Epcot Food and Wine Festival 2012 sneak peek

We spent the weekend at Disney with Gabe's parents. I really missed our Disney weekend trips during those three months our season passes were blacked out. I cannot wait until we are able to upgrade our passes. My two favorite parks are Epcot (I drink and eat my way through the Worlds) and Hollywood Studios. This is a great time of year to visit the parks.

One of the reasons I got my season pass was to attend the Epcot Food and Wine Festival. I have wanted to attend this event for more years than I can recall but couldn't justify the daily admission to get into Epcot plus the pairings. Now that we have our passes, we are going to feast on a ton of yummy food and beverages. While at Epcot over the weekend, I noticed that they are getting ready for the Festival, which starts Friday September 28th. We will be attending opening night as that is the Tower of Terror 10 miler weekend!

Disney has set up the food and wine booths all along the lake. You can check out the 2012 Food and Wine Festival menu pairings here. There are 30 marketplaces in all. I didn't think to start snapping photos of them until I was halfway around the worlds and saw Cheese. A cheese booth!!! I got a little excited!

Cheese Culinary Offerings:

• Cheese Fondue with Sourdough Bread 
• Trio of Artisan Cheeses: Beecher's Flagship Reserve Cheddar, La Bonne Vie Goat Brie and Rogue River Creamery Echo Mountain Blue Cheese 

Beverage Selections:

• Sterling Vintner's Collection Sauvignon Blanc 
• Sterling Vintner's Collection Riesling 
• Sterling Vintner's Collection Pinot Noir 
• Sterling Vintner's Collection Meritage

Up next - Poland

POLAND Culinary Offerings:

• Kielbasa & Potato Pierogie with Caramelized Onions and Sour Cream 
• Zapiekanki-Toasted Mushroom, Caramelized Onion and Cheese Bread with House Made Ketchup

Beverage Selections:

• Chandon Carneros Chardonnay 
• Tyskie 
• Belvedere® Frozen Lemon Apple "Tea" (YUM)

Morocco is featuring two of my favorite beverages - sangria and mimosa's

MOROCCO Culinary Offerings:

• Kefta Pocket (Ground Seasoned Beef in a Pita Pocket) 
• Merguez Sausage (Beef and Lamb Sausage with Grilled Peppers and Onions) 
• Baklava 

Beverage Selections:

• Casa Beer 
• Amazigh Red 
• Sangria 
• Mimosa Royale

Singapore has a pretty cool tent (excuse the sideways photo)

SINGAPORE Culinary Offerings:

• Beef Rendang with Jasmine Rice 
• Seared Mahi Mahi with Jasmine Rice and "Singa" Sauce 

Beverage Selections:

• Tiger Beer 
• Marqués de Cáceres Satinela 
• Singapore Sling 

I then stumbled upon Italy where I lost track of taking photos of tents

ITALY Culinary Offerings:

• Ravioli di Formaggio All'emiliana (Baked Cheese Ravioli, Creamy Beef Bolognese, Parmesan, Mozzarella) 
• Salsiccia e "Papacelli" Napoletani (Sweet Sausage, Red Pepper, Ciaibatta Bread) 
• Cannoli al Cioccolato (Chocolate-Covered Cannoli filled with Ricotta, Chocolate, Candied Fruit)

Beverage Selections:

• Moretti Beer 
• Prosecco Zardetto 
• Pinot Grigio Mezzacorona 
• Chianti Castello di Quercetto 
• Italian Margherita

In Italy, I noticed the expansion was completed. Last time I was in Epcot, there was a large section tented off. I was extremely pleased to see this:

TUTTO GUSTO WINE CELLAR!

I peaked inside and it was absolutely beautiful. I wasn't quite ready for a glass of wine as we had just finished off our margarita's from Mexico. Now that I know Tutto Gusto has opened, it may be stop one in my future Epcot trips!

With all that talk of food and wine, I have to sit back and take a breath. I have a crazy week ahead of me. My head hurts just thinking about it. While in the homestretch of the training for Tower of Terror 10 miler, I have a week filled with activities.

Tomorrow is the Susan G. Komen Suncoast Pink Martini Ball 
Wednesday - 6 mile run
Thursday - Cooking demonstration with Curtis Stone at Rolling Pin (swooooon)
Friday - Yelp-O-Scream at Howl-O-Scream 
Saturday - 10 mile run (and Gabe is trying to convince me to drive w/ him to Tallahassee for the FSU / Clemson game)

Cheers for now!