Walt Disney World Epcot International Food & Wine Festivalcubbon.net/DisneyReports/FoodandWine08.pdfEpcot and the resort area. Pat and Marianne arrived around 5:00. We chatted in our

© Andrew and Lisa Cubbon, 2008

Walt Disney World

Epcot International Food & Wine Festival

October 2008 By Andy Cubbon

Epcot Food & Wine 2008

© Andrew and Lisa Cubbon, 2008 1

Introduction For a while it didn’t look like we were going to make the annual International Food & Wine Festival at Walt Disney World this year. The class that Lisa was assigned to teach in Orlando didn’t look like it was going to make. However, we didn’t want to miss it, so we decided to go down that week anyway and pay the rack rate at one of the resorts. There was no DVC availability at Saratoga Springs where we had our developer points. Then the class was on, so Lisa rearranged our accommodations. She was also able to get us into one of the extra fee events and the monthly wine dinner at Jiko.

Lisa gassed up the car the day before we left. Thanks to hurricanes Gustav and Ike and panic stirred up by the local news media, there was a local shortage fuel and many gas stations had no fuel or very long lines.

Acknowledgements

Cast of Characters Andy and Lisa Cubbon, Marietta, Georgia with guest appearances by Pat and Marianne O’Neill, Lakeland, Florida.

Text Credits The text was written by Andy.

Picture Credits The pictures were taken by Andy with his Canon S3 IS.

Cover Pictures The cover picture is the sign outside the Festival Center.

Previous Trip Reports Our previous trip reports can be found at our website: http://www.cubbon.net/.



Figure 1. Our room at the Boardwalk Inn

Day 1 – Thursday, October 2nd We left home just after 7:15AM; way early for me. Lisa drove the first couple of legs. We stopped at the Florida Welcome Center for our usual picnic lunch; got fuel in Ocala and arrived at the Boardwalk resort around 3:15.

Lisa checked us in while I parked the car. The lot was sparsely filled. We settled into our newly refurbished room on the Inn side way out on the third floor with a view of the France Eiffel Tower, the Beach Club Villas and the back of the ESPN Club. When the balcony door is open, it was quite noisy with the sound of traffic going by on the road that goes between Epcot and the resort area.

Pat and Marianne arrived around 5:00. We chatted in our room for a while and then took a taxi to the AKL for the wine dinner. We got there about 30 minutes early so we sat by the outside fire until 6:30 when we went back up for the hors d'oeuvre course on the veranda.

Jiko Wine Dinner Hors d'oeuvres: Ostrich Sliders with Berkshire Blue Cheese and Kenyan Coffee Barbeque Sauce (small ostrich sloppy joes—OK but nothing special); Spiced and Seared Scallops on a Pea Shoot Salad with Vanilla-saffron Beurre Blanc that were prepared and served on the veranda; and the best of the three was the Moroccan Vegetable Pastilla with Sour Cream. Instead of enclosing the vegetable mix in the warka (a filo-like dough) it was made into small pastry cups. The wine was a 2007 LB Sauvignon Blanc from Paarl in South Africa. It is one of the Anura brands. Anura was providing the wines for this event. (See Appendix 1 on page 16 for the menu.)

After about 30 minutes to enjoy the wine and hors d'oeuvres, we were led down to the wine room in Jiko. The four of us were assigned to table number 1 with two other couples. The couple at my end of the table lived nearby and came to Food & Wine nearly every day. The other couple, Mark and Kelly, was from Conyers, Georgia. He works for the FBI in Customs and Border Control. I tried to engage the couple at my end in conversation, but ended up doing most of the talking. They were retired teachers and she had also been downsized a couple of times from textbook publishing companies. The food and wines were far more interesting than their or my stories were.

First Course: Seared Duck Breast with Triple Potato Gratin and Dried Cherry Demi Glace. It was very good; nicely seasoned. The wine was a very nice '04 Anura Sangiovese also from Paarl as were all the wines at this dinner.

Second Course: An excellent Blue Crab Cake with Curried Rice and Peppadew-coconut Coulis. The wine was Anura “Maestro” '05; a blend of Shiraz, Mourvèdre and Grenache. Because Marianne is allergic to shell fish, they replaced her crab cake with a lovely seared halibut.

