On Saturday, November 1, I attended the second night of the 5th Annual Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic, and had a wonderful time sampling all of the offerings as I walked the grounds of the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin resorts.

I started the afternoon with my friend John from The Disney Blog in a seminar called Bordeaux Wine Blending. Our teacher, Tony Porcellini (Director of Food & Beverage at the Swan and Dolphin), led us through a tasting of five different Bordeaux reds – Cabarnet Savignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec – along with educating us on wine tasting terminology.

Then he let us loose with blending the five wines into a mixture that pleased our own palattes. I was a little tentative at first but finally came up with a combination that made my taste buds happy: 2 parts Cabernet Savignon (for the base); 2 parts Petit Verdot (for the spicy notes and higher alcohol zing); and 1 part each Merlot and Malbec to round off the blend. I actually felt like I learned a lot in this seminar, and Porcellini kept it light and fun.

Then John and I headed out to eat and drink our way around the walkway between the Swan and Dolphin. The resorts’ main restaurants were all represented with food booths – Todd English’s bluezoo, Shula’s Steakhouse, Kimonos, Picabu, and Il Mulino – and there were wines from all over the world to sample.

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