Golden Nugget Delights Palates with Cal-Ital Winefest
The Golden Nugget Casino brought the best of both California and Italian wines to the Jersey Shore for their annual Cal-Ital Summer Winefest the last weekend of August. This two-day wine festival featured tasty buffets, cool jazz and unlimited free flowing wine for guests to sip, swirl and sample.
The victorious vino celebration kicked off on Friday, August 28th with a Wine & Jazz Reception held under the stars on The Event Lawn where guests mingled with winery ambassadors, wine makers and wine enthusiasts.
We headed out to The Grand Tasting on the following Saturday night, tempted by the option to sample more than 120 wines from the world’s most prestigious producers. Arriving with the early bird VIP ticket allowed guests to get at the food and fun first. Before the doors opened at 6 p.m., a salt and pepper comped line stretched down the hallway. When doors opened, everyone delved into the food and then into the Brunello’s, Cabernet’s, Chianti’s, Chardonnay’s, Barolo’s, Barbaresco’s and more. A complimentary Golden Nugget 5-piece wine bottle set was allegedly offered, however we couldn’t locate them nor could couples we talked with. But keepsake glasses were given to each guest to use and keep along with a “passport” of all the wines to take notes and get stamped with which ones you sampled.
While tasting all the wines was virtually impossible (for us at least), we went for our faves which included crisp and bubbly whites and dark and decadent reds. Smooth, soothing sounds of Herbie Hancock, Carlos Santana, Grover Washington and Billy Joel lingered though the air with a live jazz band. A 4-hour wine tasting is pretty hardcore so we went out in the hallway and grabbed a seat for a while to recharge as hightop tables scattered through the ballroom for eating but no seating was available (next time, no heels!). Golden Nugget water bottles sprinkled at the end of every island of wine bottles to keep hydrated helped too.
Our suggestion for next year? Wear sneakers and bring something to sit on! Or just stay in the hotel as a retired couple did. They went up to watch the Eagles game early but little did they know, they would show it on the big screens in the ballroom later in the night.
Overall it was a relaxing, fun time and you may even find yourself slow dancing to some songs with a happy, mellow wine buzz. Hotel reservations and additional information are available by calling 800-777-8477 or by visiting www.goldennugget.com.
