Grand tastings, new dates, community awards: how a New Orleans wine fest is coming back

It was just a few months ago when the New Orleans Wine & Food Experience and Hogs for the Cause each separately announced they would be back in June this year.

That counts as scant lead time in the events world, but it still left plenty of room for questions about how the pandemic response might change and what people would be ready to do by then. 

Now, both of these annual food events and fundraisers are coming up, and a great deal has changed.

+4

Ian McNulty: Around a pregame tailgate, smoke signals of better days ahead

When I caught that first big whiff of the grill, I knew it wasn't coming from just one. It was a parking lot full of grills. Soon I realized j…

Official restrictions have been largely retired statewide, and New Orleans dropped or greatly loosened its own rules just last week. Limits on gatherings and event sizes have changed, and mask requirements are up to individual venues and businesses now.  

Also, many people are clearly ready to party, as the advance ticket sales for each event prove.

+7

Hogs for the Cause returns with new location, urgent need to light the smokers again

It was just a few months ago when the New Orleans Wine & Food Experience and Hogs for the Cause each separately announced they would be ba…

These were among the first big New Orleans events called off in 2020. We’re taking a look at how each is coming back now. In addition to the NOWFE story below, see details on Hogs for the Cause here.

NOWFE uncorked again

The New Orleans Wine & Food Experience was technically not canceled last year. It was postponed, and, eventually, some aspect of the event did come back in different forms later in 2020, including wine dinners at restaurants and a seated wine tasting.

NOWFE executive director Aimee Brown says that experience helped convince its board members to bring back the festival in June.  

“We’re learned a lot from the events we’ve done through the pandemic and we’re still applying those lessons here,” she said.

The group knew they could pull it off, and were compelled to make it happen to continue funding NOWFE’s beneficiaries, including Café Reconcile and the New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute.

This year's event will unfold over six days, June 8-13.  

The Royal Street Stroll, usually the most freewheeling of NOWFE events, won’t happen this year. Other familiar features will return though, including the Grand Tastings and the higher-end Vinola tasting; small group seminars, food and drink “experiences” and wine dinners.

Most NOWFE events returning this year are seated. The exceptions are the Grand Tastings and Vinola. These are “walk around” events, where people stroll between tables to sample different wines. This year, they’ll also have tables and chairs where they can return with their food and drink. Smaller total ticket sales and staggered start times are also part of the approach to manage the gathering size. Masking is encouraged but not mandated.  

More restaurants are participating in NOWFE this year than ever. NOWFE is giving them greater flexibility and reduced the number of servings they’re asked to provide, Brown said, and the event is also paying to defray costs of participation, in recognition of the struggle these businesses have faced through the pandemic.  

For many years, NOWFE was held around Memorial Day weekend, but the event date has shifted over the past few years (it was scheduled for March in 2020, just before the pandemic arrived). Now, NOWFE is looking to June as the permanent time frame for the event, and it has already staked out June 2022 for the next edition.

Brown said moving away from Memorial Day led to much higher participation by wineries.

Another change this year is the format for the group’s annual Ella Brennan Lifetime Achievement Award, which normally goes to an individual or family in the hospitality business. This time, the honors are called the Ella Brennan “Stand Up for Your Hometown” Awards, and 13 people, organizations and businesses will receive them for their roles supporting the community during the pandemic.

The award gala begins the NOWFE week on June 8 and takes place at three locations: the new Galerie de Galatoire, the Rib Room and Broussard’s Restaurant.

What: New Orleans Wine & Food Experience

When: June 8-13, 2021

For NOWFE event details and ticket information, see nowfe.com.