POUR IT ON!

Food and Wine (and speakers) from the 2012 Aspen Classic!

I had the pleasure of meeting some of the greatest food and wine speakers this past weekend at the Aspen Food and Wine Festival.


This amazing event takes please every year in the beautiful, quaint ski town of Aspen which sits approximately 8,000 feet above sea level against the green backdrop of Ajax Mountain. The main event, The Grand Tasting, is always at the giant white tent where 5,000 festival-goers sample as many wines as possible over the weekend.

Among the many great speakers including Mario Batali, Jacques Pepin, & Emeril Lagasse, one of my favorites was Mark Oldman. Mark is one of the country's leading wine personalities who is passionate about helping wine enthusiasts jostle the jaded and slay the snooty. His signature style is summed up as "the ideal mix of wine connoisseur and everyday dude." Check out Mark speaking in the 'Loverboy / Mike Reno' get-up! According to Oldman, 1982 (hence Loverboy) was the most important year in wine history. This is when famed wine writer Robert Parker made his name because his reviews of the great '82 Bordeaux vintage came out. It started a momentum of modern wine love and wine became more and more accessible. Cheers to Chateau La Croix Pomerol 1982!

Another favorite of mine was Leslie Sbrocco, know for her entertaining and enthusiastic approach to wine and food. She is the founder of the multi-media company ThirstyGirl.com  Her motto is "Life....Drink It Up!" She is a regular guest on "The Today Show" and is the host and judge of the PBS series' "Check Please!" and "The Winemakers." She spoke about the NEW New Zealand wines as well as Women In Wine: Napa's Next Generation.