Utah’s premier wine event is the annual Park City Food & Wine Classic, which this year takes place July 10-14. It highlights hundreds of wines and winemakers, along with more than a hundred food artisans, breweries, distilleries, restaurants, cooking demonstrations, outdoor adventures, seminars and more.
The ninth-annual Park City Food & Wine Classic kicks off on Wednesday, July 10, with a Farm to Barn Wine Dinner ($195) in the newly renovated Blue Sky Ranch barn. It’s an event to raise funds for the nonprofit People’s Health Clinic and will feature a five-course meal prepared by chefs from High West Distillery, The St. Regis Deer Valley and The Montage, paired with wines selected by master sommeliers.
On Thursday, July 11, there’s the Wine on the Mountain Kickoff Celebration ($145), an exclusive, private tasting of a variety of wines and cocktails at The St. Regis Deer Valley, along with culinary treats from the St. Regis and an opportunity to chat and schmooze with winemakers and other winery representatives in an intimate setting.
The main event on Friday, July 12, is the Stroll of Park City ($90), where attendees wander Park City’s Main Street, stopping in at various restaurants to sip wine and nosh on cuisine prepared by the various restaurants’ chefs. Among the restaurants included in this year’s stroll are Silver, Shabu, Butcher’s, High West, Riverhorse and Buona Vita, just to name a few.
There are a number of outdoor activities scheduled for Friday, too, such as Hops & Hike ($75), where an invigorating hike will be followed by a barbecue lunch at The Montage, paired with Stella Artois beers. At SUP & Suds ($75), attendees will paddleboard on the Deer Valley Lake and enjoy a picnic accompanied by frosty brews (and wines for nonbeer drinkers). Pigs & Pinot ($75) is pretty much what it sounds like: various pork dishes (belly, bacon, ribs and such) paired with Pinot Noir selected by Master Sommelier Ron Mumford at Bangkok Thai on Main.
There’s a whole lot going on at the Park City Food & Wine Classic on Saturday, July 13, from a hands-on painting adventure by The Paint Mixer called Paint, Wine & Design ($65) with wines selected by wine geek Jim Santangelo, to Mamma Mia! ($75), a seminar and wine-sipping event at 350 Main that will be a food and wine tour of Italy’s wine regions. Dishing the Dirt on Oregon Wines ($75) at Canyons Resort will highlight wines from Elk Cove, Adelsheim and Willamette Valley vineyards. The Wine & Whiskey Walk ($65) will be on some of the trails surrounding Park City, guided by folks from High West Distillery, and feature lunch with a sampling of wines and High West whiskies.
Of course, the big daddy of the entire Food & Wine Classic is the three-hour (four if you have VIP tickets) Toast of Park City ($90) at Canyons Resort on Saturday afternoon. Also called the Grand Tasting (because that’s what it is), it’s an outdoor food, wine, beer and spirits extravaganza featuring more than 500 different wines, food from 30 different restaurants and much more. Remember to bring sunscreen!
Things wind down on Sunday with A Mary Morning ($65) at Stein Eriksen Lodge, where a relaxed hike will be followed by Bloody Marys and Stein’s award-winning brunch, crafted by Executive Chef Zane Holmquist. Or, how about On the Road Again ($95)? This will be an intermediate 25-mile road-bike seminar and ride, followed by food and cocktails.
And, that’s just some of the events scheduled. For a full rundown, visit ParkCityFoodAndWineClassic.com.
Twitter: @critic1