Third Course: African Spiced “Lobster Roll” Salad with Micro Lettuces and Rocket Pesto that was also very nice. With this they served '05 Anura Chenin Blanc. The wine had a nice light citrus



aroma and flavor with overtones of vanilla from 10 months in French Oak. Anura uses very ripe grapes for it. Marianne got the Spiced Briouats: pulled beef rolled in naan with tomato-date jam.

To cleanse the palate for the main course, we were served a lovely Blood Orange Sorbet with 44 North Vodka. Fourth Course: A nicely seasoned Buffalo “Bobotie” with Truffled Mashed Potatoes and Berbere Sauce. It was both sweet and spicy. The seasonings included coriander and cinnamon. The wine was Anura “Legato” 2005; a blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon and petit Verdot, a lovely Bordeaux blend. However, by now my ability to taste the nuances of wines was somewhat impaired.

Fifth Course: the cheese course. St. Marcellin with Huckleberries and Fig Toast, Laura Chenel Goat Cheese with Sweet Brittle and Pistachio Oil (the winner of the trio), and Purple Haze Mousseline with Maple Syrup and Pumpkin Seed Crisp. This came with the '06 Anura Brut Cap Classique. This is a sparkling wine blend, typically of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Sixth Course: Chocolate and Vanilla: Bitter Sweet Chocolate Pyramid with Himalayan Pink Salt and Orange Anglaise and Roasted Vanilla Bean Crème Brulée. Both were excellent, but then both are among my favorite desserts. The wine was Anura Malbec '05 that was quite nice and complemented these desserts well.

Three of us were feeling pretty tipsy from all the wine. Pat had stopped drinking the wines after the first couple because he had to drive home, but Marianne enjoyed the whites and had a refill on the Chenin Blanc.

We all took a taxi back to the Boardwalk where Pat and Marianne got their car and drove home. Lisa and I went to the room and directly to bed.

Day 2 – Friday, October 3rd

Epcot After breakfast in the room, we went to Epcot. We got FastPasses to Soarn’ and then walked to the Festival Center in the Wonders of Life pavilion. This year the Culinary Demonstrations had moved here from the Odyssey. This reduced the number of venues for Wine Seminars to one, so there were fewer of them each day. The table below lists some of the more notable differences. It was hard to count the '08 fee events because they weren’t listed separately with their dates in the program, so I may have missed one or two.

Event 2007 2008

Daily Wine Seminars 8 or 9 2 to 5

Daily Culinary Demonstrations 2 to 6 0 to 4

Signature Dinners 7 2

Wine Schools* 7 3

Exquisit Evenings 6 None

Discovering Wine 3 None

* shorter in duration and a little less expensive in '08



Figure 2. Silverado wines

The Twinings Tea folks didn’t have their tasting seminars in the UK pavilion this year and there were far fewer events on Mondays and Tuesdays than last year. However, some new events were added this year. Authors without Borders lectures (Epcot admission only) and for an additional fee two Master Wine Classes and several City Tastes events. We didn’t attend any of these. Neither of the Wine Master Classes was scheduled while we were there and we didn’t have an interest in the others. One of the few improvements this year was the use of tickets for the free seminars. They were handed out to those in line 15 or 20 minutes before the event started (each person in line could only get one extra ticket). This way you knew whether you were going to make it in.

We browsed the Festival shops and then went back to The Land to ride Soarn’. We didn’t wait for row 1 this time. Next we hit a couple of the food kiosks in the World Showcase to sample their wares. We noticed that there were very few people. We hadn’t seen it this lightly attended since the year or so after 9/11. There were no lines at the various festival food and beverage kiosks.

We got Spanakopita and Greek Salad at the Athens, Greece kiosk (the kiosks were all named for cities in keeping with the “Cities in Wonderland” theme of this year’s festival). At the Bologna, Italy kiosk we got a pretty good Pizza with Sausage, though this is not a tradional dish of that region of Italy, nor was the not very good Baked Ziti or Cream Puff with Mascapone and Gianduja Chocolate. After this light lunch we headed back to the Festival Center for a wine seminar. I got in line while Lisa road Test Track. She likes this ride, but the thrill has gone out of it for me.

Silverado Vineyards Silverado is the winery started by Ron and Diane Miller. Diane Miller is Walt Disney’s daughter. It is located in the Stags’ Leap District and has since acquired five more vineyards. We tasted two of their chardonnays and two cabernet sauvignons. The presenter was Clint Wilsey, Silverado’s sales director. He was a good presenter and quite knowledgeable about wine making.

