Taste of Vail celebrates 35 years

The Taste of Vail is one of the longest running destination food and wine events in the nation. This year, the nonprofit is celebrating its 35th year and there are plenty of reasons to raise a glass and celebrate this milestone throughout the four-day festival.

From exclusive bottles only being opened at The Pour on Wednesday, chef-curated dinners at some of the local restaurants in the evenings, a chef competition on the streets of Vail and seminars that share the inside scoop on hand-crafted winemaking, this epicurean event is not to be missed.

“The Taste of Vail celebrates the culinary side of the Vail Valley, and the chefs love it because they get to meet the people, share their culinary artistry and see what the other chefs are doing,” said Angela Mueller, executive director of the Taste of Vail. “I truly believe that this event showcases our Vail restaurant scene. It’s for the restaurants, it’s for the culinary community and I think it’s important because it makes everybody think and push their boundaries,” Mueller said.

After 35 years, the Taste of Vail organizers know the formula that creates a great food and wine event, but Mueller said there are a few changes this year.

“We always talk about how we can evolve it and change it and we made it a little more boutique-style this year. It will be more intimate. The chefs and winemakers really wanted to be able to talk to the attendees,” Mueller said. “Another thing we’ve noticed is that the wine industry has seen a shift where people are not necessarily always going to the stores to buy wine. They’re buying it from the wineries directly. So, at the event these boutique wineries have a chance of not only being in the stores but also getting that direct contact and getting these people on their list.”

Support Local Journalism

Donate

Mueller also added that the Après Tasting and Chef Competition will feature a variety of proteins instead of just one kind of meat, such as lamb, beef and pork as in past years.

“Buckhead Meat & Seafood is partnering up with us this year and they are sourcing a lot of the meat we’ll see on Thursday from ranches all over Colorado. They are a subsidiary of Sysco but they are their own entity and so they’re all over the country and work with each state’s ranchers and purveyors. They will be bringing in some shrimp and also scallops that are sashimi grade, so there will be more than meat at the après tasting on Thursday,” Mueller said.

Beyond Vail Valley chefs, the Taste of Vail is also bringing in chefs from Denver, South Carolina, Arizona, Ohio, Louisiana and more locations.

“Tom Branighan of MaMou in New Orleans is shipping in oysters. You never know what lengths these chefs will go to in order to bring a great experience to the guests,” Mueller said.

There will also be two chefs from Mexico attending.

“A few years ago, Kevin Erving from The Sebastian Vail came with us down to a food and wine event in Mexico City and we developed a great connection with some of their chefs,” Mueller said. “We recognize that we have a lot of people from Mexico City staying in Vail and it’s great to bring some of these Michelin-rated chefs here.”

Tickets are on sale now for the individual events or you can buy the festival pass or seminar pass if you are planning to go to many events. Please note that the Mountaintop Tasting has been changed to the Debut of Rosé and will be happening at the Vail Golf Club instead of Eagle’s Nest at the top of the Eagle Bahn Gondola. Also, park at the town’s parking garages and take the free bus to Vail Golf Club since public parking will not be available at Vail Golf Club.

“We’re excited to welcome people to the Vail Golf Club, and we will be hosting events indoors and outdoors so you may want your jacket to wander around the venue, especially if the weather changes,” Mueller said.

To learn about seminars, winemaker dinners, a list of chefs, wineries and other details, go to tasteofvail.com.