Philly’s 3rd Annual Wine Week is about to kick off, and with 50+ participating locales, there is so much to enjoy, but a lot to navigate.  Fresh trends, delicious food, and great causes are on the agenda, with some room for surprises along the way.  Let us help guide you to some of the events we are looking forward to the most.

 

 

 

Did you know that Panorama has the largest Cruvinet Winebar System in the world?  That’s 120 perfectly preserved wines on tap!  With 28 creative flights at $5 off for happy hour, let the wine ‘choose your own adventure’ commence!   For those who like a little more focus, allow Panorama Wine Director and Philly Wine Week co-founder Bill Eccelston to offer you a regionally specific red and white duo at $5 a glass, or a choice Italian magnum pour that’s just marginally over cost, not to mention the classes and tastings every night.  There is so much going on here daily, you could probably rent a room at the Penn’s View Hotel upstairs and enjoy Wine Week exclusively on Front Street.

 

 

Monday-Saturday, Lacroix is offering a luxurious $50 3-course lunch tasting, which includes brilliantly paired Australian wines by Sommelier Justin Timsit.  Peekytoe crab with a delicate Adelaide Hills Chardonnay, roasted duck with an aromatic, old-world styled Syrah, and a hazelnut breton matched with a caramelly sweet 30-year-old Barossa Valley PX, all perfectly distilling the essence of classic pairing.  You may want to enjoy this transportive midday meal more than once over its brief tenure.

 
 

 

 

Why not start your week of drinking with a little penance upfront?  Tria is donating $1 for every glass sold of their “Sparkling Sunday School” selection, a floral and funky biodynamic Malvasia, to local homeless outreach organization, Broad Street Ministry Hospitality Collaborative.  We can’t imagine a lovelier way to ease into a springtime week of wine than an off-dry sparker for a great cause.

 
 

 

 

With a sly nod to the PA musical duo’s seminal album, “Chocolate & Cheese” is on the menu with culinary support from award-winning local cheesemaker, Sue Miller, and Philly pizza prince, Joe Beddia.  David McDuff of David Bowler Wines has the distinction of leading this wily bunch through a cohesive wine tasting, and we know he has the chops.  Much like the album it honors, this evening should be a wild exploration.
 

 

 

 

A.kitchen Wine Director Mariel Wega will be hosting great events throughout this year’s festivities, but one that really drew our attention is a happy hour with pioneering Finger Lakes winery Bloomer Creek.  Sean Faeth from Artisan Cellars will be showing an impressive set of natural wines, highlighting the variety of styles in the region, and demonstrating the approachability of wines made through minimal intervention and organic agriculture.  Saving the environment never tasted so good.

 

 

In celebration of Philadelphia’s recent honor as the first UNESCO ‘World Heritage City’ in the US, Jet’s Jill Weber, the ‘Wining Archaeologist’, has organized a tasting that explores other World Heritage Sites and the wines that help tell their stories.  Featuring wines from Turkey, Switzerland, and Georgia, among others, is a special opportunity to explore little know wine regions through a cultural lens, highlighting the vast globality of wine.
 

 

 

 

Pét-Nat is the latest stylistic trend in wine culture, and this is your chance to dive into the world of these mildly effervescent, terroir-driven charmers.  Tria is featuring a line up of five Pétillant Naturel wines, priced generously at $10 a glass with experimentation and education in mind.  This many Pét-Nat wines in one place is a rare treat.

 

 

 

 

If any one grape could match the breadth of Vedge’s culinary ingenuity, it may just be the ever-permutable Riesling, a favorite of proprietor Kate Jacoby.  Austrian winemaker Marlies Müller-Grossmann and Philly winederkind Jason Malumed of MFW Wine Co. are featuring five international Rieslings in what should be one of the most delicious casual pairing events of the week.

 

 

 

A tidal wave of cult producers and oddball originals is crashing into Coeur on Friday, and if you love the funk, you’ve got to be there.  $8 on all pours means some outrageous values.  Coupled with new direction in the kitchen from Executive Chef Justin Bennett, there has never been a better time to stop in.
 

 

 

 

Sure, KQ’s Lambrusco extravaganza on Monday is going to rock, but we may be even more excited about the impromptu wine party being thrown upstairs on Friday and Saturday night.  The bar list isn’t set yet, but GM Tim Kweeder always has something cutting edge to pour.  With a week of great wine flowing through Kensington Quarters whatever is in his random selection of spontaneous awesomeness is what you want to be drinking.

 

 

 

  

The Good King is finishing restaurant week with a blowout of special glasses and carafes for   brunch, flowing right into dinner when they’ll also reach into their cellar, offering select 1/2 price bottles and even more featured glass pours.  Expect a casual day of relaxed enjoyment with Good Kings lovingly curated wine list.

 

 

Celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Vintage Wine Bar with complementary bubbles and snacks, music by the Gin Canaries, and cabaret dancers!  Be sure to thank Vintage Beverage Director and Philly Wine Week co-founder Kate Moroney for another event-filled week of amazing quaffing.