Great wine, great art and great food at bnt wine and art festival

Fri, Oct 28th 2011, 10:59 AM

On Saturday, October 29, the Bahamas National Trust will open its gates for the  21st Annual Wine and Art Festival.  The annual festival features over 50 talented artists, a selection of over 50 wines from Bristol Wines and Spirits and a new feature this year, a wine and food pairing area sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism's Culinary Tourism Division.
BNT members will get a special preview of the art and a chance to bid on unique marine-themed silent auction items at the Wishing Fish Auction on Friday evening, October 28.  This special evening for BNT members is sponsored by Gourmet Market and Food Art By Cacique and Bristol Wines and Spirits.
"We are extremely grateful to our sponsors," says Eric Carey, BNT executive director.  "Their support allows us to show our appreciation for our members at this special evening. The Wishing Fish Auction provides artists with the opportunity to design and decorate wooden fish in their own unique style.  All proceeds from the auction will be used in support of the BNT's marine conservation initiatives."
"The Wine and Art Festival provides Bristol Wines and Spirits with a great opportunity to introduce the public to new wines that we will be offering this holiday season," comments Rusty Scates, wine manager for Bristol Wines and Spirits.
Patrons attending the festival this year will have an opportunity to taste  Asti Winery's Cellar's range of eight wines with the Chardonnay and Zinfindel being featured, Pine and Post Wines from Washington State featuring a Reisling and Merlot and Flip Flop Wines from California offering their Chardonnay and Carbernet Sauvignon.
One of the special features of the Wine and Art Festival is special guests from the participating wineries.  This year Julian Inarra from the Trivento

Winery in Argentina will be on hand to discuss the wines produced by his winery.
A new feature at this year's Wine and Art Festival will be a food and wine pairing demonstration sponsored by the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism's Culinary Tourism Division.  Featuring three of the finest chefs in The Bahamas who are all members of the Bahamas Culinary Association, the area will help you learn what wine should be served with what dish.
Jamal Small, Team Captain of the National Culinary Team 2011 and Private Chef in the Exuma Cays, will feature a Cassava Gnocchi with roasted root vegetables in a fennel cream sauce. Emmanuel Gibson, National Culinary Team from the One & Only Ocean Club, will demonstrate a fish dish - plantain-crusted grouper.  Alexandra Maillis Lynch of Alexandra's Catering and August Moon will guide attendees through the process of roasting a pig in plantain leaf.  Local produce will be featured in each recipe in conjunction with BAIC, and all ingredients will be locally grown, inclusive of the grouper and the pig.
A number of well-known caterers and restaurants will be providing food throughout the day, such as  Gourmet Markets and Food Art by Cacique,  August Moon Café, Konfetti  Kreations,  Glorious Foods, Citrus Catering and a special booth featuring Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream.
"We are once again thrilled to have many outstanding artists participating in the Festival," says Lynn Gape, deputy executive director of the BNT.
New artists participating this year are Judith Papillon, Tori Hermann, Kandice Eldon, Candis Marshall, Morgan McKinney, and Shelby Knowles.
We also have a large contingent from Abaco traveling to be with us this year," says Gape. "We are very happy to have Kim Rody, Jo-ann and Peter Bradley, Marjolein Scott, Jeep Beyers and Bob Zwickel joining us again this year."
Annual favorites will also be participating and patrons will have a chance to visit with Thierry Lamare,  Jonathon Bethel, Toby Lunn, John Paul, Trevor Tucker, Marco Mullings, Nicole Angelica, Malcolm Rae, Kim Smith, Tiffany Barrett, Peter Otim Angole and Imogene Walkine.
According to Lynn Gape, the festival began 21 years ago with just 20 artists and each year it has grown.  Today, the festival features over 50 artists and is a great place to see a variety of artistic styles.  Many media are represented and not surprisingly the Bahamian environment is the subject of many of the paintings.
The BNT's Wine and Art Festival is a great event to learn about wine and view wonderful art, so be sure to attend this very special event on Saturday, October 29, 12 noon to 6 p.m. at The Retreat on Village Road. BNT members pay $15 and the general public $20. All proceeds support the national park system of The Bahamas.
Contact Lynn Gape at lgape@bnt.bs or 393-1317 for more information.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian

 Sponsored Ads