Greenville Food and Wine Festival Gains in Status
By Michael Hepworth
Five years is only a short time for a Food and Wine Festival to be in existence, but the Greenville festival in South Carolina has reached a point where expansion s probably not that urgent or even wanted. Whilst many of the big food festivals such as Pebble Beach, South Beach, New Orleans and Scottsdale are now too big and impersonal, Euphoria in Greenville is staying small.
With all the action taking place close to each other over three days in the charming downtown area, the Non Profit event known as Euphoria has raised over $200,000 for local charities, and has also substantially raised the profile of this progressive Southern town. Thanks to companies like BMW and Michelin that are based here, the economy seems fairly stable and it seems like all systems go for Greenville.
Originally the idea of local music star Edwin McCain and restaurateur Carl Sobocinski, this year’s event kicked off at the Children’s Museum with a cocktail party and an acoustic concert featuring McCain, Nashville singer/songwriters Chuck Cannon and Maia Sharp.
The Friday night event was called “Taste of the South” and featured many of the top restaurants in the area set up in the park adjacent to the river in an area known as the Peace Center Amphitheatre. Unfortunately it was rather a hot and humid night, so the eating and drinking for this scribe at least was kept to a reasonable level, but I did particularly enjoy a really terrific beer from the local brewery Thomas Creek.
In fact I saw no lewd or loud behavior at all from the rather refined Greenville crowd. Apart from Edwin McCain performing a more funky style set with his band on the big stage, the event also showcased the talented grammy-winning singer Shawn Colvin.
Saturday daytime featured the Tasting Showcase, Wine Seminars and Cooking demonstrations which attracted the liveliest crowds of the weekend. Held under large tents it featured a large selection of wines and gourmet food stands from local restaurants.
Star wine writer and expert Wayne Belding was one of the three wine aficionados holding court at one of the seminars, and if you want to learn more about the basics of wine his new paperback “Diving into Wine” will be of interest.
The Food and Wine Pairings Dinner on Saturday night is held around town at various restaurants, and I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to check out Devereaux’s, probably the top restaurant in Greenville. House chef Spencer Thompson and his brigade prepared three of the courses, and the Michelin Star guest chef Justin Bogle from the acclaimed Gilt in New York prepared the other three. The wine pairings leaned heavily towards Italy on all but one of the six courses served to the well heeled Greenville contingent.
Needless to say the food was superb highlighted by the fourth course Crispy Sweetbreads served with potato gnocchi, sage,prosciutto and brown butter. Wine served with this culinary masterpiece was Polizano Rosso Di Montepulciano 2007 from Tuscany. Just when I thought that was the topper, then along comes a Dry Aged Niman Ranch Strip Loin, dry aged and very gamey. Absolute surprise to me was the side dish of tomato jam that went so well with the meat that I hardly noticed the other side dishes of burnt onion and smoked ricotta. Wine pairing with this was Faustino Gran Reserva Rioja 1996.This is a wine that has exceptional finesse if kept in the bottle for at least five years, so naturally being 1996 it was a fine pairing.
It would be unfair not to mention the earlier courses which consisted of Foie Gras with the brioche separate from the plate (paired w/ German Riesling 2005) and Seared Sea Scallops served w/brussel sprouts, parsley and lemon (paired w/ Lacryma (Tears of Christ) from Campania in Italy). Also served were Farm Raised Turbot (w/Anselmi Capital Croce from Veneto) and the dessert of Chocolate Bread Pudding (w/ a Valpocelli Valpentana from Veneto).
Other chefs invited to Euphoria included a handful of regulars and local stars and some new arrivals who will no doubt want to return next year. They were Greenville residents Joe Clark, Rodney Freidank, Shaun Garcia, Anthony Gray, Andre Jones, Jason McCarthy, Victoria Moore, Patrick Wagner, Curtis Wolf, Teryi Youngblood and the following out of town chefs : David Guas(Alexandria, VA), Chris Hastings(Birmingham, AL), Michael Kramer (Houston), Mike Lata (Charleston), Kevin Rathbun (Atlanta), Jason Scholz (Simpsonville,SC) Daryl Shular (Atlanta), Bryan Voltaggio (Frederick,MD).
Sunday’s closing event was the Jazz Brunch and culinary cook off, and similar to all the preceding events was a hospitable and a well organized affair. Squadrons of volunteers ensured the smooth progress of the event that featured jazz musicians Mark Rapp (trumpet) and saxophonist Walter Blanding.
There are many other reasons to visit Greenville strictly from the tourism angle. Among the notables born here were Jessie Jackson Jr and Peabo Bryson, and Joanne Woodward learned how to act at Greenville High School. Baseball fans can catch a game of the minor league team The Greenville Drive and then pop over to the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum, which recently opened and is at the former home of the baseball legend.
If you are into history and the Civil War like me then the American Legion War Museum is for you. South Carolina has always had a higher proportion of soldiers than almost every other state, and this museum contains artifacts not only from the civil war, but also from the Spanish/American War, WW1 and 2, Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf.
If your leanings or sympathies are with the Confederacy, then the little known Confederate Museum in the historic Pettigru district is for you. A fascinating look into aspects of the Confederacy you may not even have known about, with a comprehensive library. Helpful rebel docents are keen to assist and you will certainly come away with an increased knowledge of the civil war.
