Westchester Magazine is thrilled to be hosting our third Wine & Food Weekend, an event that keeps getting bigger and better. Wine and food entwine our lives together, and I believe that’s how it should be. On the following pages, you can explore and learn about this fantastic four-day extravaganza where, this year, you can taste more than 200 wines from around the world paired with signature dishes from more than 100 Westchester restaurants. Add burgers, beer, and spirits to the mix, and you have the makings of an awesome weekend!
It starts with our expanded Burger & Beer Bash on Thursday, June 6, at the Kensico Dam in Valhalla, where 30 restaurants will be competing to win the “Cadillac of Burgers” award—all under a gigantic tent with a live band. It promises to be a fun-filled night at a gorgeous location.
On Friday, June 7, we move to the luxurious Ritz-Carlton, Westchester in White Plains for three days of tastings and wine-related events, including dinner at BLT Steak paired with some of the summer’s hottest cocktails presented by Zachys; seminars by Kevin Zraly, founder of the Windows on the World Wine School, and the Captain Lawrence Brewing Company in Elmsford; a bartenders’ “shake off”; and a Champagne Sunday brunch. Our Winemakers’ Dinner on Saturday, June 8, has a star-studded lineup of top chefs, with Peter X. Kelly at the helm. (Check out the menu on page 32 of this special supplement.)
Planning and executing an event of this magnitude requires an enormous amount of work. I’d like to extend a special thanks to our sponsors, all participating restaurants and wineries, the chefs and speakers for the seminars, and the students from Westchester Community College Culinary Arts Program for lending a much needed (and appreciated) hand. And I would be remiss to not mention our host, the Ritz-Carton, Westchester, and their amazing team who handles the many, many details involved in putting together something of this scope; our new wine partner, Zachys Wine & Liquor, and their talented team of wine experts who compiled this fabulous selection of fine wines from around the world, showcased right here in Westchester; Thompson & Bender, the full-service public relations, advertising, and marketing firm that has helped us produce the Wine & Food Weekend since its inception; and, of course, everyone here at Westchester Magazine who have worked so hard to make this idea a reality.
There is still time to get your tickets, but some events sell out quickly. Tickets can be purchased online at westchestermagazine.com/wineweekend, and proceeds benefit the Westchester Coalition for the Hungry and Homeless, as well as Friends of Westchester County Parks—which we are happy to support.
I hope to see you there!