Make sure you have nothing to do this weekend.  Kicking off on Friday, June 25th at Roanoke Vineyards and continuing throughout the North Fork at various wineries and culminating on Sunday June 27th in Greenport.  You really do not want to miss ANY of this.

“The Long Island Wine & Food Festival will celebrate a world class wine region! A premier travel destination on the East End of Long Island, the North Fork delivers remarkable cuisine, boutique wineries, craft beer, and quaint accommodations. Festival guests have the opportunity to learn about local flavors, tastes, sights and smells of Long Island’s wine country.”

“Meet local and celebrity chefs. Enjoy local wines and fare. Experience the rural character of Long Island’s North Fork.”

It all starts on Friday, June 25th at 7 PM at Roanoke Vineyards in Riverhead.  This is a special “VIP” event where media and invitees will gather to meet with winemakers and chefs from the local vineyards and restaurants to celebrate the weekend ahead.  There are some tickets available for this VIP event, an event you don’t want to miss.  The Tickets go for $125 per person, however, this ticket also gets you into the Grand Tasting on June 27th in Greenport.  More on that later.  You can buy your tickets for the VIP kickoff here.

On Saturday June 26th over a dozen vineyards will be doing special wine and food pairings and entertainment.  Some vineyards will be offering cooking demonstrations and some will be offering tastings directly from the barrel.  There is alot going on across the North Fork, so please check the Event Schedule Page for the most up to date information.

Then on Sunday, June 27th at 2PM in Mitchell Park in Greenport, the Grand Tasting will complete the weekend long event.  Over 50 local wineries and restaurants will be participating in this event.  You will be able to sample local wine and taste the local food that goes best with wine while taking in the Maritime look and feel of Greenport.   Tickets are available to purchase on the website.  The tickets go for $50 per person or $90 for a couple.  There is also designated driver tickets for those who are being responsible (which everyone should be); you can taste the food, but not the wine.  Those tickets are $25 per person.

If my description above did not sell you on attending this weekend event, than maybe these two quotes will help you:

“Our region  is now recognized  as a destination  for fine wine and great  local food ,” said  Steve Bate, Executive Director of  the Long Island  Wine Council. “This First annual Long Island Wine & Food Festival gives wine enthusiasts and food lovers a unique opportunity to sample both over the course of a very special weekend program.”

“My restaurant  has an  extensive list  of  Long Island  wines,” said Chef Tom Schaudel of A Mano Osteria & Wine Bar and author of Playing with Fire: Wining & Dining on the Gold Coast, “and  this event allows me to demonstrate how well they can be paired with our menu.”

So, make Long Island your destination for the “Eat, Drink, Local” event on the weekend of June 25 – 27th.  Stay in a local hotel or Bead & Breakfast and enjoy the best destination for wine and food.

For all the information about the event, please visit  the Food and Wine Festival’s Website.  Or you can e-mail them here info@longislandwineandfoodfestival.com.

I hope to see some of you there!