The DC Traveler

This weekend is time again for the always popular Metropolitan Cooking & Entertainment Show in Washington, DC.
Join over 40 of DC’s finest chefs and foodies, along with special cooking presentations by well-known Food TV celebrity chefs, Paula Dean, Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis. 
Enjoy cooking demonstrations and head-to-head cooking competitions, food and wine tastings, tips on entertaining and cooking, along with workshops on everything from holiday cooking to knife and plating skills. 
With over 170 food related companies displaying and selling everything from exotic weekend cooking retreats, wine storage, and kitchen gadgets, the show is not just …read more

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With the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains as a back drop, enjoy a sampling of wines from one of 17 Virginia wineries along with enjoy festival foods while watching hot air balloons (and even a few lawnmower races).
In it’s 12 year, the Hot Air Balloon and Wine Festival at Historic Longbranch had lots of fun activities throughout the day, including:

Live entertainment
Mansion tours
Antique cars and the ld Dominion Fire Society antique fire engine display
Kids activities
Monster Truck rides
Crafts and area artisans
Radio-controlled planes
Lawnmower races

Hot Air Balloon and Wine Festival at Historic Longbranch 
Longbranch Historic House
1830 Longbranch Lane 
Millwood, Virginia 22646 (map it)
540-837-1856
Dates and Times – …read more

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Italian sparkling wines at the French Embassy? Is this possible? 
California champagnes being served on French soil?  Sacrilegious??!!
No!! Wine lovers know that great wines come from around the globe, not just one region or one country.  Especially champagnes and sparkling wines.
So sample over 25 French, Italian, Spanish, American, and Austrian sparklers that will be presented at the first Champagne and Other Bubbles Festival at the French Embassy in Washington, DC. 
The selection includes bubbly samples from around the globe including:

Champagnes
Proseccos
Cavas
Spumante
Blanc de noirs
Blanc de blancs
Sparkling rosés
Sparkling reds
Bruts, Drys, Extra Drys and Demi-Secs …read more

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Just 30 years ago, visiting the six wineries operating in Virginia was fairly easy.   Today, with over 130 wineries in the Commonwealth, it could take months to visit them all. 
The great thing about the many local summer and fall wine festivals, is that the wineries come to you.
At the Vintage Virginia Wine Festival, in suburban Centreville, Virginia, you can taste wines from over 35 Virginia wineries. After sampling some of the 250 wines offered, attend one of the hourly seminars at the Seminar Tents, and learn about paring, wine making and its history, and the learn about the many …read more

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The Virginia Wine Showcase is this weekend in suburban Chantilly, Virginia.
Forty wineries will be serving, selling, and bragging about some of the 300 wines available for tasting.
The showcase also offers a series of fee-based wine seminars where you can learn about wine, winemaking, food pairings, and improving your enjoyment of the nectar of the gods.
Some of the more interesting seminars include:

It’s All About The Chocolate – Perfect for planning a Valentine’s Day celebration, how to pair wines with chocolate. 
Virginia Versus The World – Just how do Virginia wines compare to wines from other regions of the …read more

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Well, not actually in France, but on French soil…at the French Embassy. 
La Maison Française at the French embassy is hosting it’s annual champagne tasting with some of
France’s finest champagnes from the Champagne region (not to be confused with non-Champagne sparkling wines – read more here). 
Keep watch over this list for actual participants in the Washington, DC event.
Sample twenty different French champagnes, food and desserts prepared by the French Pastry School, while being entertained by live music.
The soirée also includes a silent auction and a raffle for two round-trip tickets to Paris.  Area chefs will also present a sampling of their …read more

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This is a GNO (Girl’s Night Out) with a great theme. Sampling some of the best wines created by leading women in the winemaking industry, combined with some amazing food and of course, great company.
According a study on women winemakers in California, an estimated 15% to 20% of California’s wine-makers are women. And while it may currently be a a male-dominated industry, there’s no surprise that evidence indicates women’s senses of taste and smell are more acute, resulting in a high demand for winemakers with these heightened senses.
This fun and flavor-packed evening occurs at one of Washingtonian magazine’s consistent Top 100 Best Restaurants, Café …read more

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The the July edition of Travel + Leisure magazine Virginia and its 130+ wineries were named as one of the five “up-and-coming” wine regions in the world and as such, the only American location to receive that distinction.

The article Wine-Lover’s Guide: 5 Wine Regions to Visit Now focused  on five of the most promising and enjoyable newer wine destinations, including areas of Spain, Central Otago in New Zealand, the region in Italy on the Adriatic coast becoming known for some of their white wines and Chile, plus Virginia’s enjoyable wine country.
To quote the article’s author:
“The state had been trading on the grape-growing …read more

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