The 1st Wine, Beer & Spirits Festival Ever Set for Sept 24

The first Wine, Beer & Spirits Festival ever in the state of New Jersey is scheduled for Saturday, September 24, 2016, from noon to 5 p.m. at Alba Vineyard in Milford, NJ.

The event, a fundraiser for the New Jersey grassroots nonprofit, Foodshed Alliance, (http://foodshedalliance.org) will feature tastings of New Jersey’s finest wines, craft beers and distilled spirits. Festival-goers will also be able to purchase gourmet food specialties from the Altamarea Group of fine restaurants and from local farm-to-fork vendors.

Michael White, renowned chef and owner of Altamarea Group will be on hand to meet festival-goers and sign his best-selling cookbook. Having won or been nominated for just about every known prestigious culinary award, Michael White is hailed by food critics as a hero of Italian gastronomy. His reach extends around the globe with the Altamarea Group of fine dining restaurants, including Marea, Ai Fiori, Osteria Morini, and pizzeria Nicoletta.

“This is New Jersey’s first-ever Wine, Beer and Spirits Festival which means that, in one day and in one place, you can sample tastings of a wide array of New Jersey wine, craft beer and distilled spirits,” said Kendrya Close, executive director of the Foodshed Alliance.

The festival’s host, Alba Vineyard is New Jersey’s largest estate vineyard and will be offering samplings of its award-winning wine. In addition, thanks to a partnership with Wegman’s, several of the state’s premium wine wholesalers will be on hand sharing tastings of more than two dozen wines from around the globe.

While New Jersey’s wine industry has been growing steadily over the past decade or two, the craft beer sector is exploding with 61 production breweries in the state and more under development. “We are pleased to have five of the state’s best craft breweries at our festival, Flying Fish Brewery, River Horse Brewery, High Point Brewing and Brix City Brewing,” Close said. These craft brewers will be sharing samples of their varied offerings along with information on where their beer can be purchased.

There are now at least 16 operating distilleries in the state and one of the first, Claremont Distilled Spirits, will be on hand offering samples. “Award-winning Claremont Distilled Spirits proves that world-class spirits can be produced using the finest locally sourced ingredients of the Garden State,” Close said. “From the potatoes used in the production of its vodka to the corn in its moonshine, it’s all Jersey made.”

Gourmet food will be offered for sale from the Altamarea Group, specifically stations from Morini, Due Mari, Nicoletta Pizza and a gelato cart. Among the offerings will be a variety of gourmet wood-fired pizzas, grilled oysters, signature pasta dish, seafood salad, dry-aged beef hamburgers with fontina cheese and toppings bar, sliced charcuterie and local cheeses, gelato and sorbet cart with assorted seasonal flavors and toppings. Coolers and outside food and alcohol will not be permitted on the premises.

The New Jersey Wine, Beer & Spirits Festival is Alba Vineyard’s largest charitable event of the year with 100% of the proceeds going to the Foodshed Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening local food systems that nourish people, sustain farmers, respect lands, and build a resilient food economy. Alba has generously hosted a wine festival to benefit the Foodshed Alliance for the past two years, but this is the first time that New Jersey’s craft beer and distilled spirits are featured. Alba has also hosted an annual Farm-to-Fork Dinner for the Foodshed Alliance for the past six years.

It is the first time that the Altamarea Group of fine restaurants is providing the food available at the event. Altamarea Group’s Osteria Morini in Bernardsville is the exclusive caterer for Alba Vineyard.  In addition, there will be specialty farm-to-fork vendors, who pride themselves on using the freshest local ingredients, offering baked goods, jams, cheese, hot sauces, fermented products, honey, garlic and much, much more–all from New Jersey.  Performing at the festival will be the BC Combo (http://www.thebccombo.com/) with their wealth of experience and passion in blues, jazz, swing, folk, R&B, soul and more.

“We are most grateful to Alba Vineyards for most generously agreeing to work with us on this as a benefit to support our work in promoting sustainable agriculture and local food in New Jersey,” Close said. “Their continuing generosity and partnership is helping us effect real change in the Garden State.”

Tickets, for those ages 21 and over, are $25, if purchased online at http://foodshedalliance.org/wbsfest/. Tickets at the door will be $35. Tickets for those ages 16 to 21 are $10. Tickets are also $10 for Designated Drivers. Those under 16 admitted free.

For more information, please contact Kendrya Close at 908-362-7967 or Kendrya@foodshedalliance.org.