Celebrate Spring at the Blue Ridge Wine & Food Festival

The arrival of Spring signifies blooming flowers, sprouting vegetables, beautiful weather, and a time to enjoy earth's renewal. And where better to enjoy all that Spring has to offer than at the Blue Ridge Wine & Food Festival in Blowing Rock, North Carolina April 13-17.

Starting a day earlier this year, the weekend begins with Uncork the Festival, a kickoff celebration featuring wine, dinner and entertainment at Chetola Resort. Thursday and Friday features cooking classes, wine seminars meet & greets with food critics, cookbook authors and culinary celebrities and renowned Winemaker dinners at varied venues around town. Saturday features the flagship events Fire on the Rock Chefs Challenge and the Grand Wine Tasting, and Sunday closes out the event with their Champagne Brunch and the crowning of the areas top chef. Over the course of the weekend, the Blue Ridge Wine & Food Festival will delight your palate and awaken your senses.

Located in the charming town of Blowing Rock, North Carolina, the Blue Ridge Wine & Food Festival is a great  excuse to visit this picturesque town filled with southern hospitality. And with upscale resorts to comfortable inns to stylish bed and breakfasts to cozy log cabins, there are accommodations options to please everyone. There are over eight lodging packages that have been created specifically for the Wine & Food Festival including accommodations and tickets to the varied events.

So make plans now to celebrate spring at the Blue Ridge Wine & Food Festival

Battleship NORTH CAROLINA in Top 20

The Southeast Tourism Society has named the Battleship Blast at the Battleship NORTH CAROLINA as one of the Top 20 Events in the Southeast for July. Celebrating 50 years in North Carolina, Battleship NORTH CAROLINA participated in every major naval offensive in the Pacific area of operations and earned 15 battle stars during World War II and was considered one of the world's greatest sea weapon. 


Moored with dignity and majesty across the Cape Fear River in Wilmington since October 1961, Battleship NORTH CAROLINA offers a glimpse into US history through self-guided tours and special events. On July 4th, in celebration of their anniversary and our nations' independence, Battleship NORTH CAROLINA will feature the Battleship Blast with a fireworks spectacular that has never been seen in Wilmington before.


Dedicated to promoting tourism in 12 Southeastern states, the Southeast Tourism Society started its Top 20 Events program in 1985. "The STS Top 20 Events list is an excellent guide for travelers in the Southeast. Events selected represent the best activities the region offers," says Neville Bhada, vice president of communications and public relations for STS, ."

The Southern Foodways Alliance Potlikker Film Festivals In South Carolina

The recent Southern Foodways Alliance Potlikker Film Festival during the tasty Charleston Wine + Food Festival simply served to strengthen our appreciation and admiration with the organization whose sole purpose is to document, study, and celebrate the diverse food cultures of the South.

The SFA is an institution of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. Director John T. Edge, fellow staffers, and SFA members stage symposia, collect oral histories, publish compendiums, and produce documentary films like the ones we enjoyed in Charleston.

Best Places to Live in 2011: Greenville, South Carolina

According to Men's Journal, Greenville, South Carolina is one of the Best Places to Live in 2011. The list features 18 towns who are perfecting the art of living well.  According to the top men's magazine, these are  places where conservation is paramount to development and where bicycle shops, microbreweries and farmers markets thrive. And we couldn't agree more.

Here's what Men's Journal had to say: "The North American home of BMW and Michelin, Greenville boasts a revitalized pedestrian-friendly old downtown with a cool throwback ballpark; all linked by free trolley service; a zealous cycling community; and a group called Upstate Forever that keeps a watchdog's eye on open space and clean waterways."

And with a thriving cultural scene, outdoor attractions and festivals (including one of our fall favorites, Euphoria, a celebration of food, wine and music), superb shopping, and a flavorful dining scene unmatched by many much larger downtown areas across the South, it's also an ideal travel destination.  So whether you are looking for a weekend getaway, making your summer vacation plans or looking for a new place to call home, be sure to check out Greenville, South Carolina.

Holy City's Top Sommelier at Charleston Wine + Food Festival

The sixth helping of the Charleston Wine + Food Festival wrapped up Sunday after four days celebrating the food of the Lowcountry. Winemaker and Locavore luncheons, a Top Chef competition with six of Bravo's Top Cheftestants, cooking demonstrations, celebrity author cookbook signings, wine tastings and seminars, tastings from Lowcountry chefs and food purveyors, Charleston-area restaurant dine-arounds featuring national celebrity chefs, beer dinners, and Festival after-hours parties highlighted the event and showcased why Charleston has become a serious foodie Mecca.

Celebrations were in order for Patrick Emerson, Wine and Beverage Director with Maverick Southern Kitchens, as he was named Holy City's top Sommelier following his victory over more than 50 of the Lowcountry's top wine professionals during the Top Sommelier competition. Each participant was given 30 minutes to analyse six wines--stating the grape varietal, country of origin, region and vintage. In case of a tie, participants were asked to recommend a dish they would serve with the first wine. It was this pairing (a Gerwurztraminer from Alsace in France with Slightly North of Broad's Pad Thai with garlic shrimp and lemongrass) that ultimately secured Patrick's victory.

Congratulations to Patrick on his victory and to the Charleston Wine + Food Festival on their tasty celebration of the Lowcountry. We've already got next years Festival on our calendar March 1-4, 2012.