Chardonnay Napa County, 2006: less oak than the typical California Chardonnay with apple and citrus; $25-30/bottle.

Chardonnay Vineburg Vineyard, Carneros, 2005: even less oak with a touch of apple. Six months in half new French oak. Only 3000 six-packs produced; $35-40/bottle.

When we came to the two reds, Clint told us that 2005 was an outstanding vintage year worldwide. We had already learned that it was in Bordeaux during our visit there (see Bordeaux and Norfolk).

Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, 2005: blended with some Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. A typical cabernet with noticeable cedar/oak bouquet; $45-50/bottle.



Cabernet Sauvignon – Solo – Stags’ Leap District, 2005: 100% cabernet of one varietal from one block of one estate. It was much nicer than the previous cabernet with light earthiness and a more elegant feel. However at $85/bottle it’s no bargain.

Magic Kingdom After the wine tasting, we took the monorail and ferry to the Magic Kingdom. Lisa got a small box of popcorn and I got a Mickey Bar (dark chocolate covered ice cream). These are each of our special treats that we indulge in at Disney World.

It was a bit more crowded here, but there were hardly any waits for the attractions, except, of course, Peter Pan’s Flight which had a 40 minute standby, but even this was less than usual. We rode Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, and took in Mickey’s PhilharMagic. For supper we had hotdogs and fries at Casey’s Corner. Then it was back to the room for a bit of a rest before returning to Epcot.

Return to Epcot We strolled around World Showcase watching the people. We stopped at the Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe pastry and sandwich shop in the Norway Pavilion where I got a rice cream and Lisa got a sandwich. After eating, we went to our preferred viewing location at the end of the walkway from the Odyssey for Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. The globe had recently been renovated and we noticed the improvement in the brightness and clarity of the images.

Day 3 – Saturday, October 4th This morning we skipped breakfast in the room for one at Spoodles on the boardwalk. Lisa got the waffle and sausage and I had a ham and cheddar omelet.

Epcot Lisa wanted to do the Korbel champagne tasting, so we got in line for it at the Festival Center.

Korbel The seminar was presented by Paul Ahvenainen the senior winemaker and director of wine making at Korbel. We learned a lot about the art and technique of champagne making. Korbel and the French wineries both use the traditional method of bottle fermentation or “methode champenoise.”

The grapes are harvested a little earlier than those for regular wine so their sugar content is a bit lower at 18-20%. The juice is fermented in the normal way and yields a low alcohol wine (around 11%). It also has higher acidity. This base wine or cuvee has sugar and special yeast added when it is bottled where the second fermentation occurs. The bottle fermentation adds the bubbles. This takes about 2 months then it is aged for an additional 9 months to 5 or more years.

During aging the dead yeast settles out and imparts additional flavors to the champagne. The French age their bottles on their sides which maximizes the exposure to the yeast. Korbel puts the bottles neck down so the yeast all settles in the narrowest part of the bottle. This minimizes the yeast exposure making their champagnes more fruit forward. After aging the



Figure 3. Korbel's champagnes

dead yeast is removed. Korbel chills the neck of the bottle to about 18° F and the natural pressure forces the yeast plug out. We tasted four of their champagnes.

Brut, California (no vintage): from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Chenin Blanc; a medium dry champagne with 1% sugar added for the bottle fermentation. A hint of apple in the nose.

Brut Rosé, California (no vintage): from Pinot Noir, Gamay, Sangiovese, Syrah and a touch of Chenin Blanc; semi-dry (sweeter than the first) with 1.5% sugar added.

Natural, Russian River Valley, 2005: from a traditional blend of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay; very dry with only 0.7% sugar added.

Chardonnay, California (no vintage): from Chardonnay (duh!) plus about 5% Chenin Blanc; medium dry with 1% sugar added.

After the tasting, we rode Space Ship Earth, when we got to the end our photos from the beginning didn’t make it, so there were just cartoon characters in the “future” I had selected. We then did Journey Into Imagination With Figment before going back to the room for an afternoon lie-down.

Disney Hollywood Studios After our rest and before heading to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner, we took a quick trip to the Studios for a look around. Our luck was good and there was a boat waiting to take us there when we came out of the hotel.

