Washington State University's 2008 Feast of the Arts Dinner series will showcase world-renowned Cougar-connected wineries, a gourmet five-course dinner expertly prepared by chefs and students from WSU’s School of Hospitality Business Management, and world-class art from the WSU Museum of Art on Friday evenings prior to home Cougar football games. Visit feast.wsu.edu for details.

A Grand Tasting Pavilion, co-hosted by the Cleveland Wine School and Fortessa, will dispense its Schott Zwiesel crystal glassware for wine sampling. In addition, the Pavilion visitor’s passport will include tastings at an international Wine Bar; wine theater lectures and “sippings”; seminars; and the gift of a 9.4-oz. “Forté” wine stem for sampling from more than 250 world-class wines. For more information, click here.

John Rega, television and radio food and restaurant commentator, will host the event and introduce Cape Cod chefs ,cookbook authors, and food journalist on the “Classic Kitchen & Interiors” Cooking Stage during the hourly recipe demonstrations. Admission is $25 per person. For more information, click here.

The two day Summit features networking opportunities at the Keynote VIP Dinner, Green Wine Showcase, and Green Wine Reception and learning opportunities from Leadership Topics in the General Session to focused Breakout Sessions based on four key learning tracks: Best Green Practices, The Business of Green, The Green Consumer and Green Communications. Learn more and register.

Wine Market Council, a leader in wine consumer research, will present the highlights from its 2008 research studies in three cities in January 2009. Conference program will examine attitudes, behaviors and trends among U.S. wine consumers and highlight wine sales trends, the economy and changes in how consumers are shopping for and buying wine. Founded in 1994, the Wine Market Council is a non-profit trade association representing all tiers of the wine industry. For more information, click here.

Sun Wine Festival 2009 is back at Mohegan Sun and is featuring a star-studded line-up of wine and culinary events. Consumers will have the opportunity to sample more than 1,000 fine wines provided by international wineries and specialty beers from breweries and beer companies from around the world at this year’s Grand Tasting. Exhibitors will showcase related services such as wine storage, culinary accessories, and specialty foods. Guests can also enjoy delicacies from some of the region’s finest restaurants by purchasing tasting portions of signature dishes at a nominal rate. For more information, click here.

“There’s no other place in the world a wine lover can go to experience so much about the world of Zinfandel,” explains Rebecca Robinson, ZAP’s Executive Director. “Every year we see increasing interest in America’s heritage grape, which played a key role in California’s history,” she adds. For tickets and event updates, visit the organization's Web site at zinfandel.org.

The theme of this year's gathering, Sharing Responsibility for Real Change, will draw leaders from all sectors of seafood industry and the conservation community to sit down and continue collaborating on real solutions towards change in the water. For more information, seafoodchoices.org/seafoodsummit.php

Conferences and convention provide culinarians with the opportunity to advance their professional development and enhance their culinary skills through informative culinary business seminars, forums, clinics, competitions and cutting-edge demonstrations, as well as educate today’s culinarians on new cooking trends and techniques. Click here for more information.

The Gala Italia starts with a guided technical seminar-tasting, reserved for the wine press. 

The following Wine & Food Tasting will feature many renowned Italian wine producers and over 3,000 American trade and press representatives from the northeastern USA attending. 

An independent jury will award the best wine of each Italian producer with a gold medal. 

Italian restaurants as well as producers and importers of Italian specialty foods will highlight the Italian gastronomy and genuine Italian products. In addition, an Italian fashion Show is scheduled on the large stage of the ballroom featuring the spring-summer collection, jewelry, and fashion accessories for men and women of a well-known Italian designer. 

An art exhibition, organized in cooperation with the Italian Cultural Institute, a display of some sport cars and scooters and a drawing of some special prizes and trips to Italy  are further attractions. For more information, click here.

Conferences and convention provide culinarians with the opportunity to advance their professional development and enhance their culinary skills through informative culinary business seminars, forums, clinics, competitions and cutting-edge demonstrations, as well as educate today’s culinarians on new cooking trends and techniques. Click here for more information.

The Los Angeles Italian Wine Gala, in the Valentino restaurant of Piero Selvaggio, is going to start with a press luncheon with an Italian menu, prepared by the chefs of the restaurant to complement the wines presented by the producers that can informally meet the Californian wine editors. 

