New to area wine list: An international festival

Charlottesville, a city that hosts festivals celebrating movies, books and photography, is about to add another to honor the gastronomic arts.

The International Food & Wine Experience of Charlottesville will be at the Omni Charlottesville Hotel and other Downtown Mall venues from Jan. 23 to Jan. 25.

“I am very pleased to announce the addition of one more festival, which I expect will grow to be one of those annual events that we all look forward to and celebrate,” Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris said. “As far as we know, it will be the only event of its kind in the commonwealth.”

The festival will include champagne breakfasts, wine tastings, an awards dinner and seminars pairing fine food with wines from around the world.

Don’t let the “International” title fool you, though: Virginia wines will play a prominent role, according to Timothy P. O’Brien, president of the organizing group.

“This is more of an introduction of Virginia wines into the global wine scene,” O’Brien said.

About 20 Virginia wines, mostly from the Charlottesville region, will be among the 100-plus that have been handpicked from around the globe.

“The whole idea of the grand tasting is that the wines will be placed alphabetically; they are not segregated,” O’Brien said. “And there will also be a blind tasting, and nobody will know which wine is in which flight.”

It will be varietal against varietal. Price against price.

O’Brien said the new festival was the brainchild of George Benford, who opened Siips Wine and Champagne Bar on the Downtown Mall last December.

“I am either the goat or the hero,” Benford said with a laugh, “ but we think it’s exciting.”

Benford said he believes Virginia is the capital of the wine industry in the East.

“We are positive of that,” he said. “Just look at the number of great wineries out there and how many new ones are coming up every day. This is a real opportunity for the Virginia wine industry to step up into the international arena.”

To be the best, you have to stand flight to flight with the best.

“It’s just like Richmond playing UVa or UVa playing Southern Cal,” he said. “You only get better when you play against the best teams. With wines, I think, they are better when they compete with others on the international market.”

Organizers expect thousands to attend the festival at a time of year when the hospitality industry is slow. It is also when the mall will be undergoing major renovations.

“[It is] really a good time to be bringing in some economic activity to Charlottesville to showcase our wine industry,” Norris said. “We expect there to be many wine connoisseurs and their families coming to Charlottesville and participating in this very fine event.”

The Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau estimated that the festival could infuse $500,000 to $1 million into the local economy. Some of the proceeds will be earmarked for scholarships for Virginia residents who attend Virginia colleges, targeting those in the state’s hospitality industry.

Benford said that the cost is going to be affordable compared with the $1,875 price tag of a recent New York festival.

“Theirs does not include hotel,” he said. “Ours is $759 and it does include the hotel.”

Without the hotel stay, tickets are $595 for all the events, including the gala dinner. Individual tickets for seminars will start at about $40, and events will run from $100 to $250.

“They are not going to be getting Ripple,” Benford said. “They are going to be getting great wines.”

For details, but not ticket sales, call 296-0001.