Philly Wine Week

Welcome to Philly Wine Week! Philadelphia has been a center for wine culture since 1782 when noted wine merchant  John Vaughan settled in Philadelphia.   A native of England, Vaughan worked tirelessly for many literary, scientific, and benevolent causes in the city.  His legacy inspired three centuries of wine culture in our fair city.  

Philly Wine Week almost started in 2009, when Keith Wallace (Wine School of Philadelphia) began developing the concept with a PR firm. However, the idea stayed on the chalkboard for years. It wasn’t until 2015 when Kate Moroney (Vintage) and Bill Eccelston (Panorama) reconstituted the idea.  There are some concerns regarding Philly Wine Week’s intellectual property, some of which are detailed below. 

We’ve included our top picks for this year’s Philly Wine Week on this page. Enjoy!

Philadelphia Wine Week

Wine School Classes

The Wine School does not participate in Philly Wine Week in any official capacity. This is because the direction PWW has taken is not in sync with our core values.   However, we run classes and courses and offer recommendations on the best events.

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More Great Philly Wine Week Events

The Wine School does not run these, but that shouldn’t stop you from checking them out.

Vine Street Imports South African Portfolio Tasting

April 7 @ 1:00 Pm – 4:00 Pm

Kensington Quarters
1310 Frankford Ave
Philadelphia, Pa 19125 United States + Google Map
Phone:
267-314-5086
Website:
Http://Www.Kensingtonquarters.Com

Meet The Winemaker With Bob Hackett Of Hackett Winery

April 3 @ 6:00 Pm – 8:00 Pm

Martha
2113 E York St
Philadelphia, Pa 19125

Phone:
215-867-8881
Website:
Http://Marthakensington.Com

Pinot Noir Showdown Flights: Oregon Vs. Burgundy

April 4 @ 7:00 Pm – 9:00 Pm $35

Panorama
14 N Front St
Philadelphia, Pa 19106 United States + Google Map
Phone:
215-922-7800
Website:
Http://Www.Panoramawinebar.Com/

Wine And Cheese Happy Hour With The Farm At Doe Run

April 5 @ 5:00 Pm – 7:00 Pm
Terrain Cafe
138 W. Lancaster Ave
Devon, Pa 19333 United States + Google Map
Phone:
610-590-4675
Website:
Https://Www.Shopterrain.Com/Devon-Restaurant/

Rate Philly Wine Week

What do you think of Philly Wine Week? We have our thoughts about its implementation, but we want your input. Have you attended an event or class sponsored by Philly Wine Week? Do you have suggestions on what can be done better or things you want to see? Let us know!

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Philly Wine Week
Average rating:  
 10 reviews
 by Jimmy
not going

went last year, wasnt great and they changed locations at the last minute.

 by Carolyn
Mismanaged Wine Bleak

I don't have words for how badly philly wine week was managed.

 by Alex C
Slightly Better Than a Groupon for Dental Surgery

This is just a retread of Philly Beer Week. Drink specials, some winemakers, a few dinners. Even borrowed the opening tap idea. How hard is it to do something original? I understand the people behind PWW want to make money and want to drum up business to their restaurant chums, but do you have to be so blatant about it?

 by Heddy Z.


As a restaurant owner, I found the disorganization of the organizers made it hard to participate.
There is no unified vision of what the future of Wine Week will be. How do you expect us to invest time and money in the project if you can't articulate your ideals and plans?
Not enough support. The concept seems to be a fusion of restaurant week and Philly beer week. Lacks the logistical support and media attention those other two programs offer.

 

 by Mouse of Anon
PR Hack

When the PR hacks start posting, you know there is some dirty dealings going on. Is Seth Williams the attorney for Philly Wine Week? If not, they should consider it.

 by rosie ruiz
Wine Week Philly

Remember "The Art of the Steal"?

 by Ariana
Philly Wine Week is AMAZING

Ignore the haters. Philly Wine Week is AMAZING. The BEST sommeliers in Philly are running the show. They are FANTASTIC and CLASSY.

 by Jackie

There are similarities, and there may be a case that the Wine School's intellectual property was misappropriated. I don't know, and that really doesn't affect my opinion of the week.