Once inside the park, we noticed that the parade was about to start, so we took a stroll down Sunset Boulevard. Then we rode The Great Movie Ride. We didn’t notice any significant changes since our last visit. The gangster car and set were still static, and the western bank caught fire.

We browsed a few of the shops on our way back to the entrance. We took the boat back, got off at the Swan and Dolphin and walked back to the hotel where we spiffed up a bit and then drove to the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Regular Dinner at Jiko We had a short wait for one of Nasser’s tables. We request Nasser when we can as he is the best waiter there and we’ve gotten to know him well. He brought us a couple of wines to taste. We selected the Anura Pinotage which we hadn’t had with the wine dinner the previous Thursday.

As usual we started by sharing the Kalamata Olive Flatbread with Four Cheeses and Laura Chenel Soft Goat Cheese. We followed this by sharing the Cucumber, Tomato, and Red Onion Salad with Rocket, Cottage Cheese and Watermelon Vinaigrette.



Figure 4. Egyptian Goose at Epcot

Lisa was disappointed to learn that they no longer had the Lamb Shank. She had been looking forward to having it. Instead she got the Kenyan Coffee Barbeque Beef Short Rib with Crushed Potatoes and Onion-Garlic Sauce, which I also had. It was all excellent as usual.

For dessert they brought us four Zema Domes (chocolate candies) from Boma with a candle in each in celebration of our wedding anniversary. They also gave us “Happy Anniversary” Disney buttons. We topped the meal off with a press pot of decaf coffee. During dinner Lisa caught up with Nasser and chatted with the couple at the next table.

Day 4 – Sunday, October 5th – 40th Wedding Anniversary We had breakfast in the room and then hung around reading the newspaper and listening to the radio feed from Atlanta on Lisa’s laptop. We were scheduled for the French Regional lunch at noon and we also had to check-out because we were transferring to the hotel near the Orlando Convention Center where Lisa’s class was being held.

After we’d loaded up the car and checked out of the Boardwalk, we walked over to Epcot. We had a while before our scheduled lunch. However, we didn’t have time to do any of the attractions, so we walked around a bit. In front of The Land I spotted an Egyptian Goose feasting on the marigolds in one of the planters. It paid little attention to me and the other guests watching it. It is a native of Africa, but many have gone feral around the world. They are widespread in Europe, but this is the first one I’ve seen in the U.S.

French Regional Lunch – Bordeaux We arrived at the France Pavilion a little early for the event. We had a short wait before being checked in and led upstairs to the Bistro de Paris dining room. The Georgia couple from the Jiko wine dinner was also there, but we weren’t seated at their table. Instead we were joined by two young California guys who were full-blown Disney nuts. They even had engraved Disney name badges. During the meal we learned that one of them worked for Cisco and the other for DreamWorks Animation. We also learned that they had once visited all five Disney theme park locations (Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo, California and Florida) within a five-month period. They were also foodies so the conversation alternated between recipes and Disney.

We started with an Amuse Bouche of Smoked Salmon and Dry-cured Ham on small pieces of toast (top-left in the picture on the next page). (See Appendix 2 on page 17 for the menu.)

First Course: Lobster and vegetable tartlet, celery bavarois with caviar, and tarragon vinaigrette (top-right in picture). This was served with a 2003 Château Olivier, Pessac Leoganan, a lovely dry white Bordeaux.



Figure 5. Bordeaux Regional Lunch

Figure 6. Andy & Lisa with Mickey & Minnie

Second Course: Beef tenderloin with truffles and morels, Médoc braised Parmentier potatoes, and sautéd green asparagus (bottom-left in picture). This came with two red Bordeaux wines: Château Rollan de By, Cru Bourgeois, Médoc, 2003 and Château Berliquet, Saint Emilion Grand Cru, 2003. Neither was particularly remarkable.

Third Course: Pistachio macaroon, chestnut cream and strawberry, Bordeaux Cannelé, and pistachio ice cream (bottom-right in picture). It was a lovely dessert served with a Château Padauen, Sauternes, 2005 a Bordeaux sweet white.

The food was better than we had experience having dinner here a couple of years ago; an opinion shared by our table mates. We had a nice time.

Magic Kingdom & Mickey Mouse Before going to our new hotel, I had suggested we have our picture take with Mickey Mouse to commemorate our anniversary, so we took the monorails to the Magic Kingdom and

headed to Mickey’s Toontown Fair. At Mickey’s Country House there is a place in back where one can almost always find Mickey Mouse. The line wasn’t too long because the parade was about to start. After a short wait we got our anniversary photo taken with both Mickey and Minnie.

