Wine and food extravaganza kicks off in Goa

Panaji, May 13: Goa is the place where wine and food connoisseurs are flocking to these days for that once in a life-time experience.

The three-day extravaganza of 'Wine and Haute Cuisine Festival' called 'The Grape Escapade' is witnessing hordes of tourists visiting the sprawling Inox Multiplex courtyard in the capital to enjoy good food and music.

The event, inaugurated by Governor S C Jamir yesterday, is a unique cultural experience as it brings together international wine makers and local brewers, patrons, hoteliers and professionals from the entertainment and fashion world under one umbrella, said Goa Tourism Development Corporation Chairperson Fatima D'Sa.

Performances by Russian ballerinas and songs presented by Sigmund D'Souza and Lulu Fortess (Trio)'s Goan voices in harmony and O Purple Rain band enthralled the audiences.

To set the tone and ambience for the event, the organisers got Goa's Fransisco Martins to erect a European village setting in the background of Inox Multiplex.

The festival also featured food courts, which presented culinary delights from across the globe, comprising of international fusion cuisine to wine tasting sessions by winers besides delectable deserts.

Six noted winers, two each from Goa and Pune and one each from Nashik and Bangalore, displayed their exotic products for wine tasters while five-star hotels from the island state served their delicacies.

Several ministers and bureaucrats including chief secretary J B Singh visited the venue to catch a glimpse of the glittering event which is expected to become an annual event to promote 365-day tourism in a big way in Goa.

The objective behind this fiesta of flavours, being organised for the second consecutive year, is to encapsulate the vivacity of the Goan lifestyle highlighting the multi-cultural influences and artistic passions to brand the state as a ''lifestyle destination,'' Ms D'Sa said.

UNI