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I returned recently from the bacchanal that is the
Aspen Food & Wine Classic. My memory is still a bit hazy, and my
eyes are still blurry from three days and three longer nights of parties
on top of parties. Over its four decades, the Food & Wine  Classic
in Aspen has become an internationally buzzed-about festival where year
after year, more than 5,000 attendees—including the world’s most famous
chefs, Master Sommeliers, major liquor brands, and NBA superstars—head
to 8,000 feet of altitude for Grand Tastings, sip-fueled lectures,
cooking seminars and a never-ending number of dinners and late-night
parties.
This was my first Aspen Food & Wine Classic, and it did not
disappoint. Aspen is a town that makes Washington, D.C., real estate
(my hometown) look like a sales bin at Target. When I landed at the
Pitkin County airport, I knew I was in for a quintessentially Aspen
experience with one glimpse of the majestic mountains and an inhalation
of the crisp mountain air. As I waited in the airport for my former
college roommate, Jaime, to arrive from Ohio, I felt like I was on a Top
Chef All-Star casting call. The airport was teeming with Top Chef
celebrities. And, yes, celebrity chefs really are everywhere, and
they’re willing to chat it up and take pictures with us ordinary folk.
The entire event is an intricate choose-your-own-adventure. Ticket
holders choose five seminars to attend throughout the weekend.
Ostensibly, the event is about education, and among this year’s seminars
that I attended included Anthony Gigilio's, “The Sicilian Wines of The
White Lotus," in which the audience imbibed on the 2021 Planeta Etna
Bianco, the Tornatore Etna Bianco, and the Donnafugata Dolce &
Gabbana “Rosa” Rosato, to name a few. Anthony’s unpretentious style and
playful enthusiasm made the tasting feel more like a raucous, boozy
brunch than a stuffy tasting.
I also attended a phenomenal seminar with Bobby Stuckey and Carlin Karr,
where they implored attendees to rethink what they know about Italian
wine and to try the great French varieties grown in Italy. The 2020
Dalia Maris - Friulano Bianco B we sampled was enough to sell me on
their thesis. Later, Mark Oldman introduced us to the charms of
Australian wines, and we imbibed on some incredible wine as an all-star
female panel led by June Rodil, Master Sommelier, walked us through the
differences between Rioja and Ribera del Duero Tempranillo.
After and between the seminars, attendees can be found careening around
the tremendous pavilions in Wagner Park. We were offered spoonfuls of
caviar in the pavilions like they were free samples at Costco.
Delectable small-bite dishes, oysters, Wagyu beef, and hand-carved
Ibérico ham were everywhere. Not to mention the endless supply of
mezcal margaritas, whiskey samples and heavy pours from famed wineries.
It’s an incredible amount of excess – nothing quite like it. It's also
worth noting that this unbelievably well-run event is primarily
volunteer-led, and they operate like a Formula One pit crew.
 Hobnobbing
with the likes of two-time Top Chef winner Buddha Lo, the lovable chef
and TV personality Carla Hall, and NBA star CJ McCullum, who launched
his own McCollum Heritage 91 wine label, while eating and drinking your
way through the weekend was also pretty priceless (or at least worth
$1,950, the price for a consumer pass). However, the best events aren’t
part of the festival. It’s more about getting your name on the right
lists for the parties that went down each night – with a blend of
ticketed and free events supplying free-flowing wine, dynamic dishes,
and the opulence only Aspen can offer.
Needless to say, the three-day-long celebration provided many great
memories and stories – not all of them fit for print. I'll definitely
be making my way back to the gastronomic festival again.
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