The Island’s premier food and wine event, the Martha’s Vineyard Food and Wine Festival, began Wednesday, Oct. 23, and continues until Sunday, Oct. 27.
Featuring the best of Vineyard culinary masters paired with best-in-class winemakers and aficionados, this year’s festival is slated to be the biggest and best so far.
For the 12th year, more than 2,000 food and wine enthusiasts come together for unique Island events each day that celebrates the diversity and rich culture of food and drink on Martha’s Vineyard.
“I’m really looking forward to this year’s festival. The increased level of interest and support from new and returning sponsors and participants has allowed us to expand the festival lineup,” festival director Dawn Curtis Hanley told The Times. “Every year we are looking to enhance the experience, and draw more people from all over the world.”
Curtis Hanley said the event is more than double the size of last year, with more than 40 events ranging from high-end wine tastings to salt-of-the-earth celebrations of local agriculture.
The festival is held by the Edgartown Board of Trade, and made possible by many generous contributors and sponsors.
The kickoff event, “Fresh Off the Farm,” will be held at the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society in West Tisbury, and will highlight delicious, fresh, and local wine and cuisine to benefit Island Grown Schools and the Agricultural Society’s Farmers Program.
Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant will be at the Ag Society to present an impressive array of wines, alongside specialty cuisine prepared by Island farms and chefs, all curated by Rosewater Market & Takeaway.
The second event, “All the Food That’s Fit to Eat,” will be held at the newly renovated Harbor View Hotel, and will focus on cooking culture, food media in the digital age, and the transcendence of food stories in difficult times. A reception to follow features New York black-and-white cookies, the Vineyard’s Salted Cranberry Bar, and the Harbor View’s Roxy’s Rainbow Cookie, developed by Roxana Chiu and prepared by Executive Chef Patrice Martineau. Cookies will be paired with dessert wines.
Sam Sifton, founding editor of New York Times Cooking and esteemed restaurant critic, will be at the event, along with the editor of newsletter and website Cook the Vineyard, Susie Middleton.
Once again the highlight of the weekend’s celebration, the “Grand Tasting” will be held at the picturesque Winnetu Oceanside Resort in Katama.
Participating Edgartown restaurants include Atria, Alchemy, Bettini, Dos Mas, the Katama General Store, l’Etoile, Murdick’s Fudge, Rosewater Market & Takeaway, Détente, the Terrace at the Charlotte Inn, Town Bar & Grill, and more. Also new this year is the addition of dinners outside Edgartown, including events at State Road restaurant in West Tisbury, Beach Road restaurant in Vineyard Haven, and Sweet Life and the Cardboard Box in Oak Bluffs.
Visit mvfoodandwine.com for the full lineup of events and to purchase tickets.
