This may be a bit late, given that Epcot has now transitioned to the Festival of the Holidays, but I only just got to experience Food and Wine and still wanted to share what we ate with you! Because who doesn’t love reading about and seeing photos of Disney food?
Plus, many of these items are ones that occur at the festival year after year, so odds are good they’ll be around next year if you want to start your planning early! And if you don’t have a trip coming up any time soon for Food and Wine Festival, feel free to live vicariously through my photos.
Shimmering Sips Mimosa Bar
We tried the key lime mimosa, tropical mimosa, and blood orange mimosa. All were delicious! The key lime was less of typical mimosa but still delicious. The Tropical was pretty sweet, and the blood orange was more tart, almost like a grapefruit flavor. A fun stop!
Craft Drafts
We tried all the beers here! Flight #1: Central 28 Waff-ale, Bold City Roasted Red Ale, Florida Beer Company Triple Chocolate Milk stout. I liked the Waff-ale the best – it was definitely different and tasted a bit like maple syrup. I’m not much of a red ale drinker but my friends said it seemed hoppier than most red ales. The Chocolate milk stout literally tasted just like chocolate!
Flight #2: First Magnitude Lemongrass saison, JDub’s honeydew melon kolsch, Shipyard Monkey Fist IPA. This flight had my name written all over it. I loved the saison, as that is my favorite type of beer but not super common, and the lemongrass gave it a unique flavor. The kolsch was pretty good but it wasn’t hard to detect any hints of melon flavor. the IPA was okay, basically your typical IPA.
Festival Center Wine Shop
There were three flights here, so we each got one. White Flight (Fess Parker Riesling, MacMurray Pinot Gris,Silverado Sauvignon Blanc), where the riesling was the favorite. Then there was the Red Flight (Silverado Sangiovese Blend, Chappellet Mountain Cuvee Bordeaux Blend, Fess Parker Syrah). All of these are pretty dry reds so be aware of that – I like it but my friends prefer sweeter. I went with the Pinot Noir Flight (MacMurray Pino Noir, Kurt Russell’s “Birdie” Pinot Noir), Skywalker Vineyards Sommita Pinot Noir). I’ve been into Pinot Noirs lately and enjoyed trying different ones. My favorite by far was the Skywalker Vineyards!
Taste Track
Croissant Doughnut with chocolate hazelnut cream and gelato – this was the last item we had at the festival, and I was at the point where maybe I didn’t need a giant croissant donut, but I got it anyway. Definitely recommend adding the vanilla gelato. It was a little difficult to eat but still delicious, especially with the strawberries.
Flavors from Fire
Smoked Corned Beef (with warm crispy potatoes, pickled onions, and blonde ale beer fondue featuring BelGioioso Romano and American Grana Cheese). This was so, so good. I devoured it. Might have been one of my favorites of the festival.
Charred Chimichurri Skirt Steak (on a smoked corn cake with pickled vegetable slaw and cilantro aioli). My two friends really liked this steak. Lots of good flavors.
Chocolate Picante (Dark chocolate mousse with cayenne pepper, paprika, and mango) – this was something a little different and I really liked the balance of chocolate and cayenne – it wasn’t overpowering like some Mexican chocolate I’ve tried.
Light Lab
The whole vibe of this place is just super cool. We had to try the Flavor Experiments: Phosphorescent Phreeze, InfraRED, UltraVIOLET. They’re basically just slushies but you are supposed to try and guess what the flavors are. It was fun, though it’s more about the gimmick than anything else – they were very sweet and I think would be a great option for kids. Plus you get three glow cubes out of it!
Bleu Spectrum (Blanc de bleu cuvee mousseux with boba pearls) was tasty and made for some of the best photos.
Cider flight (Original Sin Dry Rose, 3 Daughters Blueberry Peppercorn, Ciderboys Zen Berry) – always fun to try a cider flight! The blueberry peppercorn was actually a favorite – it was different, but the pepper flavor wasn’t overpowering or weird. Somehow, it worked.