Then after a quick walk through the Main Street shops we took the bus back to the Boardwalk, got the car and drove to the Homewood Suites near the Orlando Convention Center. We checked in and

drove to a nearby Whole Foods where we picked up some spring water and a couple of slices of pizza for our supper. Then it was a quite evening of TV.

Day 5 – Monday, October 6th – Bordeaux Wine Seminars Lisa got up early and went down to teach her class that was being held in the hotel. I got up a little later, had cereal in the room, and drove to Epcot for some wine tastings.

Today the three different Bordeaux wine seminars were all led by Robin Kelly O’Connor a leading wine educator and representative of the Bordeaux Wine Bureau in North America. We had been to a couple of his sessions at previous festivals including a South African Wine School in 2006 (see Walt Disney World 11th Annual Food & Wine Festival). He is an excellent presenter and his sessions are fun too.

Bordeaux: Affordable, Classic & Contemporary The first seminar started at 11:15 but I was in line before 10:00. There wasn’t much of a line yet, so I sat on one of the benches that was conveniently located at about the half-way down



the queue. When we were let in, I ended up in the front row because I was a single filling in an odd seat.

Robin began the session with a discussion of the Bordeaux wine region. We learned several factoids. Bordeaux is divided into 57 official Appellations. These are grouped into “families” like Médoc/Graves, Côtes, and St. Emilion/Pomerol. Despite being quite a small geographic area there are 6000-7000 wineries called châteaux. Compare this to California with less than 2000. Bordeaux produces 800,000,000 bottles of wine a year. About 85% of the wine produced in Bordeaux is red; 13% is dry White and 2% sweet white (Sauternes). Merlot is the predominate grape grown with Cabernet Sauvignon a close second. The other significant red variety is Cabernet Franc and small amounts of Petit Verdot and Malbec. The major white varieties are Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. All Bordeaux wines are a blend of two or more of the approved varieties.

At this session we tasted two dry whites and two reds:

Lafite Reserve Speciale Blanc, Bordeaux, 2005: 60% Sémillon and 40% Sauvignon Blanc; light citrus aroma and quite dry. It also has high acid so should go nicely with food. Note that the lack of an appellation designation means the grapes could come from anywhere in the Bordeaux region. This wine and the Lafite Rouge below are both lesser labels (and far less expensive) of the well known Château Lafite Rothschild.

S de Suduiraut, Bordeaux, 2005: 90% Sémillon and 10% Sauvignon Blanc. A softer dry white that I got just a touch of motor oil in the aroma.

Lafite Reserve Speciale Rouge, Bordeaux, 2005: 70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon; too mild for my taste but might appeal to merlot lovers. Reds with more merlot are typical of the “right bank” wines of St. Emilion and Côtes appellations.

Châteaux Greysac. Médoc, 2004: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc. As is typical of “left bank” reds this has more cabernet than merlot. For me this was the winner of all of the Bordeaux sessions and it’s very reasonably price at around $20/bottle. When we got back home we got two bottles at Publix supermarket and served it at a dinner party. It was a hit. I had opened it a couple of hours before serving and it developed nicely. This one has an appellation name on the label, so by French law all the grapes must come from the vineyards at that sub-region.

At the end of the seminar, Robin had small cloth totes for us. I used this for my book, newspaper and some of the handouts at subsequent seminars.

After the seminar I went to the Electric Umbrella and got some chicken nuggets and fries for lunch and then went back and got in line for the next seminar. I had brought a book to read while I waited. There was one of the Beverage Seminars going on when I got there. Unlike the wine seminars, which were full, it has a small audience of only 20 or so.

Bordeaux: Discover the Mystery of Greatness Robin Kelley O’Connor’s second seminar dealt with four Bordeaux reds. Robin covered much of the same information about Bordeaux by asking questions of those who had been at the first seminar.



Figure 7. Wines of the 2nd Bordeaux seminar

Figure 8. Wines of the 3rd Bordeaux seminar

Unfortunately, I lost my tasting notes for this session, so all I can do is list the four wines which I got from this photo I took of the bottles. None of them stood out the way that the Châteaux Greysac from the first session did.

