[trip style = sun + weekend getaway + wine tasting]
Last weekend I was in Vegas covering the Bon Appetit-sponsored Vegas Uncork’d, a food and wine festival with a mouthful of gourmet chefs strutting their stuff on the red carpet and the white plate. {See my 'full report' in Fodor’s}
My schedule was filled to the brim with wine tastings led by Master Sommeliers {there are only 160 in the world}, gala events with 2500 gastr-oeno-philes and a food truck noshdown showcasing Vegas’ local side. My camera was my weekend’s +1, and my notepad was my BFF.
Chatting with mixology mavens at a cocktail competition in the Bellagio {where guests got as tipsy as the fountains}, I learned people both traveled to Sin City for the event, or found out about it after booking their trip, and decided to attend. If you’re into food and wine, the four-day Uncork’d foodie fest is an ideal sun ‘n sip trip-style combo. Think of it like an “investigative report” on Vegas’ gourmet side---a side that’s beckoning a new type of Glitter Gulch'er who may not even gamble a penny, but go all-in for gourmet.
And one of the newest chefs on the block {<---double entendre} is Gordon Ramsay, who at the launch of his only steakhouse in North America, Gordon Ramsay Steak, called Vegas’s food competition “fierce”, noting that he wasn’t about to “Put {his} balls on the line with fine dining”...unless he was certain he could do it well. Judging from his past success, I’d say he’s got a #$*$@!-good chance {in his words}. His iPad menus will help too.
{above + below, the Grand Tasting}
- The event, in its sixth year, is expected to take place next year on Mother’s Day Weekend.
- Tickets for individual events start around $75, they can also be purchased as a VIP package.
- Here's a taste of this year's schedule.
PS - Bon Appetit is at it again in September for a three-day foodie fiesta in the farm-to-table-obsessed Portland, where mixology is akin to celebrity.