Wine, Food and Music at Colonial Heritage

By Amber Lester Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Wine lovers, foodies and their friends have a chance to sample the best of Virginia at Colonial Heritage’s first Williamsburg Wine and Food Festival this weekend.

The two-day festival will bring more than 30 Virginia wineries and gourmet food vendors offering food and wine demonstrations to Colonial Heritage. The festival will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Virginia wineries such as Chateau Morrisette, Cooper Vineyards, Horton Vineyards, First Colony Winery, Williamsburg Winery and more will offer tastes of their wines. Guests can sample food from Seafire Grill, By George Catering, The Catering Company, Terra Wine Bar and more. Non-drinkers and drinkers alike can browse wares from Nancy Blanchard Jewelry, Let’s Wine Apparel and artist Christopher Mize. For a full list of vendors, click here.

The festival will also host special guests Christopher Cross, best known for his song, “Sailing,” and wine expert Kevin Zraly. Cross will perform a concert on the first night of the festival, starting at 7:30 p.m. Cross’ debut album, released in 1979, swept the four main categories at the Grammys, winning “Best Record,” “Best Song,” “Best Album” and “Best New Artist.” He won an Oscar as a co-composer of “Arthur’s Theme” from the movie “Arthur,” starring Dudley Moore. Tickets to his concert cost $15 and must be purchased separately from festival tickets.

Kevin Zraly is world-renowned for his palate. The famed wine connoisseur served as wine director for Windows on the World, the World Trade Center’s restaurant, from 1976 to 2001. He founded the Windows on the World Wine School and wrote an accompanying best-selling book. He is also a recipient of the James Beard Award for Wine and Spirits Professional of the Year. He will offer a wine appreciation seminar from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Bob Krieff, president of Virginia operations for Lennar, said the developer wanted to show off the grounds for its age-restricted gated community. “From a sales and marketing standpoint, our company, as with most communities with gates, finds it necessary to open those gates up,” he said, adding the grounds are so beautiful, “to not show it off would be a shame.”

Wine dinners and tasting events at the community’s restaurant have been successful in the past, and the festival seemed like a good fit with the 45-and-up demographic of Colonial Heritage’s residents, Krieff said.

While annual wine festivals are held in Norfolk, New Kent County and Yorktown each year, Krieff didn’t know of any large-scale festivals in Williamsburg. “We wanted to certainly have one of the largest and the best,” he said. “I think we’re going to accomplish that.”

Tickets purchased in advance cost $25 for one day and $40 for two days. For non-drinkers or attendees under 21, tickets cost $15 for one day and $25 for two days. Tickets purchased at the event are $30 for one day and $50 for two days. Children under 12 can attend free. Coolers and pets are not allowed. For more information or to purchase tickets, click here.