At the following wine tasting, wine and food editors, trade representatives, and restaurateurs will sample a larger selection of Italian wines personally presented by the producers as well as Italian food specialties prepared by the chefs of the restaurant. For more information, click here.

Co-chairs Don Russell,a.k.a. Daily News columnist Joe Sixpack; Monk’s Cafe Owner Tom Peters; and Bruce Nichols, president of Museum Catering Company, are again at the helm of this sprawling series of exciting events.  The ten-day event is poised to build on last year’s attendance, conservatively estimated at 15,000 people who attended more than 100 events. For general information, including the ever-expanding schedule of events and list of participants, please visit phillybeerweek.org.

Savor the Flavor II is expanding to an all day program in 2009. A morning seminar on current sweet wine issues will begin at 9:30 a.m. with an afternoon session on current issues affecting fortified wines. A special luncheon highlighting mid-day dishes paired with sweet and fortified wines is included in the seminar program. The Savor the Flavor II national tasting of domestic sweet and fortified wines will begin at 4 p.m. and continue until 8 p.m. For more information, visit sweetandfortifiedwine.org.

Now in its forty-seventh year, the Northwest Foodservice Show is a great way to connect with hundreds of high-quality exhibitors. The event will feature new- and green-product showcases, and for the first time, an online "virtual" trade show. To learn more, visit nwfoodserviceshow.com.

onferences and convention provide culinarians with the opportunity to advance their professional development and enhance their culinary skills through informative culinary business seminars, forums, clinics, competitions and cutting-edge demonstrations, as well as educate today’s culinarians on new cooking trends and techniques. Click here for more information.

Exclusively for bartenders across the U.S. (excluding Texas), the 2009 Grand Marnier and NAVAN Mixology Summit offers industry professionals an opportunity to showcase their creativity and skills, collaborate and learn with peers, and leave their mark on the art of mixology. Building upon the brands' history of excellence in mixology, the summit brings together 100 of the best bartenders for three dynamic days of consultation, mixology labs, expert panel discussions, cocktail events and networking. Qualified bartenders and mixologists are invited to apply and submit their application and recipes for Grand Marnier and NAVAN before the November 30, 2008 deadline. For application materials, visit
mixologysummit.com.

Festivities include gourmet dinners, an island-wide culinary competition with wine tastings from celebrated vintners, wine seminars and a wine auction. Satellite events during the week of A Taste of St. Croix showcase superior wines and culinary brilliance. Events include seminars from renowned wine-makers and talented chefs serving signature dishes paired with extraordinary wines. Proceeds benefit the St. Croix Foundation. Visit their Web site at stxfoundation.org.

Thousands will gather for this New York event in Manhattan's beautiful Metropolitan Pavilion to celebrate everything related to coffee and tea. The Coffee & Tea Festival: NYC will bring coffee, tea and confectionary vendors together and introduce them to sophisticated enthusiasts. For more information, visit coffeeandteafestival.com.

Conferences and convention provide culinarians with the opportunity to advance their professional development and enhance their culinary skills through informative culinary business seminars, forums, clinics, competitions and cutting-edge demonstrations, as well as educate today’s culinarians on new cooking trends and techniques. Click here for more information.

The Santé Restaurant Symposium is an annual educational comprehensive conference uniting the elite of the on-premises world with their top suppliers and service providers. It offers a perfect platform for fulfilling Santé’s mission to be the premier provider of food, wine, spirits, and management content for restaurant professionals. Find out more and RSVP.

The Great International Beer Festival is held twice annually at the Rhode Island Convention Center. It’s a great afternoon or evening of live music, fun food, and unlimited beer sampling. The most recent festival offered well over 200 different beers from 47 breweries from 11 different states and seven far flung countries. Aside from being an excellent opportunity for beer lovers to try many different brews from around the world all in one spot, it is also a serious competition for the brewers as medals are awarded in many different categories that range from common styles to highly specialized beers. For more information, visit beerfestamerica.com.

The International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event is the first forum focusing exclusively on restaurant and hospitality operator beverage alcohol sales. Attend and efficiently find the products, information, and contacts you need to build profits throughout the year. Find out more and register.

Conferences and convention provide culinarians with the opportunity to advance their professional development and enhance their culinary skills through informative culinary business seminars, forums, clinics, competitions and cutting-edge demonstrations, as well as educate today’s culinarians on new cooking trends and techniques. Click here for more information.