Collegiate Times

Kroger's bistro head chef Chris Martin will whip up his tastiest cuisine at tomorrow's Fork and Cork food and wine festival.

As the wine flows and the music blasts, loosened bodies begin boogying to the tunes.

Blacksburg’s second annual food, wine and art festival, Fork and Cork, will feature regional wineries, local cuisine, art and live entertainment.

“We expect nothing short of a fun-filled afternoon with great food, drink, and good old-fashioned rockin’ honky-tonk,” said Dan Dunlap, guitarist for 3 Minute Lovin’, a band that will play at the festival, and owner of Rocket Music.

Presented by the Blacksburg Partnership, tomorrow’s festival aims to educate those interested in learning more about pairing wines with meals while keeping the wine tasting glasses full.

Diane Akers, president of the Blacksburg Partnership, said the food and wine will be accompanied by live and local music, and art. She said that the event will be much bigger than last year’s with 20 wineries, 38 artists, eight food vendors and three bands attending.

According to Kroger’s bistro head chef Chris Martin, the festival’s basic premise is simple.

“People like to eat and drink good things,” Martin said.

With 20 wineries represented and food pairings like Martin’s chosen demonstration, the festival’s lineup attempts to please the finest of palates.

“It’s something exciting to get out in front of people and teach them different cooking techniques, something they haven’t seen before,” Martin said.

Martin will be cooking seared sea scallops with an orange saffron sauce, which will be paired with a wine from Chateau Morrisette under the demonstration tent.

“The wine is sweeter, so I chose to complement it with seafood,” Martin said. “The saffron has earthy tones, so it naturally goes really well with wine.”

The grapes and the wineries that breathe life into them will take center stage. Dan Gibbs from VM Wines is looking forward to sharing his vineyard’s finest wines again.

“We had a great time at Fork and Cork last year, and we’re glad to be a part of it again,” Gibbs said. And much like a fine wine, “each year, it only gets better.”

Gibbs sees his winery’s participation in the festival as an additional push into the “be local” effort.

“It’s part of the whole movement. We need to get away from looking overseas to France and Italy for wine,” Gibbs said. “We make some darn good wine here in this state.”

Virginia is currently fifth in the nation in wine production and with good reason. Although VM Wines only produces about 8,000 cases each year, the wines produced are received with strong reception.

“People are always surprised after they taste our wines, saying, ‘Wow, look you’re just a little farm out here and ya’ll make some real good wine,’” Gibbs said.

Festivals such as Fork and Cork help even smaller wineries gain exposure, even if it just goes to Virginians.

“Talking about going green, we’re a farm winery so we grow our own grapes,” Gibbs said. “There’s no importing, so the money is kept here locally.”

Virginia Tech alumnus Richard Classey saw the potential in tapping in to the local wine scene in the New River Valley. As a chemistry major, Classey learned a good amount about wine making — as well as drinking — as a college student.

“It’s actually a fairly common career choice for chemistry majors,” Classey said.

After planting a successful test grapevine strip at his family farm less than an hour from campus, Classey established Fincastle Winery, which proudly produced its first vintage in 2001.

Fincastle will be pouring a selection of six signature wines, including a Viognier, Chardonnay and Sangria. In addition to the promotional aspects of the festival, Classey is mostly looking forward to helping to educate others about wine culture.

“A lot of people don’t know much about wine — especially college students,” Classey said. “A festival is a great place to learn just where your tastes lay in the vast world of fermented grape beverages.”

Classey recognizes that in the world of wine, people can visit their local grocer’s wine aisle and easily be met by over 3,000 bottles — it’s easy to get lost.

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A version of this article appeared in the Apr 30 issue of the Collegiate Times.