Martha’s Vineyard Food & Wine Festival 2019

I’ve been looking forward to this event all year. Not even kidding. I attended the MV Food & Wine Festival for the first time in 2018, and my bestie and I had such a fantastic time trying all the different food, sampling the wines, and meeting new friends, that we’ve been talking for months about attending the event again this year.

The Martha’s Vineyard Food & Wine Festival is actually a four day event, with Jazz Brunches, Vintage Wine Dinners, Champagne & Donuts, various seminars, and of course the Grand Tasting!

The Grand Tasting event is held at the beautiful Winnetu Oceanside Resort out in Katama. It’s 3 hours long, which is perfect since it gives you plenty of time to socialize, walk around all the tents, try everything, and then make second rounds for your favorite snacks & beverages!

It’s always hard to pick favorites, but I decided to round up First Place and Runner Up categories for all the delicious things we got to try. Hope you enjoy!

WINE: We started off tasting whites and bubbly, and moved on to red, there were SO many to try! There was also a super fun make your own gin cocktail brought to you by Brockman’s Gin, and for a non-alcoholic option, kombucha by Kulture Club MV Kombucha. But I’m a loyal wine girl, so here were my two favorites.

First Place: Gooseneck Vineyards

I loved this wine & prosecco because it was crisp, clean and tasty. I also am a sucker for pretty bottles , and I loved their preppy, colorful New England labels that made me think of long summer days spent by the ocean. Gooseneck Vineyards is also ‘local’ to me, only about an hour drive in Wickford, Rhode Island. Looking forward to vising them soon, and in the meantime stocking up on some delicious bubbles for special occasions…or just Sunday mimosas!

Runner Up: Duckhorn Vineyards

Duckhorn Vineyards is located in Napa Valley, California, and they know their reds! I’m not usually a Merlot drinker, but even their Merlot is superb. The Cabarnet Sauvignon is my favorite, and pairs perfectly with a charcuterie board… or Thanksgiving dinner!

FOOD: I’m a pescatarian, so I didn’t get to try all the scrumptious treats that were offered by the many restaurants at the event. I did have an unfortunate incident of trying beef tartar, thinking it was ahi tuna.. but kuddos to the chef, because it looked so good, my eyes were bigger than my brain that never asked what I was eating. Anywho, there was plenty of other things to try, and here are my two favorites.

First Place: Encore Boston Harbor

They had two samples, and I got to try the smoked bluefish pâté in a cannoli with caviar. I’m sure there is a prettier name for what I had, but it was DELISH! Who knew you could put bluefish into a cannoli shell!? Encore Boston Harbor is a new casino that features several restaurants. I’m so looking forward to visiting. Can we get JT to perform there too? Because I’m so in!

Runner Up: ReelHouse

They had a super tasty chowdah, and even though it had little bits of pancetta, I couldn’t help but have a few bites. I was also ogling over the whole menu. I love seafood, and this place clearly knows how to do seafood well. Another bonus, they have two locations. One in East Boston, and one is Marina Bay, where we often go. Looking forward to a whole meal there soon.

TREATS: There were cookies, donuts, specialty chocolates and caramels, and so much more. Pretty much, anything your heart desired, I bet you’d find it at the MV Food and Wine Fest. But if I had to narrow down the different treats I tried, these were my two favorites.

First Place: Louis Sel French Sea Salt

I’m a savory kind of girl. While I love sweets too, I will always choose salty first. Literally. Sel Marin imports salt from France, and I’m telling you, a little salt of some radishes or cukes, is so good! They had different varieties, and I tried them all.

Runner Up: Life At Humprheys Donuts

This was the first thing I had a bite of when we walked in, and also the last! Who doesn’t love donuts? Especially when they are soft, and fluffy, and coated in sugar? If you’re on island, stop at their location in Vineyard Haven to try some donuts + pizza… a match made in heaven!

The MV Food and Wine fest is definitely the place to be for the culinary experience. But I also love it, because it is so much fun to socialize and meet people. I loved seeing friends from the Vineyard, running into a group of hilarious ladies from the year before, connecting with some social media mamas who I have been chatting with for months, and of course making new connections!