Taste Certified SC Grown at Charleston Wine + Food Festival

This year marks lucky number seven for the annual Charleston Wine + Food Festival presented by BB&T. It’s a celebration of the best in food, wine and the unique culture and heritage of Charleston and South Carolina. The festival begins on Thursday, March 1, and offers a long list of events, demonstrations, seminars and tastings throughout the weekend.

This year the South Carolina Department of Agriculture will host a Certified SC Grown Tent on the Festival grounds throughout the event to highlight all things Certified SC- specialty products, producers, produce, etc. On Sunday, Certified SC Grown also presents Barbecue, Blues + Brew at the Charleston Maritime Center. They have invited 10 local and national pit masters who will square off as guests and a celebrity panel vote for their favorites. Bluegrass music will also be provided by The Bushels.

Among the celebrity chefs and culinary personalities scheduled to participate in this year’s festival are Matt Lee and Ted Lee, the Lee Bros., who are Charleston natives and best-selling cookbook authors. The Lee Bros. have also served as spokespersons for the Department of Agriculture’s Certified South Carolina brand headlining the Lee Brother Your Supper and Lee Brother Your Holiday campaigns.

The festival has a major economic impact on the local community – last year contributing $7.3 million to the local economy as well as raising more than $250,000 for charitable organizations through auctions, ticket sales and donations. This year’s signature charity is Feed the Need, a coalition of area chefs committed to help relieve the economic stress of feeding the hungry at four local shelters. And in addition to the financial impacts, the festival is most importantly helping to promote SC’s culinary talent as well as Certified SC products and produce and Fresh on the Menu restaurants to the rest of the country.

Make plans to stop by the tents on Marion Square this weekend and support locally grown- nothing’s fresher, nothing’s finer!