This past weekend, I felt very honored to have been invited to Mohegan Sun for the 10th Anniversary of their Wine Festival, The Sun WineFest.My friend, Stacey joined me and we took the 2-hour drive on Saturday morning.  Upon arrival we were treated with VIP care by their incredibly accommodating staff.  After picking up my Media pass (I loved wearing this by the way), we made our way to take a look at the main event.   

As with most wine festivals I have been to, the place was absolutely packed with eager wine tasters.  We decided to take our time and slowly took a look around, knowing we would be lucky enough on Sunday to enjoy the space with a little more freedom during the media hour. 

While some of my favorites were there like Duckhorn, Chateau Ste Michelle and Toasted Head, we also got to try some fun and different new wines like Once Upon a Vine and Canella Blood Orange Mimosa.  Sweeter wines were in abundance this year with some that intrigued me and some I just didn’t take to, like the new Skinny wines.  All worth the try though.

If you think this wine festival is all about wines, think again.  There was a lot of food tastings with some interesting and rather delicious options for purchase with a favorite of mine being the lobster roll from Cuvée.   Celebrity Chefs were featured making dishes and taking questions from the audience.  I really enjoyed watching William Kovel of Catalyst in Cambridge making Braised Short Ribs with Burgundy Snails Ragu.  He is also not hard on the eyes.

For those that don’t particularly like wine, Sun WineFest also offers room upon room to explore from the well known to the exotic world of beers, lagers and ales.  There is truly something for everyone.

Our fun-filled weekend ended elegantly wrapped in chocolate and champagne at the Bubbles and Bons Bons event.  Hosted by Moët & Chandon and featuring three celebrity pastry chefs who treated us to a vast array of sweet and decadent delights.  Check out the video…

In addition to the festival itself, we fine dined at Todd English’s Tuscany, Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain and took in a casual breakfast at Johnny Rockets.  Not forgetting a play on my favorite slot machine, Wheel of Fortune and a little go around of Roulette to play Black 22 for my friend, Tricia.  I could not have asked for a more fun weekend.

A huge thank you to Michelle at Mohegan Sun for the invite to the festival.  I hope to be back next year.