I attended a few events last year. They were mediocre, and reminded me of a watered down restaurant week. I'll try again next year, maybe they'll have gotten their act together by then.

Here's a thought. Maybe the owner s of Philly Wine Week swallow their pride and partner with Keith and Alana of the Wine School? That would be amazing.

 

 by Sam G
Not nice, Philly Wine Week

I wondered why the Wine School didn't have a leadership role for Philly Wine Week. It's pretty obvious that  the people behind the festival stole stole the idea from Keith. Whose in charge of the festival? I'm pissed.

 

 by Matt G.
Ho Hum

Not great, not bad. Just Okay.

The Origin of Wine Week

Did you know that Philly Wine Week had its start at the Wine School of Philadelphia?

In 2009, Traci Browne of the PR company Red Cedar approached the Wine School of Philadelphia and me to run a Philly Wine Week. At the time, Philly Beer Week was starting to catch national attention, and folks like Mat Falco of Philly Beer Scene were doing some amazing things.

We could do something great as well, and I said, “Hell Yeah!”

We had a few meetings and built out what looked like a fantastic week of wine, food, and fun. Then, I started working on visuals and other elements of the weeklong bacchanalia.  At the time, I was running various other large-scale wine events (Food Network’s Great Big Food Show, Philadelphia, and the New Jersey Food & Wine Festival), so it was a good fit.

Imitation or Accident?

Sadly, Philly Wine Week didn’t make it beyond the planning stages. Classes and wine courses at the  Wine School were blowing up. Unfortunately,  I didn’t have the time to devote to launching Philly Wine Week, so I bowed out of the project.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.

Oscar Wilde

I am glad that others picked up the idea and ran with it, and I hope they expand the project. I hope it eventually becomes an inclusive wine event that celebrates the true extent of wine culture in Philadelphia.

Neither the Wine School nor myself are involved with Philly Wine Week. Unfortunately, it seems like the organizers have borrowed a little too much from my original work without giving the Wine School credit.

Let me know what you think: are these similarities accidental similarities or something a bit less wholesome?

Original Philly Wine Week Icon, Circa 2009

2018 Philly Wine Week Classes

MYSTERY WINE BLIND TASTING

March 22nd  – March 29th  at Bar210 at Lacroix and the Library Bar at The Rittenhouse Hotel. 210 W Rittenhouse Square
Philadelphia, PA 19103 United States. The first guest to correctly guess the wine will receive a complimentary bottle of said wine to enjoy that evening and be featured on the hotel’s Instagram. Price: per glass.

WEST COAST VERSUS EAST COAST

March 22nd  from 5:30 pm-10 pm at High Street on Market. 308 Market St Philadelphia, PA 19106. Flights of East Coast Verus West Coast Wines: $20 per flight.

PA WINERY ASSOCIATION DINNER

March 23rd from 5:30-10:30 pm at High Street on Market. 308 Market St Philadelphia, PA 19106. Winemakers from Galen Glen, Nimble Hill, Maple Springs, and more will be on hand to taste guest through their wines. Four Course Meal with Wine Pairings. $75/Person.

WINE CLASS: “NEW YORK DOLLS”

March 24th from 2-3:30 pm at Kensington Quarters (2nd Floor). 1310 Frankford Ave Philadelphia, PA 19125. A class on Finger Lake and Long Island wines. $50/Person

MAKE YOUR OWN VERMOUTH

March 25th (contact restaurant for the time) at Plenty CafĂ©: Rittenhouse. 1602 Spruce St Philadelphia, PA 19103. Owner Anthony Mascieri will be speaking on his process of crafting Plenty’s house vermouth. Afterward, participants will be provided all of the barks, botanicals, herbs, and step-by-step guidance it takes to make their own. Refreshments will be included.

