Fun With Carbs

Friday was a busy food day for Fun With Carbs. First I covered an event where a grown man stuffed his face with four pounds of cheeseburger. Then I switched gears and crossed state lines to cover the WGBY Wine Lovers Weekend in Springfield, co-sponsored by Table & Vine.

This event is a real treat for Western Massachusetts wine lovers and foodies.  First, the tickets are affordable ($40 for WGBY members, $45 for nonmembers.) The admission price entitles you to hundreds of wine, champagne and beer tastings. That alone would be worth it, but it also includes tons of gratis food tastings. (No expensive food-for-purchase ticketing system like some larger festivals. )

Our first stop was the Table & Vine Connoisseur’s room (thanks, T&V!) where we tried some excellent high-end wines – a refreshing Grgich Hills Chardonnay, a rich Ferrari- Carano (Sangiovese/Malbec blend), a stunning Antintori Tignanello Italian red (recommended to us by a WGBY rep) and a few equally impressive Champagnes. Then we moved on to the edible offerings.

Beefalo frankfurters from Wild Mountain

There were specialty foods galore – everything from artisan cheese and chocolate to meatballs, curry chicken, seared tuna, lobster rolls and clam chowder. We sampled charcuterie, bruschetta spreads on crackers, homemade ricotta, grilled Australian barramundi, vegetable pakora and much more. I had an OMG moment with a piece of Berkshire Bark Jumpin’ Java chocolate, which probably gave me the tastiest caffeine buzz I’d ever experienced. Also amazing: the Beefalo frankfurters from Wild Mountain Farm in West Brookfield.

Beyond grapes, there was also honey and chamomile mead from Green River Ambrosia, fruit and ice wines from Hardwick Valley and Still River Winery and a variety of beers from Berkshire Brewing Company.

The booths were a bit difficult to locate and identify – they were marked by letters and numbers, intended to correspond with a printed program. It would have been much easier to get to each booth if they’d all had identifying banners or signs representing their company. It also would have been great if the event had lasted for more than three hours. We didn’t arrive until 6:30 because of the previous commitment (the event was held from 5 to 8 p.m.) and felt really rushed. Not to mention that some booths started breaking down around 7:30 p.m.

Either way, this is an event that we hope to attend annually. This festival is absolutely worth the price of admission, especially if you’re looking for great food as part of the package deal. Scroll down for more photos…

Chicken curry and basmati rice from Sitar, Springfield

Grilled barramundi with lemon butter from Australis in Turners Falls, Mass.

One of many, many cheese displays (the cheese on the right was speckled with blueberry)

Spectacular Berkshire Bark chocolate