With the swearing in of the 112th Congress this week, there's either plenty to celebrate or a crucial need to dull the pain. Whichever mood your political leanings have put you in, the good news is that the
Fairfax Hotel at Embassy Row (part of the Starwood luxury group) will be hosting the second annual
Capital Wine Festival, starting on the 20th of January. Located in Dupont Circle, the festival is the creation of Chef Daniel Bruce, who helms the kitchen at the
Boston Harbor Hotel and founded its sister event, the
Boston Wine Festival. Since organizing Boston over twenty years ago, he's expanded the event to include New Orleans (2007), Berkeley (2010) and DC (2010). Two disparate, yet equally popular and significant, wine regions are covered by this year's festival: the US West Coast (California and Oregon) and Italy. Over the course of eight dinners, festival participants will experience the wines of vineyards such as
Poggio al Tesoro,
Continuum Estate and
Ponzi Vineyards, all presented by representatives from the wineries. A food and 45-label wine gala reception kicks it all off, but unlike most festivals, there's no need to run between events to cram everything in. The Capital Wine Festival is spread out over a leisurely two months, meaning that the party/pity-party will continue long into the 2011 session.
