March Madness Part 1 #CHSWFF 2017
Although, we are well into the month of September, we have to recap all of the MADNESS, and CRAZINESS from March. We are not talking basketball, we are talking about the food, fashion, and non profit events that took place… And we were definitely in attendance for it ALL! This three part series, will cover our crazy month that we call MARCH MADNESS… We hope you all enjoy!
Part One – The Food and Wine
Charleston Wine and Food Festival is a five day festival that has over 110 events. That’s right, there are more than 20 events each day to satisfy every foodie/bevvie’s desire to eat, drink and enjoy the amazingness that is better known as Charleston’s food scene. Events are located all around the city but Marion Square is always the central location for most of the festivities. We were able to experience signature dinners, tasting tents, exclusive beverages, mixology classes and amazing after parties this year and can’t wait to share it all!
#CHSWFF was really fun this year because we were able to be a part of the CHSWFF Street Team. The street team was comprised of the top culinary bloggers and influencers in the city. Awesome people like Holy City Handcraft, Queen of the Foodage, Charleston Shop Curator, and Basil and Bubbly were also street team cohorts. Since there were so many events, the #chswffstreetteam was able to split up and give complete coverage of the entire festival.
Tap-to-Table at Craftsman’s Taphouse
Allagash brewing and Holy City Brewing took over the taps at Craftsmen’s Taphouse for a lunch of flights and small bites. Allagash, a North Carolina company commenced the meal with a pour of their Belgian Wit-bier paired with a piece of fried lobster. The buttery sauce combined beautifully with freshness you can only get from local crustaceans. Holy City Brewing followed with their Bowen’s Island Oyster Stout alongside a bite of fried oyster stew. The creaminess of the perfectly fried oyster (which is no easy feat) and the almost milky stout melted in my mouth.
We were ultimately served three courses, each more complex and delicious than the previous pairing. I was impressed by the adaptability of the beers chosen for the flights. Some brews neutralized spice while others enhanced the silky texture of the seafood. Well done!
Iron Mixology Challenge
Bar Mash played host to a cocktail competition that’s not for your average bartender. Charlotte Voissey, brand ambassador for William Grant & Son moderated a “Top Chef” style cocktail challenge. Each round, competitors were given mystery ingredients to create a craft cocktail with. Each round was timed and contestants were eliminated if their cocktail got the lowest score from the judges’ panel.
Attendees were treated to a Hendrick Gin punch created by Charlotte to whet their whistle, yummers! Head bartender and owner of The Gin Joint, won the competition after crafting a cocktail with the last mystery ingredient, balsamic vinegar. Its amazing to watch creatives in the moment; the packed bar agreed as attendees cheered on each bartender. Hoping the festival brings this event back next year!
Origins of Ice Class
One of my favorite classes from Charleston Wine and Food was the ICE class that was led by Charlotte Voisey of William Grant & Sons. In the beginning of the class, she opened with a cocktail that had one large ice cube; it was delicious! After the cocktail, she talked about the origins of ice. Frederick Tudor, a New England business man, created the commercial ice business about 200 years ago. He would take ice from his lake in Boston and send it down to places like South Carolina, the Caribbean and even all the way to India. Before that time, cocktails were served punch style, warm. The accessibility of ice changed everything.
After learning about the history of ice, we enjoyed Mint Julep cocktails that are served with plenty of crushed ice and a vodka Martini that is stirred with ice but poured neatly in a chilled glass.
SieMatic Kitchen
The King Street concept kitchen studio served as a VIP lounge for day 1-3 of #CHSWFF. The comfortable King Street location provided beverages and bites for festival talent and media. The state-of-the-art kitchen hosted live food and beverage demonstration throughout the afternoon supplying entertainment and refreshment for all the drop-in guest.
Chef Marvin Woods of the newly opened Gentry Bar, prepared spaghetti squash bolognese with juicy veal, incredible and nutritious!
Charlotte, North Carolina mixology legend, Bob Peters, crafted a fun French 75, with a little help from Johnny #FestivalMade. This classic cocktail is simple to make and pleases every palate. We will be visiting Bob at The Punch Room in North Carolina very soon!
Tasting Tents
The last 3 days of Charleston Wine & Food festival in the tasting tents in the Culinary Village are the place to be! There are food, wine, beer and spirits vendors all around Marion Square and we tried almost every sample available! It was also great to catch up with other foodie friends, take plenty of food photos and dance to live music.
Industry Lounge
We found refuge from the hustle and bustle of the culinary village in the Opentable VIP tent. Located conveniently by the exit and the restroom. This climate controlled lounge provided media and talent an on-premise location to charge their phone and rest their feet. Friday through Sunday, different chefs and bartenders hosted tent takeovers providing libations and snacks to VIP badge holders.
Additionally, media outlets like Eater and Hoffman Media held social media interviews live on Facebook! We met Brian Hoffman, of Southern Lady Magazine, who was gracious enough to sign our copy of his book ‘Coupe’.