Châteaux Mezain, Bordeaux, 2006 Châteaux des Duex Rives, Bordeaux, 2005 Châteaux Lavergne-Dulon, Bordeaux, 2006 Châteaux Pontet-Chappaz, Margaux, 2005

Wines from Bordeaux The third of Robin’s seminars followed this one. Several of us immediately got into the line which was already half full. Once we were seated, Robin recapped once more by quizzing us again about the Bordeaux facts.

We tasted one dry white, two reds and one sweet white. Robin had had some problems getting the wines he intended to use for these seminars and had to make some last minute substitutions. As a result, we enjoyed a second tasting of the Châteaux Greysac from the first session.

The first two wines were secondary wines of the other wine making branch of Rothschild family. The Mouton Cadet series of wines started in the early 1930s when the vintage was so bad that Mouton Rothschild didn’t make any of their signature wine. To keep the customers happy, they got grapes from other Bordeaux locations and made a low cost blend for their Paris customers. When the vintage improved they tried to discontinue the Cadet wines but got such a demand for a lower cost Mouton that they continued it.

Mouton Cadet Blanc, Bordeaux, 2007: 50% Sémillon, 40% Sauvignon Blanc, 10%

Muscadelle (a lesser used white varietal in Bordeaux dry whites). There was a distinct grapefruit aroma and taste.

Mouton Cadet Rouge, Bordeaux, 2006: 65% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc. It has a light woody aroma and is too soft for me.

Châteaux Greysac, Médoc, 2004: see page 9.

Châteaux Suduiraut, Sauternes, 2005: 90% Semillon; a lovely sweet white with citrus and honey flavors. Sauternes (and other sweet white wines) stay good in the bottle much longer than other kinds of wine whereas some of the top dry reds can remain good for up to 50 years.



Figure 9. Loggerheaded Shrike

Sauternes are good for a couple of hundred years. Robin told the story of a rich person purchasing a bottle of Sauternes that Thomas Jefferson got in 1793. He opened it at a charity event in 1999 and it was still good.

One last story about Bordeaux: Robin told of attending a two-day celebration of the 800th anniversary of wine making in St. Emilion in 1999. This is considered the “modern” era of wine making in Bordeaux. It started when England’s King Henry II married Eleanor of Aquitaine and acquired a large part of what is now France. The English lost the territory in 1453. For centuries the city of Bordeaux was one of the busiest ports in Western Europe.

It rained heavily during the last seminar and was still drizzling when we got out. Of course, I didn’t have any rain gear, so I got a little damp walking back to the car. I got back to the hotel a few minutes before Lisa wrapped up the day’s session of her class.

Due to the threat of rain, we decided not to go to any of the theme parks. Instead we drove to Downtown Disney for some supper at Wolfgang Puck’s. They were quite busy, but we were able to get a table in the bar where we could also get full food service. I got a glass of pinot grigio and Lisa had a cup of decaf coffee. We started with an avocado and cheese appetizer which turned out to be the best item we got. Lisa selected the ribs, but when the came, they were cold, so she sent them back. The next batch was warm, but still not hot and she said they weren’t particularly good. I had the rigatoni with beef bolognaise. It wasn’t cold, but it wasn’t very good either. We then returned to the hotel and watch this week’s episode of Dancing with the Stars.

Day 6 – Tuesday, October 7th – Merritt Island After Lisa left to teach the second day of the class, I drove east to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge to do some bird watching. I had been here a couple of times in the spring while Lisa was teaching in Orlando and found it was a good place to see birds (see Disney World at Easter). However, this time it wasn’t very productive.

I started at the visitor’s center with a stroll around the boardwalk there, but saw only one Black Vulture or young Turkey Vulture on the empty Osprey nesting platform. I then headed over to Black Point Drive, but it was closed due to recent heavy rains. I went back to the visitor’s center to see what was open. The ranger said that Bio Lab Road was open, so I drove there.

I spent a couple of hours slowly driving along its length. There were several herons and egrets including a Great Blue Heron in the parking area for the boat landing. Surprisingly there were no waterfowl or shorebirds. However I did see quite a few Belted Kingfishers, Turkey Vultures, a few Double-crested Cormorants, and one or two Ospreys.

