Zinfandel Festival 2013
Twenty-two years in the making, Epicuria: the Food and Zin Pairings launched the 2013 San Francisco Zinfandel Festival, a three day celebration highlighting the versatility of the Zinfandel grape. Nearly 1,200 gourmets sampled combinations of food and wine as varied as Seghesio Family Vineyards 2010 Pagini with Zinfandel glazed ribs, Alexander Valley Vineyards 2010 Sin Zin with a sweet potato timbale and Frank Family Vineyards 2010 Zinfandel with a Zinfandel reduction ice cream. Fifty winemakers collaborated with chefs from 50 restaurants.
Bob Biale, president and manager of vineyard operations for Robert Biale Vineyards, has attended every festival since Zinfandel Advocates and Producers (ZAP) created it in 1991. This year his winery participated for the first time. “We’re a small winery,” Biale explained. “We can’t do everything, but the bar is so high we wanted to participate.” Winemaker Steve Hall and chef Marc Zimmerman and sommelier Maxwell Klassen from Alexander’s Steakhouse paired a 2011 Coombsville Zinfandel with duck tartare and black truffles.
“The event has evolved beautifully,” Biale said. “It offers so much more than tasting wine.”
For the second year in a row, ZAP held Epicuria at the Concourse Exhibition Center. The 125,000 square foot steel and glass pavilion contains a multi-level main floor and a 7,200 square foot mezzanine. “The Concourse places the food and wine pairing under one roof, but the platforms allow them (ZAP) to divide the event into sections,” Biale said.
This year, ZAP experimented with a concierge lounge located on the mezzanine where members could sample and learn more about heritage wines.
Every 20 minutes during the 3 hour event, a camera crew filmed a chef preparing a dish and a winemaker or sommelier explaining why they paired it with a specific vintage for large screens located above the main floor.
But for vigneron Bob Biale, the event is about enhancing a morsel of food with the perfect taste of wine. “We are not just in the alcohol business,” he said. “Wine should revolve around food.”
Reflecting on his first year pouring wine at Epicuria he concluded: “watching people light up when they taste the food and then a sip of Zinfandel is one of the reasons we make wine.”
Bob Biale, president and manager of vineyard operations for Robert Biale Vineyards, has attended every festival since Zinfandel Advocates and Producers (ZAP) created it in 1991. This year his winery participated for the first time. “We’re a small winery,” Biale explained. “We can’t do everything, but the bar is so high we wanted to participate.” Winemaker Steve Hall and chef Marc Zimmerman and sommelier Maxwell Klassen from Alexander’s Steakhouse paired a 2011 Coombsville Zinfandel with duck tartare and black truffles.
“The event has evolved beautifully,” Biale said. “It offers so much more than tasting wine.”
For the second year in a row, ZAP held Epicuria at the Concourse Exhibition Center. The 125,000 square foot steel and glass pavilion contains a multi-level main floor and a 7,200 square foot mezzanine. “The Concourse places the food and wine pairing under one roof, but the platforms allow them (ZAP) to divide the event into sections,” Biale said.
This year, ZAP experimented with a concierge lounge located on the mezzanine where members could sample and learn more about heritage wines.
Every 20 minutes during the 3 hour event, a camera crew filmed a chef preparing a dish and a winemaker or sommelier explaining why they paired it with a specific vintage for large screens located above the main floor.
But for vigneron Bob Biale, the event is about enhancing a morsel of food with the perfect taste of wine. “We are not just in the alcohol business,” he said. “Wine should revolve around food.”
Reflecting on his first year pouring wine at Epicuria he concluded: “watching people light up when they taste the food and then a sip of Zinfandel is one of the reasons we make wine.”
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