WINE & CHEESE PAIRING

March 27th from 5-7:30 pm at Osteria. 640 N Broad Street Philadelphia, PA 19130. A Doe Run Farms Cheese tasting paired with wines from the Wine Merchant. $25/Person.

JURA WINE DINNER

March 28th at Royal Boucherie. 52 S. 2nd St. Philadelphia, PA 19106. Jura’s wines are unusual, distinctive, and utterly different from wines made anywhere else in the world. This is precisely what makes this region so much fun to explore! Chef Elmi will serve a 4-course tasting menu paired alongside these exciting hard to come by bottles. $90/Person

Sommelier Smackdown

The Wine School has been running the Sommelier Smackdown since 2007, and we have a copyright on the term. We even got into infamous trouble in 2009 when we got sued by the WWE.

Sommelier Smackdown

Here are Philly Wine Week’s Event, the Bar-Somm Smackdown:

Somm Smackdown

Wine Classes

Also, here are a few more events being held during Wine Week. The following classes seem to have been inspired by classes I’ve developed for the Wine School.  I am not claiming they lifted the ideas or content of these classes from the Wine School, but I am concerned about some of the striking similarities.

Philly Wine Week
Philly Wine Week’s Best Wines You’ve Never Heard Of

So I guess they read the description of our Exotic Wines Class?

 Wine 101
Philly Wine Week’s Wine 101

Why name an introductory wine class after one we’ve been running since 2001? Wine 101

Wine Week
Philly Wine Week’s Old World Vs. New World Class

Old World vs. New World is a class in our Foundation Program. This is also the central element of our Discover your Wine Style Class.

Philly Wine Week
Philly Wine Week’s Wine IQ class

The language is a little too close for comfort to our Wine Smarts class.


Original Working Plan for Philly Wine Week, 2006

Here are the original plans Tracy and I worked up for the week-long program. Notice any similarities to the current festivities?

Saturday Wine Festival

A Walk Around Tasting for 1000 people in the Crystal Tearoom. Featuring 40 wineries, plus a handful of distilleries and breweries. Pricing would be tiered at $40, $75, and $100 (VIP ACCESS). VIP ticket holders would have access to all events during the week.

Sunday Night Wine Rave

I don’t remember what this was going to be. My notes are vague. It was going to be for 350 people. Or possibly tickets were going to cost $350, which would mean this would be crazy. No matter what was the case,  a wine rave sounds like an excellent idea.  I am pretty sure this was Traci’s idea, and I wish I remembered what she was thinking of. A foam party? A drug-fueled bacchanalia?  I don’t think we’ll ever know.

Sommelier Smackdown

The classic all-out war of sommeliers. We envisioned this similar to the current “Philly’s Top Somm” that we award every year.  The finale would have been a competition between five of the city’s top sommeliers, with food from one of Philly’s top restaurants. At the time, we were thinking of Zahav. The winner would be judged by a group of 50 local wine lovers.

Restaurants Doing Their Own Thing

We expected restaurants to offer tasting menus, wine specials, wine flights, and winemaker dinners.  Any restaurant could participate, and we would help get great winemakers to their restaurants. This is one of the reasons we planned on doing the event in late fall or early winter: it’s the time winemakers are free to come to  Philly and share their wines.

This is the element that the current iteration of Philly Wine Week has embraced.

VIP Party

The last day of Philly Wine Week. This is a blowout party for participants and those who purchased VIP tickets.  There is one thing I know about the wine trade:  take a group of winemakers, restaurant employees, and wine enthusiasts and add an unlimited amount of booze.

Philly’s Best Chef

Back when Top Chef was all the rage, we thought of having a chef competition. At the time, Fretz Kitchen and Viking Kitchen had demonstration kitchens and hosted cooking classes and events.  The plan was to host at either location and compete with local chefs.

At the time, I had come off a successful run of producing and hosting a show on Philly.com. Traci had the great idea to film the event and pitch a Corked & Forked show on Food Network.

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