My next stop was Scrub Jay Trail where I took a walk along the path next to the wetlands. Again not much was stirring. There were a few herons and egrets in the water, lots of Turkey Vultures soaring overhead, a kingfisher or two and one Loggerheaded Shrike (see picture



Figure 10. Rodney Strong wines (not in tasting order)

above). It was near another mostly gray bird that I couldn’t easily identify. When I looked at my photos later, I thought it was a Grey Kingbird, but on closer examination it turned out to be a molting Northern Mockingbird which had lost most of its distinguishing white markings. When I was leaving, I saw what was probably a Northern Harrier that seemed to be chasing a pair of kingfishers. At first I thought it might have been a falcon, but it was too large. There was also a small warbler-sized bird on the road leading to the parking area, but I never got close enough to positively ID it.

After a somewhat disappointing day of birding, I took the long drive back to the hotel and arrived shortly before Lisa got back to the room.

For dinner tonight we decided on Beaches and Cream for supper. We parked at Disney Hollywood Studios and took the 10-minute walk to the Beach Club. For a change there were tables available when we arrived; normally we have a fairly long wait. I suspect the cool weather with the threat of rain and the lower attendance explains this.

We got our usual cheeseburgers (Lisa’s without the bun); mine with fries and Lisa’s with onion rings. I also got my usual chocolate milk shake. We noticed a couple of small changes. We were no longer offered a choice of bun type and there was no dill pickle slice. We were “entertained” however, when a family came in and their boy promptly threw up on the floor near our table. The mother took him out while the father stayed with the two girls and got food. Surprisingly, the mess was not cleaned up; just covered with towels—very un-Disney. Fortunately, it didn’t smell.

Day 7 – Wednesday, October 8th – More Wine Seminars Lisa left for her last day of class before I got up. I had a light breakfast in the room and then drove to Epcot for three of the four wine seminars. I skipped the first one—it was too early and not something I was interested in.

Rodney Strong Vineyards This seminar was presented by Stephen Soltysak, Director of Fine Wines at Rodney Strong. The winery was named for its founder who was a dancer and choreographer. The winery has been owned by Tom Klein since 1989. For their high-end wines they use fully ripe fruit that is just starting to shrivel. It is selected from “sweet” spots in the vineyard’s fine wine blocks. When they got into the fine wine business, they created a separate small “boutique” winery within the estate where they use a much more labor intensive process to produce the wine. Now for the wines.

Reserve Chardonnay, 2006: 100% Chardonnay, not buttery and not oaky; high acid to make it food friendly; about $40/bottle.

Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005: mild tannins, not much nose, full bodied at



Figure 11. Rosenblum wines

14.8% alcohol; about $50/bottle. Too soft for me.

Symmetry Meritage, 2005: 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot, and 3% Malbec; aged 24 months in French oak. I got the wood of the oak aging and a little dirt in the aroma with medium to light tannins; about $60/bottle. This is my favorite of the four, but not worth the price to me. Meritage is used to designate wines that are a blend of the five grape varieties used for Bordeaux wines. The wines must be a blend of at least 2 of the varieties with no more than 90% of any one variety. It is a trademarked term of the Meritage Association and is licensed to wineries that pay the fee and conform to the blend requirements.

Rockaway Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005: 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Malbec and 4% Petit Verdot; 24 months in French oak; about $75/bottle. High tannin and harsher than the Symmetry, it needs to age a few years. We were told it could go 3 to 6 years more in the bottle.

Because the three seminars were back to back to back and the line was already half full when the first seminar ended, I didn’t have time to get lunch. I should have gotten a sandwich or something before they started.

Rosenblum Cellars This seminar was presented by Kent Rosenblum the founder and winemaker who started out as a veterinarian. Rosenblum Cellars is located on an island in San Francisco Bay. It gets all its grapes from other growers with whom it has long time relationships. They make 58 different wines 26 of which are Zinfandels and 22 are single vineyard. He told us that the winery is now owned by Diageo. Diageo, an international beverage giant, bought Rosenblum in January of 2008 for $105 million.

Cuvee Zinfandel XXX, California, (no vintage): a blend of left-over lots of zinfandel with little tannin, a bit of plum and blackberry; $10-11/bottle. A nice light table wine.

Maggie’s Reserve Zinfandel, Sonoma County, 2005: oaky with a hint of cherry and light tannins; about $45/bottle. Not robust enough for me.

