Early pandemic lockdowns raised appreciation for the joys of travel and for eating out, two things people quickly found they really missed when they could no longer do them. This has fueled the current pent-up demand, and one easy way to satisfy both urges is with a visit to America’s longest running food and wine festival – which just happens to be held annually (except for pandemic) at one of nation’s very best hotels, the Forbes 5-Star Boston Harbor Hotel.
The Boston Wine Festival has been a fixture on the culinary and oenophile scene for three and a half decades, and for almost all of that time, it was the labor of love of its founder, Chef Daniel Bruce, career executive chef at the property and one of the world’s leading experts on food and wine pairings. For 30 years Bruce spent a good part of each year visiting vineyards, meeting with wine makers and tasting wines, carefully designing dishes and creating special menus entirely focused on best matching the special pours.
But two years ago he retired, and in its second year under the direction of it his successor, Chef David Daniels, the event returns this winter with an added emphasis on food and a slightly new name to reflect this, the Boston Food and Wine Festival, now in its 34th season.