Key West Real Estate: Uncork Your Love of Food and Wine

Life in the Florida Keys is full of great fun, especially when it comes to food, drink, and festivals. 2016 is getting off to a great start with an upcoming 11-day festival in the Upper Keys with Uncorked:The Key Largo & Islamorada Food and Wine Festival. From January 7^th through January 17^th there will over 30 culinary events at a variety of venues showcasing the foods and drinks of our region. From tastings to workshops, contests and special dining events, be prepared to enjoy tasty treat after tasty treat during this widespread festival. There are so many different things happening during this festival. I have provided just a brief summary of what you can find. Be sure to check out the festival website for all the details and plan your Uncorked Festival fun.

If you love chocolate, or have a young one who has wanted to dive into the chocolatier’s world, Key Largo Chocolates will be offering a couple of classes. The Junior class gives kids a hands-on experience with the fine art of making chocolate, while the adults can get in on the fun learning how to pair chocolate with wine, and make a ganache with panache.

There will be several venues showcasing mixology demonstrations and tastings of cocktails, from martinis to mimosas, and great beer and wine, there will be plenty of opportunities to get into the spirit of the Uncorked festival. One big highlight will be special appearances by celebrity chef and author Tony Leck at the Islander Resort, where you can enjoy up close cooking demonstrations of Chef Leck’s traditional Guernsey dishes paired with just the right wine. If this is not enough, don’t worry, there is so much more. It wouldn’t be a food festival without the return of our own version of the cooking show “Chopped”, a charity face off cooking contest between the Key Largo Police and Fire Department teams.

You can even get into the fun of a contest yourself with the Grape Stomping contest, at Snapper’s Waterfront Restaurant, where the winner takes all the wine stomped from the grapes. There will also be several themed dining events on hand for you to experience as well. You can check out the Lobsterfest at Key Largo’s Fisheries Backyard Café, Viva Espana at Sundowners for a night of Flamenco Music and traditional Spanish fare, or “visit’ Italy in Islamorada at the Oltremare Restaurant at Amara Cay, just to name a few special dining events.

For a different twist, there is Dining in the Dark, at Encore in Key Largo. Here you will eat a four course tapas meal you can’t see, so you can tempt your other senses while eating, a truly unique culinary experience. You can also travel as you dine with the Islamorada Progressive Dinner, a 5-course meal at different locations on the key, giving you the chance to taste the best the island has to offer in one night.

The Uncorked Food and Wine Festival will reach its peak with the Uncorked 2016 Grand Tasting event being held at Pelican Cove Resort. This event will feature a multi-sensory experience of different fine foods, spirits, and wines presented by several local Key Largo and Islamorada restaurants. Live music to entertain, excellent chef’s creations to eat, and amazing drink specialties to enjoy. What more can you ask for? How about a Sunday brunch extravaganza? Sunday, January 17^th will wrap up the festival with special brunch offerings at several locations.