In May, wine lovers descend upon the small island of Nantucket for a weekend of great wine events. This year's Nantucket Wine Festival will take place on May 13-17 with over 50 tastings, seminars, and wine dinners.
The wine festival doesn't just focus on Nantucket wines, but yes, Nantucket makes wines. Many of the wine grapes are actually grown in Washington then made into wine in Nantucket, but there is one vineyard on the island that produces commercial wine, Nantucket Vineyard. I tried a couple during their preview event at Bistro du Midi and they were quite nice.
Of course, there will be tons of chefs from Boston participating including Lydia Shire, Tiffani Faison, Michael Scelfo, Tony Maws, and many others.
Here's a sample of the events: Tiffani Faison will be grilling
BBQ on the beach while you drink rosé wines from Chateau D'Esclans, Domaine de l'Ile, and Nellcôte.
Or, you can learn to blend your own cuvee with
Veuve Clicquot. You can also check out fancy private jets with the hangar party with event sponsor
Wheels Up, a private aviation company. There's a
white bordeaux and oyster pairing, and a
lobster and champagne luncheon. You're in New England after all! And of course, there are grand tasting events on Saturday and Sunday.
Nantucket is located 30 miles off the coast of Cape Cod and reachable by boat or plane (Cape Air). I've never been but I'm hoping to make a day or weekend and check out some of the wine festival events! Check out the full event listing
here and be sure to buy your tickets soon as some of the seminars have started to sell out.