Wine Connoisseurs Rejoice! The Galveston Island Food & Wine Festival is back

These are the questions – no doubt fun decisions to make – facing those who attend the 2017 Galveston Island Food & Wine Festival. This year’s festival, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, May 5-6, will have no shortage of food and wine choices making the above questions very easy to answer.

There will be wines from nearly two dozen vineyards, each with their own varieties and blends. And restaurants from across Galveston and the Greater Houston Area will be serving up hors d’oeuvres for some of the festival’s wine-tasting events that include the following, according to the festival’s website:

• The Blind Tasting. Guests will swirl, sniff and sip their way through more than 100 red and white wines. Each bottle wears a disguise so attendees must rely solely on their palate to discern the story behind each vintage and vote its attributes. The three top scoring red and white wines from rounds one and two will advance to the Chaine des Rôtisseurs Dinner where one will be named the festival’s Grand Champion.

• The Premium Tasting. Those attending will taste fine wines from the participating vineyards and indulge in heavy hors d’oeuvres provided by the participating restaurants. This exclusive event is available to a limited number of attendees so purchase tickets early.

• The Grand Tasting. Dishes will be presented as tapas-style plates as they sip an impressive array of wines. This event includes a souvenir wine glass, event program with complete list of wines, and bottomless samples of more than 100 vintages.

Another event is the Chaine des Rôtisseurs Dinner, where invited guests will blind taste the top three red and three white wines selected during the preliminary blind tasting, to determine the festival’s Grand Champion, Grand Reserve Champion and Reserve Champion. The Chaîne des Rôtisseurs is the oldest and largest food and wine society in the world comprised of gourmands, gourmets, gastronomes, chefs, restaurateurs, hoteliers, winery owners and others.

Other activities include a “Meet the Chefs” event, a 5K Run, and pre-festival events yet to be finalized. There’s also a poster contest for artists to create an image for the festival’s official 2017 poster. All entrants must submit a high-resolution digital copy of their work by April 7. The winner will be notified via email on April 14 by 5:00pm. Any two-dimensional media may be used to design the poster.

Promoters and organizers urge those interested to purchase a VIP Premium + Grand Tasting Package Ticket. When purchased together, you will receive entry to the Premium Tasting and early VIP entry into The Grand Tasting, allowing you to skip the lines and have more one-on-one time with the vineyard and restaurant representatives.

VIP Entry begins at 1:00pm on Saturday, May 6th and includes a souvenir wine glass and festival program with full list of featured wines. Separate event ticket prices range from $30 to $156, which covers the Premium and Grand Tasting package. For more information on the poster contest, tickets, event times and venues: http://www.galvestonfoodandwinefestival.com/

Other activities include a “Meet the Chefs” event, a 5K Run, and pre-festival events yet to be finalized. There’s also a poster contest for artists to create an image for the festival’s official 2017 poster. All entrants must submit a high-resolution digital copy of their work by April 7. The winner will be notified via email on April 14 by 5:00pm. Any two-dimensional media may be used to design the poster.

Promoters and organizers urge those interested to purchase a VIP Premium + Grand Tasting Package Ticket. When purchased together, you will receive entry to the Premium Tasting and early VIP entry into The Grand Tasting, allowing you to skip the lines and have more one-on-one time with the vineyard and restaurant representatives.

VIP Entry begins at 1:00pm on Saturday, May 6th and includes a souvenir wine glass and festival program with full list of featured wines. Separate event ticket prices range from $30 to $156, which covers the Premium and Grand Tasting package.