“A meal without wine is like a day without sunshine.”

–Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, The Physiology of Taste (1825)

When most of us think of American wine regions, myself included, we think Napa, Sonoma, Willamette Valley and Walla Walla. But did you know that Pennsylvania makes a great ice wine? Or that you can get a sparkling wine from New Mexico or Missouri?

Slow Food Nation’s Wine Pavilion curator Renato Sardo, 150 Slow Food U.S. chapters and a steadfast team of volunteers have canvassed the country looking for wines which best represent our own American terroir and Slow Food’s founding values of good, clean and fair. By the time you leave the Wine Pavilion at Taste, you will be well versed in American Viticulture Areas (AVA). Or maybe you will just be able to tell everyone that you sampled a Tempranillo from Inwood Estates in the Texas High Plains that rivals the vineyards of Spain.

With 450 wines, from 40 states and 150 appellations, poured by professional sommeliers, this is the first time that wines from nearly every state in the country will be available for sample in one venue. Well-known wineries such as Brick House, Cain Vineyards, Joseph Phelps, Robert Sinskey, Rubicon, Stags’ Leap and Tablas Creek will be in attendance alongside wineries from unexpected locations, such as Arkansas (Chateau Aux Arc), Kansas (Holy-Field), Missouri () and New Mexico (Gruet Winery).

The Wine Pavilion will be both informative and interactive. Participants can sample any of wines on the list as well as ciders and meads (honey wines) and learn about American Viticulture Areas, the different wine appellations and the various types of certifications. Participants will also have the opportunity to meet and learn from winemakers and experts during facilitated tastings, including Katrina Fetzer, of the Ceago winery and leader in the biodynamic wine movement; and Katrina Frey, of Frey Vineyards.

There’s no other place to sample Pacific Star’s Charbono from Mendocino County, Tabor Hill’s from Lake Michigan, and Tiger Mountain Vineyards’ Norton (an American native varietal) from Georgia.

Each ticket gains entry to all 15 Taste Pavilions, including the Wine Pavilion and Green Kitchen demonstrations for the entire four-hour period. Participants can purchase tickets to the Taste Pavilions for one of the four sessions, Saturday, August 30 and Sunday, August 31 from 11 am – 3 pm and 5 – 9 pm. To purchase tickets, please visit tickets.slowfoodnation.org.

The Wine Pavilion is designed by David Winslow of Winslow Architecture and Urban Design and sponsored by Lead Wine Sponsor Medlock Ames; Wine Partners, La Jota Vineyard Co and Mendocino County; and Supporting Wine Partners, Cain Vineyard and Lodi Wine Country.

Images, from top, by Aya Brackett, KRob2005 and loresjoberg