25 East Court St, Greenville
864-241-3030
www.devereauxsdining.com
www.euphoriagreenville.com
Museum of Confederate History-15 Boyce Avenue
864-421-9039 www.confederatemuseum.org
Five years is only a short time for a Food and Wine Festival to be in existence, but the Greenville festival in South Carolina has reached a point where expansion s probably not that urgent or even wanted. Whilst many of the big food festivals such as Pebble Beach, South Beach, New Orleans and Scottsdale are now too big and impersonal, Euphoria in Greenville is staying small.
With all the action taking place close to each other over three days in the charming downtown area, the Non Profit event known as Euphoria has raised over $200,000 for local charities, and has also substantially raised the profile of this progressive Southern town. Thanks to companies like BMW and Michelin that are based here, the economy seems fairly stable and it seems like all systems go for Greenville.
Originally the idea of local music star Edwin McCain and restaurateur Carl Sobocinski, this year’s event kicked off at the Children’s Museum with a cocktail party and an acoustic concert featuring McCain, Nashville singer/songwriters Chuck Cannon and Maia Sharp.
The Friday night event was called “Taste of the South” and featured many of the top restaurants in the area set up in the park adjacent to the river in an area known as the Peace Center Amphitheatre. Unfortunately it was rather a hot and humid night, so the eating and drinking for this scribe at least was kept to a reasonable level, but I did particularly enjoy a really terrific beer from the local brewery Thomas Creek.
In fact I saw no lewd or loud behavior at all from the rather refined Greenville crowd. Apart from Edwin McCain performing a more funky style set with his band on the big stage, the event also showcased the talented grammy-winning singer Shawn Colvin.
Saturday daytime featured the Tasting Showcase, Wine Seminars and Cooking demonstrations which attracted the liveliest crowds of the weekend. Held under large tents it featured a large selection of wines and gourmet food stands from local restaurants.
Star wine writer and expert Wayne Belding was one of the three wine aficionados holding court at one of the seminars, and if you want to learn more about the basics of wine his new paperback “Diving into Wine” will be of interest.
The Food and Wine Pairings Dinner on Saturday night is held around town at various restaurants, and I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to check out Devereaux’s, probably the top restaurant in Greenville. House chef Spencer Thompson and his brigade prepared three of the courses, and the Michelin Star guest chef Justin Bogle from the acclaimed Gilt in New York prepared the other three. The wine pairings leaned heavily towards Italy on all but one of the six courses served to the well heeled Greenville contingent.
Needless to say the food was superb highlighted by the fourth course Crispy Sweetbreads served with potato gnocchi, sage,prosciutto and brown butter. Wine served with this culinary masterpiece was Polizano Rosso Di Montepulciano 2007 from Tuscany. Just when I thought that was the topper, then along comes a Dry Aged Niman Ranch Strip Loin, dry aged and very gamey. Absolute surprise to me was the side dish of tomato jam that went so well with the meat that I hardly noticed the other side dishes of burnt onion and smoked ricotta. Wine pairing with this was Faustino Gran Reserva Rioja 1996.This is a wine that has exceptional finesse if kept in the bottle for at least five years, so naturally being 1996 it was a fine pairing.
It would be unfair not to mention the earlier courses which consisted of Foie Gras with the brioche separate from the plate (paired w/ German Riesling 2005) and Seared Sea Scallops served w/brussel sprouts, parsley and lemon (paired w/ Lacryma (Tears of Christ) from Campania in Italy). Also served were Farm Raised Turbot (w/Anselmi Capital Croce from Veneto) and the dessert of Chocolate Bread Pudding (w/ a Valpocelli Valpentana from Veneto).
Other chefs invited to Euphoria included a handful of regulars and local stars and some new arrivals who will no doubt want to return next year. They were Greenville residents Joe Clark, Rodney Freidank, Shaun Garcia, Anthony Gray, Andre Jones, Jason McCarthy, Victoria Moore, Patrick Wagner, Curtis Wolf, Teryi Youngblood and the following out of town chefs : David Guas(Alexandria, VA), Chris Hastings(Birmingham, AL), Michael Kramer (Houston), Mike Lata (Charleston), Kevin Rathbun (Atlanta), Jason Scholz (Simpsonville,SC) Daryl Shular (Atlanta), Bryan Voltaggio (Frederick,MD).
Sunday’s closing event was the Jazz Brunch and culinary cook off, and similar to all the preceding events was a hospitable and a well organized affair. Squadrons of volunteers ensured the smooth progress of the event that featured jazz musicians Mark Rapp (trumpet) and saxophonist Walter Blanding.
There are many other reasons to visit Greenville strictly from the tourism angle. Among the notables born here were Jessie Jackson Jr and Peabo Bryson, and Joanne Woodward learned how to act at Greenville High School. Baseball fans can catch a game of the minor league team The Greenville Drive and then pop over to the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum, which recently opened and is at the former home of the baseball legend.
If you are into history and the Civil War like me then the American Legion War Museum is for you. South Carolina has always had a higher proportion of soldiers than almost every other state, and this museum contains artifacts not only from the civil war, but also from the Spanish/American War, WW1 and 2, Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf.
If your leanings or sympathies are with the Confederacy, then the little known Confederate Museum in the historic Pettigru district is for you. A fascinating look into aspects of the Confederacy you may not even have known about, with a comprehensive library. Helpful rebel docents are keen to assist and you will certainly come away with an increased knowledge of the civil war.
25 East Court St, Greenville
864-241-3030
www.devereauxsdining.com
www.euphoriagreenville.com
Museum of Confederate History-15 Boyce Avenue
864-421-9039 www.confederatemuseum.org