Tidbites | Week of October 31, 2013

0
FAB wines from California, Chile and Argentina at the 2012 wine festival.

NINTH ANNUAL DENVER INTERNATIONAL WINE FESTIVAL

As girlfriends around the state might have suggested, it’s time to put down the pint glass and Broncos hoodie and pick up the goblet and sweater vest. The Ninth Annual Denver International Wine Festival will showcase more than 400 international wines from 18 countries Nov. 6-10 at the Omni Interlocken Resort in Broomfield.

Hosted by Wine Country International Magazine, the five-day festival will feature several food and wine events with internationally known chefs and wineries, detailed on the festival’s website, www.denverwinefest.com.

Former White House chef John Moeller will be competing against nine Colorado chefs at the Pairsine Chef’s Food and Wine Pairing Competition at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7. The dishes prepared by the chefs will be paired with Gold medal-winning wines from the Denver International Wine Competition. Tickets cost $100 each and include 20 wine and food pairing tastes.

The Grand Tasting of International Wines and Food event will feature more than 60 wineries, breweries and distilleries offering pourings and tastings from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 8. The event will also feature a Belgium Beer Garden with food samplings and a collection of fine art. Tickets cost $95 and VIP tickets are $215.

Attendees are invited to take a VIP tour of the Front Range Wineries with Wine Country International Magazine Editor in Chief Christopher Davies from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9. The full-day tour takes wine enthusiasts to three of Davies’ favorite local wineries and a local micro-distillery that have not been announced yet. Tickets cost $150.

The festival will conclude with the Julia Child Tribute Champagne Luncheon on Sunday, Nov. 10, from noon to 2 p.m. Guest host Madeliene de Jean, who was a personal friend of Julia Child, will lead the Child-inspired lunch and sabering demonstration. The lunch will be paired with champagne selections from around the world. Tickets cost $100 each.

A portion of DIWF ticket sales and 100 percent of the proceeds from all silent and live auctions will go to Share Our Strength, a national nonprofit centered around ending childhood hunger in America and ensuring that children are being provided healthy, sustainable food.

Omni Interlocken Resort is offering a limited number of festival room rates at $99 a night. For room reservations, go to www.denverwinefest.com/lodging or call 303-438-6600. For further information about the festival and its events, visit www.denverwinefest.com.

DAVID AND GOLIATH OF GREEN RESTAURANTS

In an annual contest for the title of greenest eatery in Colorado, the little guy came out on top. This year’s winner of the Nature’s Plate People’s Choice Green Restaurant contest is Ploughboy in the small town of Salida. Plougboy’s use of pastured meats, low-impact transportation and bio-pest control are what pushed it to win the competition, going up against restaurants in Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins.

The second annual Nature’s Plate contest kicked off in September. The Nature Conservancy, the contest’s sponsor, asked foodies in Colorado and across the country to vote for their favorite local “green” restaurant. Other finalists included Colterra in Niwot, Tasty Harmony in Fort Collins, The Kitchen in Boulder and Watercourse Foods in Denver.

SPRINGS HAVE SPRUNG

Yes, as the weather turns cold, a new Springs has arrived.

Crystal Springs Brewing Company has announced the opening of its brewery and taproom location in Louisville. Brewer and owner Tom Horst, who is also a music instructor at Boulder High School, has run Crystal Springs out of his garage since 2009 and currently distributes to about 20 liquor stores and six restaurants and bars. The Louisville taproom has been in the works for months and was only slightly delayed by the September floods.

The new location for Crystal Springs is 657 S. Taylor Ave., Unit E, in the Colorado Tech Center in Louisville. In an email, Horst says the taproom will be open weekdays from 5 to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 1 to 8 p.m. The taproom will be closed Sundays.

Horst says the hours will be “adjusted as needed” after the taproom has been open a little while.

Respond: letters@boulderweekly.com