Philadelphia Wine Festival

The city of brotherly love opened its arms to wineries all over the world May 10th as over 200 estates from every corner of the earth came to Philadelphia to showcase their reds and whites.

Now in its seventh year, the Philadelphia wine festival, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, Philadelphia Magazine and Lexus brought wineries from Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South America and South Africa and with their passports came their Cabs, their chardonnays, Sauvignon Blancs and their Shiraz. While from North America the likes of Stag’s Leap, Mondavi, Kendall Jackson and Krug were just a few of the big name Napa wineries on display along with favorites of the Pacific Northwest.

The event, held at the convention center, was not only a way for wine lovers to get introduced to some wines they may have never sampled but it was a benefit for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia with all proceeds from a silent auction that took place during the grand tasting from 6-9 pm. Previous to the grand tasting there was a private VIP tasting for $225 a person and a private trade tasting. Since its start in 1855 as the nation's first hospital devoted exclusively to caring for children, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has been the birthplace for many dramatic firsts in pediatric medicine. The Hospital has fostered medical discoveries and innovations that have improved pediatric healthcare and saved countless children's lives.

The festival in Philadelphia, that brought in over 1800 vinophiles with glass in hand sampling the wines, was just part of a stellar week of wine events in Pennsylvania with tastings in also Hershey and Pittsburgh with both also raising funds for local medical institutions.

“Regular attendees know that, each year, the festivals are bigger and more exciting than the year before,” said Patrick “P.J.” Stapleton III, chairman of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board,. “This year is no exception. With more than 200 wineries participating, we have the largest, most diverse group of wines ever represented at Wine Week.” In Philadelphia there were wines for every walk of life be it a dry white from the Argentinian/French collaboration of Trapiche-Pascal Jolivet whose sauvignon blanc “Chateau du Nozay” harvesting correlates with the phase of the moon or Heck Estates Kenwood Vineyards’ Jack London series named after the writer and relative of the winemakers.

Prices of wines tasted varied as each winery sampled everything from their more inexpensive bottles to their showcase items. Leading Medoc winery Chateau Mouton Rothschild, making some of the worlds best wines since the 1930s tasted their 2005 Chateau D’ Armailhac while also highlighting their Chilean collaboration Escudo Rojo Red. Folio Wine Company, whose featured selections included Tenuta dell’Ornellia’s Le Volte, a blend of Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon that retails at $160 per bottle.

“Careful hand harvest ensures that only the finest fruit goes into our wine and meticulous winemaking methods, such as keeping vineyard lots separate until final blending result in the finest expression of this distinctive terroir,” stated their rep. Besides great wine, Philadelphia-area restaurants also featured their signature dishes. All of the items at the event were available for purchase or special order on the night of the event from the PLCB on-site store.