Washington, DC International Food & Wine Festival 2012

The Washington, DC International Food & Wine Festival is an annual celebration of wine, cuisine and culture that shines a light on the Washington’s diversity and prominence as a world-class dining destination. The International Food & Wine Festival is the largest event of its kind in the Mid-Atlantic region. This year’s event will include more than 600 rare and loved wines from 100 wineries and foods from artisanal producers around the world and Washington DC's best restaurants. New in 2012, American craft beers will come front and center at the festival's Beer Garden.

Washington DC's top sommeliers will kick off the anticipated weekend by flexing their wine smarts at the festival's inaugural Sommelier Showdown on Thursday, February 9th from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Five professional oenophiles including Theo Rutherford of Fiola, Brent Kroll of Adour, Eli Benchimol of Chef Geoff's and Guy Golan of J&G Steakhouse will compete in a race of the taste, using deductive tasting to identify wines with hidden labels. A limited quantity of tickets to the Sommelier Showdown are available for $150.

Dates and Times
February 11 - 12, 2012
2 - 6 p.m.

Location
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC

The Grand Tasting

Wines of the world and the variety of fare that goes along with them is the theme of this premier festival in our Nation's Capital. More than 600 rare, unique and loved wines will be available for tasting from 100 wineries from around the world. All guests at the Grand Tasting will receive an etched Washington, DC International Wine & Food Festival wine glass and have the opportunity to speak directly with winemakers while enjoying and learning about a wide variety of wines.

Beer Garden & Mixology Program

Several flavorful craft beers will be available for tasting from many craft breweries. Spirits will also be savored at the Festival with exciting new mixology program in which guests can sample taste, touch and smell the newest ingredients in mixology, sample unique spirits and catch libation lessons by Washington DC's most buzzworthy mixologists.

Artisanal Foods & Hearty Fare

With an array of foods from artisanal producers to Washington DC's best restaurants the Festival fare will please foodies and share fun food finds. Artisanal food producers from the region and around the world will be sharing their foods. From olive oil producers to new chocolate makers and coffee roasters, the Festival will showcase a variety of unique foods. Washington DC restaurants will be providing hearty, savory dishes at Restaurant Row. For a more in-depth focus on food, top toques will take center stage with cooking demonstrations in a Viking Range demo kitchen.

Admission
Tickets are $85 for Saturday admission, $80 for Sunday admission or $145 for both days. The ticket price includes an etched IWFF wine glass, unlimited wine tastings, food from DC's best restaurants in the IWFF Restaurant Row, tastings of foods from artisanal producers and cooking demos from DC's best chefs.

Official Website
www.wineandfooddc.com