REVIEW: The Alps 2019 Epcot Food and Wine Festival

The Alps marketplace is brand new for the 2019 Epcot Food and Wine Festival and we’re always happy to see new and inventive menus to try! This marketplace promises to bring the flavors of the Alps to Disney World. Will they hold true? Is this the next must-try booth at Food and Wine?

Let’s find out in my 2019 Epcot Food and Wine Festival The Alps Review….

The Alps Marketplace:

You’ll find The Alps located on the main promenade of World Showcase where Norway is, just before getting to China.

If this marketplace doesn’t scream: “The Alps,” then I don’t know what would!!

It’s pretty with the yellow and green colors and the traditional styling really makes it stand out!

The Alps Menu:

The menu for The Alps in 2019 is brand new and has 3 food items that have never been on a Food and Wine menu before. The first savory item is the Warm Raclette Swiss Cheese with Baby Potatoes. I’ve eaten this in France before and it was amazing, so I’m curious to see how it compares.

There’s a Venison Stew and for dessert a Blueberry and Almond Frangipane Tart, which is the item I’m most excited to try here!

Food:

• Warm Raclette Swiss Cheese with Baby Potatoes, Cornichons and Baguette (V) (KA) ($5.00)
• Venison Stew with Crushed Potatoes ($6.00)
• Blueberry and Almond Frangipane Tart with Crème Fraîche Cream and Blue Diamond® Almonds (V) (KA) ($4.50)

Beverages:

• Domaine CARREL et Fils Eugène Jongieux Blanc ($5.00)
• Cave De La Côte Rosé Gamay, Romand ($7.00)
• René Favre Dôle, Chamoson ($7.00)
• Frozen Rosé ($9.00)
• Wine Flight also available ($6.75)

I don’t know about you but I can’t wait to try the menu for The Alps so let’s start tasting all this food!!

Menu Review:

Warm Raclette Swiss Cheese with Baby Potatoes ($5.00):

Raclette is one of my favorite European cheeses and I was fortunate enough to try it in the French/Italian Alps a few years ago and I loved it!

The basic premise behind it is they take a huge block of the Raclette cheese and but it under a heater. The cheese then gets super gooey and starts to melt, which then you take that melted goodness and scrape it over potatoes, vegetables, meat, or whatever else you can think of.

Here at The Alps marketplace at Epcot Food and Wine they do something similar. What you walk up to the booth you can see the cheese under the heater starting to melt…

So while all this sounds amazing, I think it fell a little short at Food and Wine from what I’ve tried in the past. The cheese came out a bit rubbery and hard. I don’t know how many minutes earlier they melted it from when they gave ti to me but it had to have been a few at least.

They give you potatoes, sweet pickles and a couple pieces of bread with the cheese which were all decent sides, but they’re just supposed to be the supporting cast for the cheese anyway.

I think if they had melted it fresh for me I would have liked it a lot more so make sure they do this for you if you try it!

Venison Stew with Crushed Potatoes ($6.00):

Next up was the Venison Stew with Crushed Potatoes:

This was amazing and despite the hot weather outside, we gobbled this down in a second! The stew was awesome, very rich and meaty tasting, and there was a good amount of meat in there. The venison was pretty tender too which is hard sometimes for venison due to the lack of fat on the meat.

The potatoes were great too, they were chunky and more like smashed potatoes than mashed. They soaked up all the gravy from the meat perfectly. It was a really good value to for the cost/size of the food.

I think this is the ideal November evening snack and something we will get again.

Blueberry and Almond Frangipane Tart ($4.50):

The Blueberry and Almond Frangipane Tart was one of the new items I was most looking forward to and it didn’t disappoint!

I absolutely loved it. There was a strong almond taste and the tart was filled with blueberries. It wasn’t really a cream on the inside, but more like a paste I’d say similar to what you can find over at Boulangerie Patisserie in France. It wasn’t too sweet either as you might think but I thought it was just right.

The crust was similar to a lot of the fruit tarts you find around Walt Disney World and the constancy was just right to hold everything together.

They also throw a huge dollop of whipped cream on the top of it which always makes everything better! I really enjoyed this and I will be getting every time I walk past The Alps most likely!

Frozen Rosé ($9.00):

Next up we have the Frozen Rosé:

Things aren’t very complicated here and neither should they be. The Frozen Rosé is exactly what it should be, a fruity and refreshing drink that’s easy to drink and keeps you cool in the Florida heat.

Great drink and another I’ll be coming back for!

Wine Flight ($6.75):

Last up was the Wine Flight:

We LOVED the Domaine CARREL et Fils Eugène Jongieux Blanc. It was like a Granny Smith apple in a glass, enough said!

The Cave De La Côte Rosé Gamay had a bit more tannins to it and it was a very smooth a crisp wine. If I have to describe it I would say “very floral” something like I would expect a pink tulip to taste like.

Last up was the René Favre Dôle. This is not a normal red wine. It’s dry and smooth at the same time because of the low tannins level. I tasted raspberries and strawberries on the finish which I loved!

This was by far the best wine flight we’d tasted up to this point so something I’d highly recommend getting!

Booth Summary and Grade:

Overall I think The Alps marketplace was a huge success despite being brand new to the Food and Wine Festival. We loved the venison stew which was a great value, and the Blueberry and Almond tart was one of my very favorite overall desserts at the Festival.

The drinks were just as good s the Frozen Rosé was one of our favorite frozen drinks and the Wine Flight also high up the list. You definitely need to stop by The Alps and check it out, you won’t be disappointed!

If you have to get just one thing:

Blueberry and Almond Frangipane Tart

I want you to be able to have the best info on the Festival so you have a great time and don’t waste your time!  Take a look at all of my 2019 Epcot Food and Wine articles including:

• 2024 EPCOT Food and Wine Info Guide
• Complete List of Food and Wine Menus
• Top 10 Best and Worst Snacks at Food and Wine
• Top Food and Wine Booths (Coming Soon)

Your Thoughts:

I want to know what you think about The Alps Review at the 2019 Epcot Food and Wine Festival…

• Which is your favorite item?
• Which do you still want to try?

Let us know in the comments section below!

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