REVIEW: The Festival Center Wine Shop – 2018 Epcot Food and Wine Festival

The Festival Center Wine Shop is a totally new marketplace for 2018.  One look at the Charcuterie Plate which assorted meats and the variety of cheeses tells me I’m going to be spending a long time here over the next few months.  Let’s see how it stands up to the rest of the competition in my The Festival Center Wine Shop Review: 2018 Epcot Food and Wine Festival…

The Festival Center Wine Shop Marketplace:

This is one of the most interesting locations at Food and Wine in that the marketplace is actually located INSIDE a building and most importantly, in the AIR-CONDITIONING!

The bench setup at The Festival Center Wine Shop is awesome, they have all the wines on display and they pour them out for you right there.  To the right of the booth is the actual wine shop where there are many types of wine for sale and some gorgeous displays:

This display is all White Wines:

There are lots of other varieties too:

You might recognize this guy.  These bottles are from Skywalker Vineyards and some of their bottles can be over $100 each!

 

The Festival Center Wine Shop Menu:

Can anyone really say no to Charcuterie and Cheese?  And shrimp, scallops and mussels all flowing out of your cocktail?  Ok, a Bloody Mary is an acquired taste. The real draw here though are the wines though with 3 different Wine Flights ready to be downed, White, Red and Pinot Noir:

Food:

• Charcuterie Plate: Chefs Selection of Artisanal Meats and Accompaniments ($6.00)
• La Bottega di BelGioioso® Cheese Plate: Crescenza-Stracchino®, CreamyGorg® Gorgonzola Dolce, and Artigiano® Vino Rosso Cheeses ($5.50)
• Bloody Mary Seafood Cocktail: Shrimp, Bay Scallops, Mussels, Olive Salad and Crisp Lettuce in a Bloody Mary Vinaigrette ($6.00)

Beverages:

• Fess Parker Riesling, Santa Barbara County (White Flight) ($5.00)
• MacMurray Estate Vineyards Pinot Gris, Russian River Valley (White Flight) ($5.00)
• Silverado Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley (White Flight) ($6.00)
• Silverado Vineyards Chardonnay, Carneros ($7.00)
• Kurt Russell’s Gogi Wines “Goldie” Chardonnay, Santa Rita Hills ($10.00)
• MacMurray Estate Vineyards Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley (Pinot Noir Flight) ($7.00)
• Kurt Russell’s Gogi Wines “Birdie” Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills (Pinot Noir Fight) ($16.00)
• Skywalker Vineyards Sommita Pinot Noir, Marin County (Pinot Noir Flight) ($13.00)
• Silverado Vineyards Fantasia Sangiovese Blend, Napa Valley (Red Flight) ($11.00)
• Chappellet Mountain Cuvée Bordeaux Blend, Napa Valley (Red Flight) ($8.00)
• Fess Parker Rodney’s Vineyard Syrah, Santa Barbara County (Red Flight) ($10.00)
• Frank Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley ($13.00)
• White Flight ($6.00)
• Pinot Noir Flight ($12.50)
• Red Flight ($10.00)

Menu Review:

Charcuterie Plate: Chefs Selection of Artisanal Meats and Accompaniments ($6.00)

Living in Italy a big part of the year I never turn down a charcuterie plate, and for what it was, this one was pretty decent.  There were 4 big slices of mortadella with pistachio, spicy salami, a meatloaf, olives, peppers and raisins.The olives and peppers were pickled and were pretty good, they had a nice vinegary taste to them.  I also really liked the salami.  The mortadella was good, but the problem with a plate like this is that it should be served at room temperature in order to get the real flavor and textures of the meats.  Instead they were refrigerated and served cold.  I understand the need to do that when you’re serving hundreds of people, but it would have been better otherwise.  Solid choice anyways and a good value at only $6.00.

La Bottega di BelGioioso® Cheese Plate: Crescenza-Stracchino®, CreamyGorg® Gorgonzola Dolce, and Artigiano® Vino Rosso Cheeses ($5.50)

I love a good cheese plate, and this is another pretty solid option.  the Crescenza-Stracchino is a soft mild cheese and was very creamy.  I’m not a Gorgonzola fan, but those who ate it said it was delicious, very sweet and great with the marmalade.  The Vino Rosso cheese was interesting, a harder cheese with a hint of red wine.  I love dipping it in the raspberry jam too which was the perfect accompaniment.  The grapes and olives were also a nice addition.

Overall the cheese plate was good, right on par with the charcuterie plate.

Bloody Mary Seafood Cocktail: Shrimp, Bay Scallops, Mussels, Olive Salad and Crisp Lettuce in a Bloody Mary Vinaigrette ($6.00)

Just as good as the first two was the Bloody Mary Seafood Cocktail.  This was FULL of shrimp, mussels and clams which were all very fresh.  The diced peppers and other veggies were great, but not overpowering as there was more seafood in here than veggies.  This is a great option on a hot day as it’s very light and fresh tasting.

This is called the WINE SHOP, so let’s get to the wines…

White Flight ($6.00):

This was excellent, especially for $6.  The Riesling was great, and very dry which is something hard to find here in the U.S.  The Pinot Gris was less dry.  It wasn’t sweet though, and a little heavier than the Riesling.  It had almost a peachy flavor and also a bit citrusy.  Lastly the Sauvignon Blanc had almost an apple taste which is strange as they are usually citrusy.  But for sure we liked this one a lot!

Pinot Noir Flight ($12.50):

This Flight was more expensive, but as you know that isn’t always everything in wines.  The MacMurray Estate Vineyards and the Skywalker Vineyards were both amazing, with great body and full flavor.  The Kurt Russell’s Gogi Wines was bland and totally lacking flavor imo.

 

Red Flight ($10.00):

We liked every wine here on the Red Flight.  The Silverado Vineyards Sangiovese Blend was excellent.  It was medium bodied and very smooth with hints of licorice on the front and blackberry on the finish.  The Bordeaux blend had a full body but still very smooth and tasted like plums.  We loved the Syrah just as much as we found great texture and depth.

For the value I’d say the White Flight is the best, but going on taste alone the Red is number 1.

Booth Summary and Grade:

The Festival Center Wine Shop was a great hit imo.  It has an awesome store for wine lovers with many varieties to choose from.  The food choices are perfect for wine pairing, even though I’d like the charcuterie plate to be a bit less cold.  All the Wine Flights were good, and there was only one wine we really didn’t care for in total.  I loved The Festival Center Wine Shop and hope it sticks around again next year!

If you have to get just one thing: Red Flight

 

The Festival Center Wine Shop Review

Overall

8/10

8/10

• Overall Grade - 8.0/10
  8/10

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 2018 Epcot Food and Wine articles including:

• 2018 Epcot Food and Wine Info Guide
• Complete Index of the Food and Wine Menus
• 11 MUST-TRY NEW items at 2018 Food and Wine Festival
• Top Food and Wine Booths
• and the Top 10 Overall Snacks at Food and Wine

Your Thoughts:

I want to know what you think about The Festival Center Wine Shop Review at the 2018 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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