3 of 4- Review of the Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival- the People!

Go for the conversation! If you're willing to chat with just about anyone, talk about what's on your plate and in your glass and enjoy meeting new people, head to the Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival.

I met (and reacquainted myself with) some great people at the Festival that deserve a little recognition.

First, a shout out to the organizers of the Festival itself! They did a fantastic job of marketing the event, keeping promotions going and the message alive (through various forms of social media including Facebook and Twitter). With so many wineries, and restaurants and agents there and then thousands of attendees like myself, I take my hats off to them for a job well donw.

The group at Liquor Connect (part of the Connect Logistics group) did a great job of getting their word out too regarding what they're about. I've been using the site for years and this year it went over a much improved makeover. They were also providing bamboo plates at the event that could hold your wine glass. Brilliant and we now have a dozen of them for our wine club.

At the Fluid Imports table, Jason was quick to recognize me- in fact catching me a little off guard by calling me by my Twitter name and mentioning this very blog! I have a reader and his name is Jason! Jason was great and told us all about the wines he had at the table and we ended up trying Arlene Dickinson's Persuasion Wine and Tahblik Marsanne from Australia. Both excellent wines. I really appreciated that Fluid was so progressive with their social media (Twitter and Facebook) and were one of only a handful of companies using a QR code!

While he wasn't representing a winery or a wine or even a restaurant for that matter, one of the nicest guys at the event was selling-- olive oil. And not just any olive oil- Turkey Olive Oil. The company is Nefiss Lezizz Mustafa and his partner were there to bring us the best darn olive oil this side of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. He was also sampling olives. And man were these olives delicious! We ended up purchasing olives (2 types), olive oil and then Mustafa threw in some spices and some free soap (which I might add I have in my bathroom and the smell of this soap is simply amazing). I really think his next line of product should be perfume or candles or something! You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook
Mustafa (Twitter, Facebook, website)

I didn't get his name but I am bound and determined to find out what it is. He was just so generous to us with his time, his knowledge and his wine pours. Working at the PMA island of wines, he was absolutely a fountain of knowledge for us, from Bordeaux wine to blends to single varietal wines. His wife writes a blog for Sherbrooke Liquor Store. We even chatted about ISG and the wine class I'm taking (they completed their classes and are now sommeliers). I can only hope!

In any event, this Festival is more than just food and drink. It's all about the people as well. Last but not least- the spirits and the cause!