Summer Food & Wine Festivals
Photography: Courtesy of The Charleston Picture Company
We all know that charity begins at home — and in the heart. But organizers of most charitable events also know that the most direct path to the wallet is often through the palate. After all, who doesn’t feel more generous after sampling a boutique wine or two and nibbling on such clever bites as, say ... a warm local peach stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped with bacon in a port wine reduction? Throw in the kicked-back fun of summer in a high mountain setting and it’s a slam dunk. Three of Utah’s top food and wine festivals have perfected the formula — generating funds for worthy causes while creating some of summer’s best parties at altitude and al fresco. So mark your calendar, grab a sun hat and sunscreen and enjoying dressing down instead of up for a change.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary in Utah this year, Taste of the Nation (TON) is the granddaddy of the state’s summertime fundraising food and wine festivals. Under the umbrella of Share Our Strength, a national organization (strength.org), its sole purpose is to raise funds to fight childhood hunger, locally and worldwide. But in Utah, it’s done more than that. Graciously hosted each year by Solitude Mountain Resort, TON was one of the first events to foster a real feeling of community among local chefs, many of whom had never laid eyes on each other prior to gathering that first year. Now, despite the challenges of hauling, setting up and serving food in a mountain setting sans electricity, it’s one of the most popular fundraisers in the state. Every single TON participant, from organizers to chefs and clean-up crews, is a volunteer. All food is donated by participating restaurants and 100 percent of ticket sale funds helps fight childhood hunger. To date, the Utah event has raised more than $650,000. The vibe of this party is all-out festive and casual. You’ll get a wine glass and a plate at the entry, along with a menu detailing bite-sized portions of remarkable food from some of the area’s top chefs. With all due respect to the amazing savories served each year, the longest lines always form at the “Baker’s Dozen” tent. Organized by Deer Valley pastry chef Letty Flatt, more than a dozen brilliant pastry chefs from around the state contribute a selection of beautiful, creamy sugar delights, from pistachio panna cotta to petite fours. Taste of the Nation regulars have learned that the best m.o. is to work up an appetite by taking a hike on one of Big Cottonwood Canyon’s hundreds of trails before the event. Or, you can ride the chairlift near the event tents and hike back down, which is not as strenuous, but definitely good for taking in the views. Proceeds benefit Utahns Against Hunger; the Ogden Weber Community Partnership, Inc.; and Utah Food Bank Services.
August 2, noon-4 p.m. Solitude Mountain Resort. For ticket prices and purchase information, visit c.
The Park City Food & Wine Classic is one of the most glam, event-packed celebrations of the summer. A feast of delights for serious (as well as not-so-serious) food, wine and spirits aficionados, the Classic runs for four days. You can participate in enormous wine tastings, private dinners with winemakers and chefs in beautiful settings, and all kinds of educational seminars. The event brings out owners, winemakers and reps from wineries around the world — an impressive bunch. Last year, organizers say the festival featured nearly 70,000 wine, spirit, beer and food samplings.
This year’s festival kicks off at the brand new High West Distillery in downtown Park City with a world-class party and a high-end auction to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association. To date, the Park City fest has generated more than $100,000 for local organizations.
The following day, the Stroll of Park City Grand Tasting offers festival-goers a chance to sample wine and spirits at various restaurants, bars and hotels up and down Main Street and/or to compete in the festival’s 5th annual golf tournament.
The event culminates in the huge Toast of Park City Grand Tasting at the Canyons Resort — huge as in 500 wines for your sampling pleasure. (Pacing is everything. This is a good time to learn to “swirl, sip and spit.”) As part of the Grand Tasting, the Viking Outdoor Kitchen showcases cooking demonstrations and celebrity chef contests. Last year, local favorites Jean Louis Montecot, chef and owner of Jean Louis Restaurant, and Zane Holmquist, executive chef of Stein Eriksen Lodge, in addition to Dustin Clark, executive chef of Wildwood in Portland, Oregon, wowed the crowd’s thousands with their sparkling wit and mouthwatering fare. The festival concludes with a few more seminars on the last day, and believe it or not, they’re usually sold out. July 9-12. Various locations in Park City. Visit ParkCityFoodandWineClassic.com or call 877.328.2783 for event details and to purchase tickets.
In the idyllic setting of the Sundance Resort, at the foot of Mt. Timpanogos, a small gathering of tents covers a stellar collection of wines and some of the area’s best chefs and their specialties at the annual Sundance Food & Wine Festival. This low-key event, now in its fourth year, benefits the Sundance Preserve — 5,000 acres that are protected and devoted to ensuring the environmental health of Sundance’s North Fork Canyon. The Preserve, a concept that was far ahead of its time, is a living model for the advancement of sustainability, promoting wildlife and habitat preservation and restoration, watershed protection and numerous other worthy pursuits. It also encompasses the myriad cultural and creative activities that take place on the grounds of the resort year-round (sundancepreserve.org). As for the festival, it’s a mellow afternoon of sipping samples from vintners of the Sundance Label Wine Program, including such luminaries as Selby and Viader — and of enjoying everything from wood oven pizzas to cold soups from area chefs.
If you’re up for it, start the day with a ski-lift ride to the top of the mountain and perhaps a hike over to Stewart Falls. You can also save your energy for eating and drinking and simply ride back down the lift and take in the spectacular view. September 5, noon-4 p.m. Sundance Resort. sundanceresort.com. 801.225.4107.
Virginia Rainey writes about good food and the people who produce it. She helped establish Utah’s first Taste of the Nation event 10 years ago.
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