Thousands of visitors were on hand at the 11th annual Sun WineFest at Mohegan Sun on January 24, 25 and 26, 2014. Throughout the weekend, events included the Sun WineFest Grand Tasting, Bourbon Tasting, Elite Cru Tasting and Celebrity Chef Dine Around. The main event of the weekend was the Sun WineFest Grand Tasting, where trade professionals and consumers sampled wine and beer from over 1,000 brands and specialty sponsor spirits. The Celebrity Chef Dine Around included world-class chefs such as Todd English, Robert Irvine and Jasper White at live cooking stations.
-
- Hartley & Parker’s Jeremy Mitchell, Steve Fanelli with Paul Monte, Laureate Imports.
-
- O’Neil Vintners & Distillers’ Tom Clare and Scott McDonald; Gregory Ahn, Alcohol by Volume Wine and Ryan Davis, O’Neil Vintners & Distillers.
-
- Guinness Perfect Pint Competition, pour educator Tracy Kardys, on the right.
-
- Blinging out bottles with Swarovski crystals with Liquid Diamondz’ Jessica Schweitzer.
-
- Devil’s Cut and RIPE Craft Bar Juice.
-
- Hunt Patterson III, Crimson Wine Group and Bob Neville of Worldwide Wines.
-
- CDI’s Luis Suarez and Kyle Rinoski.
-
- Naked Wines
-
- New England Wine & Spirits President Michael O’Hara and Doug Mulnard, Michael David Winery, NE Regional Manager.
-
- Jim Russo of Banfi Winery and Slocum & Sons’ Drew Barter, Chris Bonavita and Richard Ramaya.
-
- Jamie Keppler, Kevin Mahon and Michael Copeland, all with Connecticut Distributors Inc. (CDI).
-
- Winebow’s Frank Haas, Phil Miller and Jeff Juliano.
-
- Robin Baron, Danny Greene and Cassie Corrigan with J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines.
-
- Master Brands
-
- A pour.
-
- Pete Apotrias, CDI; Scott Randall, Opici Family Distributors; and Paul Flynn, Nicolas Wines.
-
- Jo-Ann Freda, wine presenter.
-
- Stephanie Wheeler, Jackie Blau, Mike Zaccaria and Jessica Katz, all from Pernod Ricard USA.
-
- SEXY Wine’s Heather Delphin.
-
- Pernod Ricard USA’s Peter Karras with The Glenlivet.
-
- Longtime Rhode Island Beverage Journal columnist and beverage consultant Len Panaggio raises a glass.
Photos by Chris Almeida.
