Haiku, Barcelona, Whole Foods Catering, Bon Vie, A Catered Event and The Rusty Bucket were just a sampling of the 50 restaurants sharing their wares, pairing up with more than 400 wines at stations that encompassed the Grand Atrium, the Palm Court, the Upper and Lower Terrace, the Grand Mallway and the Pergola.
The Grand Tasting spreads across and through the Conservatory.
At $130, the Grand Tasting comes with a grand price, but it was clearly worth the money for people from all walks of life across Central Ohio. We shared sushi with a couple on their first date, swilled chardonnay with husband and wife retirees gifted with tickets by their daughter, zipped through zinfandel with 10TV’s Danielle Elias, and admired the necklace-style wineglass holder a fellow cancer survivor, who showed off an incredible wine-glass holder we have to remember for next year.
The payoff comes in more than just a delectable and memorable evening. In the 10 years since the Tasting began, more than $500,000 has gone to local charities and culinary scholarships.
If you missed the Grand Tasting, there is still time to catch the new Columbus Cocktail Classic, an evening of spirits set for Oct. 17 from 6-9 p.m. at Hollywood Casino.
And it’s never too early to mark your calendar for next September, when I hope Brian and I are once again gathering under the stars, sipping seemingly bottomless glasses of red wine, grateful for good food, good times and good health.