St. Peter’s Vineyard Zinfandel, Sonoma Valley, 2005: oaky, more tannin than Maggie’s, but still light; about $50/bottle. Most of the grapes are from 120 year-old vines.

Monte Rosso Zinfandel, Sonoma Valley, 2006: little oak on the nose, medium tannins; $45/bottle.

When we got home, we got a bottle of the Cuvee for under $10 and it was fine in a small glass with supper, though Lisa didn’t much like it. None of the others inspired me to rush out and get a bottle.



Figure 12. Francis Ford Coppola wines

Francis Ford Coppola Our presenter for this session was Tina Pantoja, the National Accounts Manager. She was not nearly as good as the first two presenters and didn’t demonstrate a lot of knowledge about winemaking. We did learn that Francis Ford Coppola had a wide range of business interests including a small pasta factory in Brooklyn, cigars, and resorts. They purchased the Château Souverain land and buildings (but not the brand) in 2006 to add a Sonoma County winery to his Napa valley Niebaum-Coppola estate (now called the Rubicon Estate). He has renamed it Rosso & Bianco. Here are made the Diamond series of wines plus several other “value” brands. He also plans to open a high-end resort there with phase 1 to be completed by May of 2009.

Diamond Black Label Claret, (no appellation), 2006: 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot 7% Merlot, 3% Malbec and 2% Cabernet Franc; light oak, medium-light tannins; $22-24/bottle.

Encyclopedia Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux France, 2006: light tannins. An everyday, light bodied wine imported from Bordeaux and bottled in California in the oddly shaped bottle in the middle of the picture; $15/bottle.

Director’s Cut Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley, 2006: 24 months in a mix of new and old French Oak; $24/bottle.

I was not inspired by any of these wines.

After the tasting was over, I thought about going to one of the country kiosks for a snack but decided that I’d better get back to the hotel because Lisa’s classes frequently get out early on the last day. I got a Mickey bar that I ate on the way back to the car.

Back to Epcot After Lisa returned to the room, we went back to Epcot for our final night at Disney with a stop at the post office on the way so Lisa could mail the class results. We started our dining experience at the Santiago, Chili and Buenos Aires, Argentina kiosks. I got two of the Grilled Beef with Chimichurri Sauce and a couple of the small glasses of Norton Malbec Reserva at the Argentina kiosk while Lisa got two of the Spicy Beef Empanadas from Chili. We topped this off with three cheeses from The Mouse Catch kiosk: Dorothea (Holland), Asiago Pressato (Italy) and Manchego (Spain). The cheeses were very nice and a new addition to the festival.

We strolled around the World Showcase. When we got to the America Pavilion we were just in time to see The American Adventure show. After the show we continued our stroll. The nibbles from the kiosks weren’t enough, so we stopped at the Rose and Crown in the United Kingdom Pavilion for Fish & Chips from the walk-up counter. We shared a table with a couple from Birmingham, England. Lisa topped off the evening with a box of popcorn and I had yet another Mickey bar.



We had planned to stay for the fireworks, but we saw a thunderstorm to the north so we decided to cut our evening short and go back to the hotel. Besides, Lisa was getting tired. On the way out we took one more turn on Space Ship Earth, but the camera didn’t get our pictures again.

Day 8 – Thursday, October 9th – Homeward Bound We skipped breakfast this morning as we were meeting Pat and Marianne in Lakeland for brunch. After checking out of the hotel, we drove to Lakeland and Mimi’s Café near where Pat and Marianne live. Lisa got the Eggs Florentine Benedict and I had a Ham, Cheese and Broccoli Omelet while we had a good chat about the goings-on in the amateur competitive ballroom dance world—our shared avocation.

The drive home was uneventful. We listened to part of Simon Winchesters new book The Man Who Loved China during the long drive. When we got home we discovered nearly 3" of rain water in the gauge which was a nice surprise and that the gasoline prices were starting to return to normal and the supplies more readily available after the shortage caused by Gustav and Ivan that mostly affected the southeast.

We will be back in mid-November for a week with both of our children and their respective significant others plus a 3-year-old that should be fun.



Appendix 1 – Jiko Wine Dinner Menu



Appendix 2 – French Regional Menu

Documents

Walt Disney World Epcot International Food & Wine Festivalcubbon.net/DisneyReports/FoodandWine08.pdfEpcot and the resort area. Pat and Marianne arrived around 5:00. We chatted in our