^{Provincetown Food & Wine founder Matthew King
All photos courtesy of Matthew King}

by G.W. Mercure

What is the appeal of a food and wine festival? The events have become ubiquitous in recent years, with many local and regional celebrations occurring annually throughout the country.

Of course, the answer should be simple: Everyone can relate to food, especially adventurous, high-quality food that satisfies basic cravings while provoking regional pride. But when the event is hosted by a town with a deep cultural history, a foundation in fresh, sea-to-table cuisine, and a dynamic community, the answer becomes much more varied and complex.

“I never wanted it to feel like you could pick it up and put it in another place,” says Matthew King, event director for the Provincetown Food & Wine Festival. “It really brings together what already exists in town.”

Provincetown will host its fourth annual Food & Wine Festival from November 7 to November 10 during Veterans’ Day weekend. A range of Provincetown businesses will participate in the festival’s events, which include tastings and feasts, a sip-and-stroll incorporating the art hub’s galleries, tea dances, a drag brunch, a barrel tasting and meet-and-greet with Truro Vineyards, and the festival’s marquee event, the GRAND Tasting at Town Hall. 

One of the objectives of these events, says King, is to make the festival about Provincetown. “I think it gives people an opportunity to connect with the businesses and the community through food. I think it has more to do with that connection of communal get-togethers and meals that always showcase community,” he says. 

Some towns have a distinct cultural community, while others have a vital and storied history or a close communal and fiscal connection to the goods of the land and sea. Few have all three.  

“The structure of the festival and the events that we do really highlight the heart of Provincetown,” says King. “We did the first dig event last year, celebrating the clamming season in Provincetown; we highlight a lot of the historical sites in Provincetown. We involve the art community in the big gallery stroll, and I think a lot of festivals don’t always incorporate that.” 

King’s background is diverse and has left him keenly equipped for this kind of event in this kind of town. In addition to a career as a chemist (“it changed the way that I think about wine because I come from that chemistry analytical background,” he says), King has held down almost every job one can have in the food and hospitality industry, from liquor stores to restaurants. He holds a level three certification from WSET (Wine and Spirits Education Trust, a certifying body) and continues to focus on wine and educating the public about it. 

“Describing wine,” he says, “can often sound like a different language. And I try to connect people to it because I know that there are so many people that want definitive, analytical answers. So I’ve always strived to kind of guide my wine knowledge into that perspective.”

As the old saying goes, the people are the church. And that couldn’t be more true when it comes to events in Provincetown. “We also want to always highlight that we have this diverse community and be supportive of LGBT members of the community and businesses. So we try to highlight in the wine industry that there are careers and opportunities for a queer person in a predominantly CIS-male, hetero-dominated industry, right? So, we really celebrate winemakers of color and queer winemakers and also people in the business, like sales reps and suppliers and marketing professionals and all of the people that work behind the scenes in this industry and happen to be from diverse backgrounds. This gives them an opportunity to connect with others in that area as well. And that’s not to say that this festival is specifically geared towards gay or queer, but we happen to have this festival in a very diverse town that is highly supportive of gay and queer people. So it’s not a gay wine festival, but we wanted to highlight Provincetown as—yes, it’s a very gay town—but this is for everyone. So it’s an opportunity to build a food and wine festival in a place where the food is very dynamic and so is the population relative to other places.”

Visitors to this year’s Provincetown Food & Wine Festival can expect greater accessibility than in prior years, including an initiative to feature the participation of as many businesses as possible. 

“We’re getting the benefits of a long weekend. So we really try to stretch all of the events out. So we have things starting Thursday and going all the way through Sunday evening. We try to incorporate a lot of complementary events, as well. We’re sharing the auditorium space with Payomet. They have a concert that Saturday night, so we’re promoting that for them, and they’re promoting the festival for us. Truro Vineyards is involved this year for the first time, which they’ve always wanted to do; it just hadn’t worked out. But we’ve got them at our GRAND Tasting, and they’re offering a barrel tasting on Sunday. There’s a huge variety of events. And we’re still adding more events. We’ve just added drag brunches, and we’ve added the barrel tasting and another wine tasting.” 

Anecdotally, King has remarked on the timing of the festival, beginning as it does just days after the general election. If your candidate wins, he has said, it will be a time to toast and celebrate; if your preferred candidate loses, there will be a different kind of drinking to do. And Provincetown is a great place for both.

The Annual Provincetown Food & Wine Festival returns November 7 – 10 in various venues all over town. For complete information, schedule, and tickets, visit provincetownfoodandwinefestival.com.