RGB Flight (Playalinda Red Cherry Tart, Grasslands Green Kiwi Blonde, MIA Blue-berry Golden Ale) – I really enjoyed the Red Cherry Tart, which surprised me since cherry beers can be really bad. The blueberry was my next favorite, with a subtle blueberry flavor. I have to say the kiwi blonde was just not good and didn’t taste anything like kiwi.
Earth Eats
The Steakhouse Blended Burger (Blended Beef and Wild mushroom Slider with Brie Cheese Fondue, Arugula, Truffle and Blue cheese potato chip on a brioche bun) was a good little slider, but I have to say it didn’t quite live up to the picture, which looked like it was loaded with toppings.
Active Eats
Loaded Mac n Cheese (with Nueske’s Pepper Bacon, Cheddar Cheese, Peppers, and Green Onions) was better than last year’s version I think, and this is a popular dish. It was flavorful with a little kick to it.
Coastal Eats
Lump Crab Cake (with Napa Cabbage Slaw and Avocado-lemongrass cream) – I enjoyed this crab cake, though I think at this booth I preferred the scallops that I sampled last year.
Chocolate Studio
Lots of chocolate goodies here! The Liquid Nitro Chocolate-Almond Truffle (with warm whiskey caramel) was my favorite, especially with the whiskey caramel sauce. The Sweet Dark Chocolate Rasberry Torte (With whipped cream) was very rich but good with the raspberry. And the Twinings Pumpkin Spice Chai Tea and Chocolate Shake (non alcoholic) was also nice and refreshing. I was impressed with how well the pumpkin and chocolate flavors went together!
The Cheese Studio
The past two years I get excited by the name of this booth but then disappointed by the actual cheese. The Cheese Trio (profiterole topped with boursin garlic and fine herbs cheese and orange-apricot jam, smoked salmon pinwheel with boursin shallot and chive cheese and everything seasoning, and strawberry macaron with boursin pepper cheese) is disappointing to me because it’s all Boursin cheese. Which I am not a fan of because it reminds me of cream cheese (which I hate) and also because I like more variety. The wine booth coming up is actually better for cheese.
The Wine and Dine Studio
Butternut Squash Ravioli (with brown butter vinaigrette, parmesan cheese, and pumpkin seeds) was very tasty, though I wish there were more than 2 raviolis.
Artist Palette of Wine and Cheese (Crescenza-Stracchino, CreamyGorg Gorgonzola Dolce, and Artigiano Vino Rosso) and Reata Chardonnay, Rainstorm Silver Linings Pinot Noir Rose, and Spellbound Petite Sirah. These cheeses were much better. I liked all three, though the one that was like a bleu cheese was my favorite. The wines were okay but nothing outstanding.
The Almond Orchard
Creamy Spinach and Artichoke Dip (with pulled chicken, toasted blue diamond almonds and parmesan cheese served with Nut Thins Crackers) was a great one for sharing. I enjoyed it and the crackers were actually very good. The almonds added a nice layer to the dip.
My friend also had the Banana Almond Soft serve Sundae (with fresh berries and chocolate almond streusel) and I stole some bites. I really liked this a lot. She let me have all the bites with blueberries in them because she doesn’t like them!
Refreshment Port
The Beef Brisket Poutine (french fries with beef brisket, beer cheese sauce, and poutine gravy topped with crispy onions) was a huge portion and definitely should be shared. It was delicious, though I will say we had it the end of our first night after sampling a lot of the drinks the festival had to offer, so it may have been just what we were craving at that moment! Cause I don’t feel like the photo is doing it any favors…
On another day my friend also had the Pineapple Soft serve ice cream with Bacardi coconut rum, and this is really just Dole Whip with rum so you can’t go wrong!
New Zealand
I’d gotten the Lamb Meatball (with spicy tomato chutney) last year and had been impressed with it, so I ordered it again. I’m still a fan! The meatball is very good and the chutney has a lot of flavor.
