A new kind of Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival

It is a glimmer of hope that the Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival, will go forward with its 15th annual international gathering that celebrates wine and food in the City by the Sea.

This year is like no other when it comes to events. The coronavirus pandemic has crushed not just the social calendar but also entertainment and food and drink festivals.

There will be a focus on small tasting experiences and dining events when it is held from Sept. 17 to 20. Attendees to all events will be seated with their guests at private tables, socially distanced to ensure a safe experience.

As the first details were shared last week, it was noted two dining events at Rosecliff are sold out. They are a Saturday-night $250 Vintner Dinner with wines from Chile and Argentina and the $125 “Sunday Brunch & Bubbly.”

The festival is hosted by the Preservation Society of Newport County and sponsored by Food and Wine magazine.

The Preservation Society is also engaging Newport restaurants to create weekend experiences for the food and wine lovers. The list has not been released yet but promises to include wine- and spirits-pairing lunches and dinners. All festival restaurant dinner reservations will be made directly with the restaurants once that list is announced later this month.

Heading up the planning is Festival wine director Matthew MacCartney. He is the former chef/beverage director/partner at Jamestown Fish. He has been pursuing his Master of Wine qualification since closure of the restaurant.

A full Seminar Series offers a variety of 50-person tastings of wine and spirits. They will all be held on the terrace at Rosecliff and cost between $50 and $65. Parking is provided and free.

MacCartney will lead an “American Dream” seminar on Friday, Sept. 18 to discuss the legacy of Cakebread, St. Francis, Sequoia Grove, Resonance and Domaine Carneros. There will be cheese pairings for this event.

Another Friday seminar, Rias Baixas Albariño: A Taste of Spain’s Atlantic Coast will be led by Master Sommelier Michael Meagher whose credits include L’Espalier and Sel de la Terre in Boston.

Master of Wine candidate Elisa Wybraniec of The Coast Guard House in Narragansett, will lead the Crimson Wine Group seminar, “A Walk through West Coast Vineyards,” on Sunday, Sept. 20.

Pascal Schildt, a Newport resident, born and raised in South Africa, and an importer of South African and French wines will also be tapped for a seminar on Sunday. It’s called “Diving Deep into the Diverse Wines of South Africa.”

There will be a bubbles and caviar tasting seminar on Saturday, Sept. 19 with Ca’del Bosco brand ambassador and Master Sommelier Jacob Gragg.

“Amaraone & Appaxximento” will be presented Sunday by Anthony Apostolakos, U.S. director of Masi Agricola.

A tasting of Santa Margherita wines from Italy will be led Saturday, by Vittorio Marzotto, senior director of Fine Wines and Business Development for the company.

There are several other seminars include a bourbon tasting and one for Mount Gay Rum led by Darrio Prescod, brand ambassador from Barbados for Remy Cointreau.

“We are excited to welcome so many talented wine and culinary experts from around the country including some of Rhode Island’s prominent experts,” MacCartney said.

“We cannot host large gatherings like our traditional Grand Tastings, but we can still give our guests the opportunity to taste and learn about some of the finest examples of the arts of wine and food,” said Preservation Society CEO & Executive Director Trudy Coxe.

Tickets are available now through www.newportmansions.org/events/wine-and-food-festival.