It took an invite from Madison Magazine to the Annual Madison Food and Wine Show to break us out of our blogging torpor. Finding a sitter and heading out to the Alliant Center made for a great date night on a Friday.
The packed crowd also seemed to have the same idea, making the show seem like a massive cocktail party, with couples rubbing shoulders with packs of young singles, jostling for wine, beer, and nibbles at the over 80 booths.
One of the highlights of the show was how well it showcased the best of Wisconsin’s homegrown cheeses.
It was great to see one of our all time favorite cheeses, Sarvecchio from Sartori, well represented at the show, although we almost walked right past them because we did not recognize their new label design. This award winning cheese has both the nutty sweetness and the crumbly, crystalline texture of a well aged Italian parmesan, but it’s made right up the road in Antigo. Both of the vendors working the stall knew their product and were passionate about their craft, so we all had a good conversation in the midst of all the milling crowds. Be sure to look for their cool new label design.
One of newest trends following the whole craft beer craze, has been the emergence of micro-distillers. In the past several years, several new distillers in Wisconsin, including Great Lakes, Yahara Bay, and Death’s Door have been whipping up small batches of unique gins, rums, and whiskeys, each with their own twist.
While Mr. Foodie has an appreciation for the art behind a good bourbon or malt whiskey, like Great Lakes great blended Kinnickkinnic Whiskey, to Mrs. Foodie they all taste like cough syrup. However, the full flavor of Roaring Dan’s Rum macerated with pure Wisconsin maple syrup, also from Great Lakes, was more her style. If only we had some limes and ice, we could have made some great cocktails.
Our only opportunity we’d suggest for future shows would be a little more emphasis on the “food” side of the show. Other than a couple of pizza vendors, the main focus seemed to be cheese, cheese, and more cheese.
But, as you can tell from above, that’s sometimes a really good thing.
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