My friend had the Seared Venison Sausage (with Kumara Puree and Wild Mushroom Marsala Sauce). She said it was heavy on the mushrooms and I’m not a fan so I didn’t try it, but she enjoyed it. The puree tasted like some sort of squash or sweet potato and it was quite good.
Australia
I ended up getting the wine flight here, which included the Hope Estate “Wollombi Brook” Semillon, Franklin Tate Estates Chardonnay, and Yangarra Shiraz. The Shiraz was my favorite of the three. I’m not really sure what a semillon is but I had a hard time distinguishing it from the Chardonnay.
Hawaii
For food my friend got the Grilled Tuna Tataki (with seaweed salad, pickled cucumbers, and wasabi cream). Tuna is not my favorite but it looked really good and I could tell that my husband would have loved it.
I had the Maui Brewing Company Bikini Blonde Lager, which was just your typical boring lager.
My friend got the Florida Orange Groves Sparkling Pineapple Wine. It was $10 for a glass so she went into it saying “this better be really good for $10!” and luckily it did not disappoint her as she enjoyed it quite a lot.
Greece
Loaded Greek “Nachos” (pita chips, meatless sausage crumbles, and vegan tzatsiki) was another favorite from last year. I really enjoyed it again, though I wish there weren’t so many olives.
Thailand
I tried something I never got around to last year, which was the Seared Shrimp and Scallop Cake (with cold noodle salad). I did enjoy this and liked how you could taste both the shrimp and the scallops within the cake.
My friend was excited about the Red Hot Spicy Thai Curry Beef (with steamed rice). It was indeed rather spicy!
Mexico
The food always seems a bit overpriced in Mexico, so even though the drinks can be hit or miss we ended up trying all three margaritas – and while 1 was a big miss, the other two were hits! We had the Mariachi Loco (margarita with Libelula Tquila Joven, Mango Puree, and Chamoy) which was the miss of the group. It had almost no mango flavor – a family sitting near us commented the same thing and they did not enjoy it at all. Luckily the booth let my friend exchange it for a different margarita: the El Padrino (blackberry Mexican punch with Velo Blanco Tequila). This is the one that I had and it was quite delicious with the blackberry flavor! The third one in our group had the Ay Caramba (smoky margarita with Gracias A Dios Mezcal, lime juice, and ancho reyes chile liqueur). She enjoyed this so much she got another one the next night. I think she really liked the spiciness of it.
China
Here we have the Chicken Dumplings (with Chinese Slaw) and Happy Peach (Peach Liqueur and Dark Rum). The dumplings were good if standard, and the peach drink was very sweet and full of peach flavor.
I got the Black Pepper Shrimp (with garlic noodles) and this was really good! A few more shrimp for the price might have been nice, but the flavor of the noodles was delicious.
Finally we got the Byejoe Punch (Chinese Bai Jiu Spirit, lychee, coconut, and pineapple juice). This tasted really light and refreshing but you could definitely feel the kick from the alcohol. I’d say the main flavor I tasted was coconut, but they all worked together quite well.
India
Everything in India sounded delicious. We got the Madras Red Curry (with roasted cauliflower, baby carrots, chickpeas, and basmati rice) which was good with a bit of spiciness to it. I really enjoyed that, but what I liked even more was the Korma Chicken (with cucumber tomato salad, almonds, cashews, and warm naan bread).
Africa
Two yummy sounding choices in Africa so my friend and I got them both to split. She started with the Spicy Ethiopian Red Lentil Stew (with vegan yogurt and quinoa) and I had the Berbere-style Beef Tenderloin Tips (with onions, Jalapenos, tomato, and pap). We switched halfway through and both decided we liked what we started with better so switched back! So they are both very good, just depends on your preferences.
Brewer’s Collection
I’ve turned into quite a beer lover, so I had to go for the flight here. It included the Radeberger Zwickel Pilsner (unfiltered), Hacker-Pschorr Hefe Weisse Naturtrub, and Schofferhofer Hefeweizen pomegranate beer. No one really cared for the pilsner, I think due to it being unfiltered. One friend declared it tasted “like dirt.” Perhaps not that bad but definitely an acquired taste that I did not like. The hefe was good and very refreshing in the heat. The favorite of the group was the pomegranate beer.
