Everyone's a Vintner

How to approach this year's Philadelphia Wine Festival

by Shaun Brady

Touring the California wine country, there's one experience that's unique to visitors from Pennsylvania. Anybody who drives through Napa and Sonoma can enjoy the gorgeous weather, lush fields of vines, and, of course, those big, bold Cabs and buttery Chards. But only we understand that pungent mix of pity and disappointment that comes over the locals' faces when friendly "Where ya from?" inquiries are met with the reply — Philly. "Enjoy our viticultural Eden," that look seems to say, "but tough luck having to return to that PLCB-dominated hinterland."

They're right, of course, but those who like a little more variety than what the state stores offer always have ways to indulge their obsessions. Traveling to the source is great, but aren't all those expenses — hotels, rental cars, the distraction of scenery from the true business of stockpiling the cellar — just taking away from the bottle budget?

Once a year, the wine world takes pity and comes to us for the Philadelphia Wine Festival, which this year gathers nearly 200 wineries from around the world for a marathon couple of hours of Convention Center tasting.

For designated drivers, there's a silent auction benefiting the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, a chance to win a Govberg watch and plenty of well-paired delectables from local eateries. But logistically, unless you're shelling out the extra $100 for the VIP session — which confers official wine-snob status and offers 90 minutes of primo tasting before the riffraff comes in — there's only two and a half hours to try as many swigs as allowable while maintaining a veneer of glass-swirling, bouquet-sniffing class. Taste as much wine as possible — you can eat on Sunday.

This year's seventh edition offers a healthy selection of California and Italian wineries, with smatterings from the various grape-growing corners of the planet: Spain, Australia, South America, the Pacific Northwest. Those pitying California folks dominate, though, from skippable big names to the renowned-but-rarely-seen likes of Cakebread and Clos Pegase (though tasting the latter art-filled winery's wares in Philly can't recreate the experience of sipping with an original Francis Bacon looking over your shoulder — that one's worth the trip). I hope you've been squirreling away cash, Philly: You won't get your taste buds on this stuff without airfare otherwise.

(s_brady@citypaper.net)

Philadelphia Wine Festival 2008

Sat., May 10

Pennsylvania Convention Center

1101 Arch St.

800-595-4849

phillymag.com/files/html/winefest2008/winefest.html

VIP Tasting 5-6:30 p.m., $225

Grand tasting 6:30-9 p.m., $125