#CHSWFF Top 3
1. Super Swag bag
2. Seeing all our favorite Food & Beverage folks
3. What The Pho?!? Party at Le Creuset
What the Pho??
Hands down, THE best event/after party of #CHSWFF was “What the Pho?!” The entire Le Creuset was made over with Asian inspired decorations. It was beautiful. There were over 20 different pho dishes to sample and just as many cocktails to pair with the noodles. They had gin, tequila, vodka and whiskey cocktails to keep us warm on that cold, cold evening. It was only 46 degrees, but we couldn’t tell because we were on the dance floor all night… The DJ was awesome, even had us sweating!
2017 Charleston Wine and Food West was one for the books. We ate. We drank. We learned. We danced…. And we can’t wait til 2018! Cheers to an awesome event!
www.bobpeters.net
www.opentable.com
Satisfy Your Thirst SC Tour – Columbia
Columbia was the next stop of our SYT SC tour. Columbia has fewer places on the app but they have a growing beverage community that will be as big as Charleston or Greenville very soon! Their up and coming beer scene is something the we are excited about!
OLD MILL BREW PUB
The SYT SC app led us to Lexington, SC to a distillery that was washed away last year from the horrible flooding from Hurricane Joaquin. We were so lucky to go there because we found a great pub nearby called Old Mill Brew Pub. It is an awesome micro brewery that made a few beers in house, but also carried an enormous local and regional beer selection.
Their master brewer Matt Rodgers, who calls himself, the “Beerded Farmer”, has the largest hops farm in SC. He has had it for 10 years and told us that he gives his hops to local brewers in SC, most times, for free. Matt will be opening his own brewery later this year and we can’t wait to go back to Columbia and try out his beer. This location was not on the app, but they create and support SC made beer. It was a perfect alternative and was very close to the distillery that had washed away. They even had some Moonshine from the distillery. We appreciated all of their hospitality.
RIVER RAT BREWING
The next stop on the Satisfy Your Thirst app was River Rat Brewing. River Rat Brewing got its name from the three rivers that run through Columbia, and “river rats” were the blue collar workers that work in the canal, over 100 years ago. In 2013, with those workers in mind, River Rat wanted to create a brewery that made “craft beers that would satisfy anyone after a long day’s work.” That’s exactly what they did.
They have some very delicious beer and we loved their story. We were allowed to tour the brewery to see behind the scenes as well. River Rat has a great outside area, and it’s really close to the University of South Carolina. There were a few students out back with their dogs. We loved this place and think that it’s a great stop if you’re ever In the area. Tour the brewery at info@riverratbrewing.com.
CONQUEST BREWING
A few miles down the street, we stumbled in to another craft brewery that was on the SYT SC app, called Conquest Brewing. Conquest Brewing is focused on making really great craft beer. If Game of Thrones had its own brewery; it would be Conquest. The names of all of the beer are “mid evil-ish”, and all of their taps are swords. So cool.
The evening that we went there, Conquest was having their weekly trivia night. It was very communal setting, the “brew tender”, named Wilson, was a classmate of ours and the host of trivia. He ordered pizza for everyone, and we had a few flights to sample. After everyone was fed, Wilson gave us tour around the back and got the chance to see the area where all of the brewery magic happens. It’s a cool place, that is owned by locals, drank by locals, and loved by locals. For more info on Conquest Brewing: www.conquestbrewing.com.
SOUTHERN SQUEEZED JUICERY
Before leaving Columbia, and after enjoying all the delicious beer, we had to find a juicery. We found one that was very close to our hotel called Southern Squeezed Juicery. Southern Squeezed is owned by a husband and wife team and located downtown. They were the first juicery in Columbia, and their mission is to “encourage a clean, healthy lifestyle by providing great tasting, nutrient-rich juices that nourish the body.” Their juice is amazing.
Katie, the owner, told us that they give all of their fruit and veggie pulp to farmers to feed their chickens; and the farmers give them fresh eggs to sell in the store. We love that type of community support. Check out more about Southern Squeezed Juicery at www.southernsqueezedjuicery.com
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Oktoberfest Charleston
With October only days away it is only right that we discuss Oktoberfest and all of it’s glory beer, brats, lederhosen, and stein hoisting, did we mention beer?
Well despite the grand fest being called Oktoberfest we were lucky to attend one that was held only a few weeks ago at the Visitor’s Center, and man oh man was it a party. Samuel Adam’s Oktoberfest came to Charleston and took no prisoners. When we first arrived we were ID and let into the marvelous world of Sam Adams. Upon entering we received our VIP Packages that included free beer tasting tickets, a cute orange mug with the Sam Adams Logo in bold white letters as well as a ticket for a free full mug of beer. Sam Adams was the star of the show for sure but with local restaurants from Bay St Biergarten to Bohemian Bull we were overloaded on pretzels, and brats even brats wrapped in pretzels!
From the time we arrived to the time we left full of beer, brats, and no regrets we truly were prepped for Fall season to arrive. A special thanks to Sam Adams as well as A Snappy event for sending us on this amazing adventure.
by Areriel Hayward