Germany
I did not try any of the food options we had here, but my friend got two of them and seemed to quite like them both. There was the Roast Bratwurst (in a pretzel roll).
Also the Apple Strudel (with vanilla sauce) because you have to have dessert!
We also had the Riesling flight. It was interesting to try 3 different types of Rieslings, from driest to sweetest. My friends favored the sweetest one (I think they have more of a sweet tooth than I do, especially when it comes to alcohol!) but I liked the medium one.
Spain
From here we had the Charcuterie in a Cone (with a selection of imported Spanish meats, cheeses, and olives with an herb vinaigrette). I had a couple of bites and really enjoyed it – the cheese in the olive oil and herbs was especially delicious. There were a lot of olives in it and since I don’t care for olives it was a good one to share: my olive loving friend gobbled those up!
Block and Hans
Nothing from the Hops and Barley booth in America was really calling to us, so we got beers at Block and Hans instead. They are full size beers, and although they are listed in the Food and Wine booklet I know they serve beer there all year round so I’m not sure if these are exclusive to the festival. I went with the Full Sail Brewing Co. Blood Orange Wheat, which I liked a lot.
My friend is a big Kolsch fan and had the Karbach Brewing Co. Love Street Kolsch Style Blonde.
Japan
My friend tried Beef Nigiri (topped with shrimp sauce and diced pickled jalapenos). This was something a bit different but I enjoyed the bite I had.
I went with the Teriyaki Chicken Bun (steamed bun filled with chicken, vegetables, and a sweet teriyaki sauce). It tasted very good. But I have to say that even since seeing the Bao short in front of Incredibles 2 I feel like I’m eating a baby or something when I have this!
For a drink my friend got the Fuji Apple Cocktail (sake, peach schnapps, and green apple syrup). They described it as tasting like an apple jolly rancher and I have to say I agree with that. Very sweet!
Belgium
Here we had the Chilled Coffee (featuring Godiva Chocolate Liqueur). It was delicious, especially since it was chilled and it was still about 85 degrees out in Florida in November.
Brazil
As the seafood lover of the group, I had to get the Moqueca (Brazilian seafood stew featuring scallops, shrimp and white fish with coconut-lime sauce and steamed rice). You definitely have to be a seafood lover for this one because the fish taste is pretty strong. I thought it worked well with the coconut-lime sauce though and especially enjoyed the shrimp and scallops.
France
This was a place we went for drinks. While two of us went with a drink that is there available year round (the Grand Marnier slush), one friend got a drink exclusive to the festival: the St. Germain Sparkling Kir (Sparkling Wine and St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur). I made something similar for my Tangled Birthday Party and it was pretty tasty.
Ireland
First up here was the Roasted Irish Sausage (with colcannon potatoes and onion gravy). I had a bite and while I’m not a huge fan of sausage I thought it was really good.
There was also the Warm Irish Cheddar Cheese and Stout Dip (with Irish Brown Bread). It was tasty but a little one-note. There was not nearly enough bread to do with the dip. My friend enjoyed this with the Bunratty Meade Honey Wine. This was very sweet but if you like meade you’ll probably enjoy this!
I had to have the Guinness Bailey’s Shake and despite the fact that it feels pretty overpriced for the size you get, it was totally worth it. Once of the best drinks that I had at the festival. The chocolate curls on top just added a little texture that I appreciated.
Canada
Can you go to Canada and not order the Canadian Cheddar Cheese and Bacon Soup (served with a pretzel roll)? It’s delicious and even better with the pretzel. Even though Kristin ate half of it before I could take the photo.
I also got the Moosehead Radler (lager infused with grapefruit, grape, and lemon juices). I love grapefruit and beer so this was a win for me.
Looking back, it certainly seems like we had A LOT of the food and drink options at the Festival this year! Even though it was the tail end of it I’m very happy we were able to make the most of it this trip.
Which item from the Epcot Food and Wine Festival looks best to you?
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