Why you should come to the FOOD & WINE Classic in Charleston next year!
This is the East Coast version of the brand’s venerable Classic in Aspen; easier to get to and a little less expensive.
I had the pleasure of presenting two seminars at the FOOD & WINE Classic in Charleston a couple of weeks back, the second year this festival was held in South Carolina’s Holy City. Here’s a recap:
Charleston’s 2025 Food & Wine Weekend: My Two Seminars, Goodfellas, Champagne, and the Logic of Decadence
There are food festivals, and then there’s the FOOD & WINE Classic in Charleston—a long weekend that somehow manages to be equal parts red-carpet elegance, low-country swagger, and “I can’t believe I’m eating this at 10 a.m.” indulgence. This year’s event, held from November 13 through 16, might have been its boldest yet, with a programming lineup that swung confidently from cinematic wine storytelling to Champagne-and-caviar maximalism. And I was lucky enough to be part of the chaos—in the best possible way.
A Festival with a Pulse
Food & Wine had already previewed the energy of the weekend with features on my Goodfellas-inspired Italian wine seminar, as well as the delightfully decadent “Breakfast of Champions” Champagne-and-caviar seminar. It’s exactly the kind of programming Charleston excels at: high-low, stylish-playful, and powered by chefs and sommeliers who understand that joy is a legitimate culinary philosophy. Add to that a city full of diners who will happily drink anything at 10 a.m. or debate the merits of Barolo versus Brunello before lunch, and you’ve got the perfect laboratory for indulgence.
As for the weekend’s bigger picture: chef-driven collaborations, packed seminars, sold-out tastings, and a general sense that Charleston is now playing comfortably in the same league as Aspen, Ojai, and Pebble Beach—while still feeling like Charleston: warm, mischievous, and deeply hospitable.
Seminar One: Good Wines, Goodfellas — Italian Wines with a Body Count
On Friday morning, I stepped into the role of Jimmy Conway with a corkscrew and Karen Hill on her third glass of Franciacorta—my Good Wines, Goodfellas seminar, a love letter to Italian wine with a wink at Scorsese’s masterpiece, in honor of the 35th anniversary of its release, in 1990. If you’re going to compare Barolo to Henry Hill’s character arc or Brunello to Tommy DeVito’s volatility, Charleston is the crowd to do it for. With each wine I paired one of the film’s many amazing characters.
We opened with Mionetto Prestige Brut Prosecco NV—bubbly, energetic, and just a little rowdy, exactly like Sandy, one of Henry’s many mistresses. From there, we moved through a cast of bottles and characters, each pairing chosen as much for personality as palate:
- Barone Pizzini Satèn 2019, shimmering and tense, our Karen Hill in a glass
- Viberti Timorasso 2023, structured and mouthy—our Billy Batts, fully shine-box approved
- Alois Lageder Schiava 2024, light, charming, and irreverent, like Tony Stacks trying to lie low at the worst possible time
- Volpaia Chianti Classico Riserva 2021, smooth with edges—like Jimmy Conway’s smile before trouble
- Borgogno Barolo 2020, beautiful and unraveling, pure Henry Hill
- Col d’Orcia Brunello 2019, the bottle most likely to ask if you think it’s funny
- Arcanum 2018, bold and defiant like Spider’s last stand
- Zenato Amarone Riserva 2018, slow, opulent, and immovable—Paulie in liquid form.
It was, in short, a proper ‘sit-down’—friendly, but with some serious tannin and attitude.
Seminar Two: Breakfast of Champions — Champagne, Caviar, and the End of Restraint
By Sunday morning, I had exchanged my mob suit for something more appropriate to the occasion: a 10 a.m. Champagne-and-caviar tasting titled Breakfast of Champions. If Goodfellas was swagger, this was decadence with a sense of humor.
We opened with a reminder: acid + salt + fat = equilibrium. The goal is refreshment, not restraint—and yes, 10 a.m. is an entirely legitimate time to evaluate luxury. From there, we dove into three groups of Champagne, each paired with a different style of caviar, generously donated by Haute Caviar.
Group 1: The Early Risers—linear, focused wines like Ayala Brut Majeur NV and Delamotte Blanc de Blancs NV, paired with sleek Siberian Baerii caviar. Think palate yoga: wakeful, elegant, deceptively calm.
Group 2: The Mid-Morning Mood—creamy, textural wines including Henriot Blanc de Blancs and Gosset’s long-aged rosé, matched with golden Belgian Osetra so velvety it should require a permission slip.
Group 3: The Late Breakfast Crowd—for those already emotionally committed to decadence. Armand de Brignac Brut Gold NV and Feuillate Cuvée Palmes d’Or 2008 met the Beluga hybrid known as Haute Entrée, a caviar so rich it threatens productivity for the rest of the day.
We ended with a toast: moderation is admirable—but it rarely makes history.
The Weekend as a Whole
Beyond my seminars, the festival pulsed with big personalities and even bigger flavors. Chefs from Charleston and beyond rolled out dishes that made choosing between events genuinely painful. Guest speakers, who delivered masterclasses that reminded everyone why this festival has become a magnet for serious professionals and enthusiastic amateurs alike, included Gail Simmons; Emeril Lagasse, who cooked alongside his son, E.J. Lagasse; Tyler Florence; Maneet Chauhan; and Andrew Zimmern. Local legends included Mike Lata; Rodney Scott; Hector Garate; and Carrie Morey. There were wood-fired oyster feasts, pastry pop-ups, seafood throwdowns, Champagne galore, and cocktails that took “day drinking” to poetic heights. The crowd was the perfect blend of locals, travelers, hospitality pros, and culinary thrill-seekers.
Looking Ahead
If the Charleston Classic 2025 proved anything, it’s that the future of food festivals is fearless, playful, and firmly rooted in hospitality. Whether it’s unpacking Scorsese through Sangiovese or pairing Belgian Osetra with a laser-focused Blanc de Blancs before noon, the city embraces joy in all its forms.
And personally? I can’t wait to bring even bigger stories—and bigger bottles—to next year’s table.
Anthony Giglio is a longtime Contributing Editor at FOOD & WINE Magazine, and the founding Wine Director for The American Express Centurion Global Lounge Collection.
