2015 Food and Wine Festival

This great topiary of Mickey and his barbecue is located at Showcase Plaza, where the Christmas tree rests during the Christmas season. Mickey has corn and shish kebabs on the grill. Photo by Donald Fink.

The 2015 Food and Wine Festival at Epcot is here and in full swing. This marks the 20th year of the festival, but it doesn't show any signs of getting old anytime in the near future. We've been attending this event for years, and each time we find new things to try.

Inside the Festival Center is a small cafe. The offerings are food, wine, beer, and soft drinks. Surprisingly, you can't get a cup of coffee here. But you walk past a Starbucks and a Joffrey's stand on your way to the Festival Center. Photo by Donald Fink.

The Festival Center Wine Shop is located in the main Festival Center building, in Future World East. There, you can find hundreds of different wines that have been showcased at the Festival. Photo by Bonnie Fink.

In the last few years since we've been living in Central Florida, we've made a point of going several times during its run, and we still can't manage to try most of the samples that are offered. This year, the festival runs 46 days, so there'll be more time to sample the food and blow our diets.

This uniquely shaped bottle of "Cat Wine" is produced in Germany by the Moselland company. The red bottle contains a fruity wine that, according to the description from the producer, is best served well-chilled by itself, or with Asian cuisine. Photo by Bonnie Fink.

Lori Barranon from Chateau Ste. Michelle (the oldest winery in the state of Washington), gives a presentation of three wines from the West Coast winery. Photo by Donald Fink.

Other than the Festival Center—which is located in Future World East near Ellen's Energy Adventure and Mission Mars—this is the first year that the festival has expanded past World Showcase with food and wine stands. There are two offerings in Future World West.

"Discover The Cranberry" bog hosted by Ocean Spray Craisins brand dried cranberries. This display is near the entrance to Showcase Plaza. They've created a cranberry bog, where attendants answer questions about how cranberries are grown and harvested. Photo by Bonnie Fink.

As you make your way toward Mexico along World Showcase, one of the first festival stands you encounter is New Zealand. Represented at the festival since 1997, offerings include mussels, lamb meatballs, and new for this year, seared venison loin. Photo by Bonnie Fink.

One area is The Sustainable Chew Marketplace, which has three dishes created by the chefs of ABC's The Chew. They include savory pork spareribs with cheesy mascarpone grits, ricotta and zucchini ravioli with tomato sauce, and vanilla panna cotta with fresh figs and pistachio brittle.

A favorite at Patagonia is the beef empanada. It's not new for this year, so it might be more familiar to some. Photo by Donald Fink.

Something new this year was the Cheese Studio and Wine Studio. Located between World Showcase along the shortcut to Future World West, near the Monorail tracks, these two booths offer various cheeses and wines. Photo by Bonnie Fink.

From the Cheese Studio and the Wine Studio, here are three cheeses and three wines to make a sampler. Photo by Bonnie Fink.

The other area is called Artistry of Wine and Cheese and includes the Cheese Studio and the Wine Studio. The Cheese Studio is offering a cheese sampler, while the Wine Studio can offer up 26 different wines to enjoy.

The South Korea booth is located near the China pavilion. One favorite here is Korean barbecue short rib with steamed rice and cucumber kimchi. Photo by Bonnie Fink.

Germany, of course, is offering a large selection of beers in its biergarten. Photo by Donald Fink.

Schöfferhofer lemon beer? You can try it at Germany, as well as a few other flavors. Photo by Donald Fink.

If beer isn't necessarily your thing, or if maybe you've simply had enough, there's always an apple strudel with vanilla sauce in Germany. Photo by Bonnie Fink.

The Eat to the Beat concerts are in the American Gardens Theatre, the outdoor amphitheater across from the American Adventure.

This year, there are a total of 22 artists and bands scheduled to perform, including Starship, Smash Mouth, Air Supply, Jo Dee Messina, and new for this year, Chaka Khan.

Poland is featuring kielbasa sausage and potato pierogies (dumplings). There's also a sauerkraut pierogi with pork goulash. Photo by Donald Fink.

Italy is serving Ravioli alla Caprese (a cheese ravioli), Filetto di Pollo con Funghi al Marsala (a chicken tenderloin with mushrooms), and our favorite, a chocolate-covered canolli. Photo by Donald Fink.

Eat to the Beat shows are not full-length concerts, but small, 30-minute sets, and they're a great way to enjoy bands and performers that you might not otherwise take the time to see. This year, Disney is extending Fastpass tickets to the concert series to help with the long waiting queues that have historically been the case. We hope it helps.

Now we're getting closer to our kind of food. At the Belgium stop, there were two kinds of Belgian waffles: one with berries and whipped cream, and another with whipped cream and chocolate. There are, of course, other food offerings here, but we usually focus on the waffles when given the chance. Photo by Donald Fink.

Japan's offering was the spicy hand roll (tuna and salmon with Kazan Volcano sauce), a teriyaki gyoza bun (a steamed bun filled with chicken, vegetables, and sweet teriyaki sauce). And of course, Japan is a good spot to sample some sake to go with the sushi roll. Photo by Bonnie Fink.

The Brazil booth is located near the France pavilion. One specialty is crispy pork belly with black beans and tomato. Hey, try it before you pass judgment. Photo by Bonnie Fink.

If you plan to visit Epcot during the Food and Wine Festival—and we hope you do—keep in mind that this is a wildly popular event; especially with the locals in the Central Florida area. As a result, it can get crowded on the weekends. We recommend that you go during the week if at all possible. Since the Eat to the Beat concerts are showing through the weekdays, you can see all there is on a weekday just as easily as you can on a weekend.

You probably know that France is known for great wine, but did you know that they also make a great beer? You can sample some of their best here in France. Photo by Donald Fink.

At the Canada pavilion, Le Cellier operates a booth featuring, among other things, a great filet mignon with truffle butter sauce. Photo by Donald Fink.

Throughout the Food and Wine Festival, various artists appear nightly. They usually give three performances each evening at 5:30, 6:45 and 8:00 p.m. Each concert lasts 30 minutes and is free. The opening weekend featured David Cook, winner of the seventh season of American Idol. Photo by Donald Fink.

We also recommend that you pace yourself. With over 76 different international foods represented, each with more than one choice, and over 300 different wines, and who knows how many different beers, there can be a tendency to reach your limit of food and spirits long before you get through all the choices. Pick up a map as you go in and have a look at what's here. Maybe mark down some of the spots you definitely want to try.

The exit sign at the 2015 Food and Wine Festival. Photo by Bonnie Fink.