Busch Gardens Williamsburg Food & Wine Festival 2023 Guide

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Great news!  The Busch Gardens Food and Wine Festival is starting this weekend at Busch Gardens theme park in Williamsburg, Virginia!  This is one of my favorite events at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.  I love all the delicious foods and wine you can sample.  They have such a good variety of flavors from all over the world!  In fact, there are over 100 different dishes here!

The festival will begin on Thursday, April 27, 2023, and run through June 11, 2023.  In preparation of the event beginning, I want to give you a guide to what’s there for the 2023 Busch Gardens Food and Wine Festival.  Then I want to tell you how to save money on tickets to Busch Gardens!

Menus

So a big reason to attend this event is the delicious food and great drinks.  I want to tell you about each tasting location.

Virginia

Food

  • Oyster on the Half Shell with Mignonette, Cocktail Sauce & Lemon
  • She-Crab Soup with Crab bisque, Old Bay Crostini & Chesapeake Blue Crab Salad
  • Bacon & Cheddar Hushpuppies with Cornmeal fritters & honey butter
  • Apple Crisp with Oatmeal Crumble & Bacon Glaze

Drinks

  • Blood Moon Bliss Orange IPA (Midnight Brewery)
  • Chesapeake Pale Ale (Alewerks)
  • Tangerine Creamsicle Ale (Caiseal Beer & Spirits Co.)
  • Saving Daylight (The Virginia Beer Co. Saving Daylight)
  • Governor’s White Wine (Williamsburg Winery)
  • Riesling (Seaglass)
  • Strawberry Lemonade with House-made Lemonade & Strawberries
  • Oyster Shooter with Oyster, cocktail sauce & shot of moonshine
  • Apple Pie Moonshine with Apple & Cinnamon

Hawaii

Food

  • Hawaiian Mac & Cheese with ham, pineapple & macadamia nut crust
  • Spam Musubi with seared Spam, sushi rice & sweet soy glaze
  • Kālua Pork Slider with pulled pork & pineapple on a sweet roll and pineapple coconut slaw
  • Pineapple Coconut Mousse with sweet pineapple & toasted coconut

Drinks

  • Frozen Blue Hawaiian with Tito’s vodka, coconut cream & pineapple
  • Hibiscus Lemonade with resh lemonade & hibiscus flower
  • Aloha Beaches with José Cuervo tequila, Malibu coconut rum & mojito
  • VillaViva’s Rosé
  • A Midsummer Night’s White (The Williamsburg Winery)

Mexico

Food

  • Crispy Shrimp Taco with sweet chili sauce, pico de gallo & cilantro lime slaw
  • Carne Asada Taco with marinated citrus & soy beef, queso fresca, cilantro, guacamole & corn tortilla
  • Chili Chocolate & Horchata Mousse with spicy chocolate & cinnamon

Drinks

  • Horchata with Sweet rice milk, cinnamon & vanilla (non-alcoholic)

French Quarter

Foods

  • Jambalaya with creole seasoning, shrimp, sausage & rice
  • Bananas Foster Cheesecake with rum caramel sauce & sliced bananas
  • Muffuletta with sliced mortadella, salami, ham, provolone, olive spread & cajun slaw
  • Beignets with Puff Pastry, Powdered Sugar & Caramel

Drinks

  • Abita Brewing Company Purple Haze
  • Evil Genius Brewing Co. Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter
  • New Belgium Brewery Voodoo Ranger Juicy Haze IPA
  • Earthquake Zinfandel
  • La Perlina Moscato
  • Frozen Hurricane with Flor de Cana rum, Myers dark rum, passion fruit & orange juice

Japan

Food

  • Impossi-Bao with Impossible plant-based meat, Asian slaw & steamed bun
  • Spicy Tuna Sushi Cup with sushi rice, nori flakes & spicy mayo
  • Mushi-Gyoza with steamed chicken dumpling & citrus ponzu sauce
  • Matcha Ice Cream with green tea ice cream, sweet soy glaze & sesame cookie

Drinks

  • Pineapple Jalapeño Sake Sangria with sake wine, pineapple juice, mint & jalapeño
  • Bubble Tea with sweetened tea & fruit boba (non-alcoholic)

Brazil

Food

  • Churrasco with grilled beef & chimichurri sauce
  • Linguiça with grilled sausage, portabella mushrooms & peppers
  • Abacaxi with grilled pineapple & coconut caramel sauce
  • Cocada de Forno with Brazilian baked coconut

Drinks

  • Prosecco (Caposaldo)
  • Estate Malbec (Alta Vista)
  • Mango Caipirinha with cachaça, mango & lime
  • Brazilian Lemonade with frozen limeade & sweetened condensed milk (non-alcoholic)

Australia

Food

  • Lamb Chop with roasted lamb lollipop & cilantro mint sauce
  • Snag on the Barbie with banger sausage & vegemite caramelized onions
  • Lamington Cake with sponge cake, raspberry jam, chocolate & coconut

Drinks

  • Daou Vineyards’ “Pessimist” Red
  • Torbreck Woodcutter’s Shiraz
  • Foster’s Beer
  • Aussie Mule with ginger beer, Myers dark rum & lime
  • Ginger Beer with spicy ginger soda (non-alcoholic)
  • Bondi Beach Bum with lemonade, cranberry, and hibiscus (non-alcoholic)

Italy

Food

  • Fettuccini Alfredo with house-made pasta, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, & Kalamata olives
  • Caprese with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, balsamic glaze & basil pesto
  • Giant Meatball with marinara & shaved asiago cheese
  • Lemon Ricotta Cake with lemon & ricotta and topped with toasted almonds

Drinks

  • Luna Nuda Vigneti delle Dolomiti Pinot Grigio
  • Roscato Trevenezie Rosso Dolce Gold Sweet Red
  • Amaretto
  • Limoncello

Jamaica

Food

  • Jamaican Patty with pastry crust, spicy beef & coconut jerk dip
  • Gamba Fritters with shrimp dumplings & pickapeppa sauce
  • Jerk Chicken Slider with mango salsa & cilantro lime slaw
  • Pineapple Upside-Down Cake with pineapple, rum & brown sugar glaze

Drinks

  • Alewerks Tangerine Wheat Ale
  • The Virginia Beer Co. Liquid Escape
  • Blake’s Hard Cider Co. Tropical Colada
  • Stella Rosa Tropical Mango
  • Three Finger Jack Rum Barrel Aged Red Blend
  • Dark & Stormy with Myers dark rum, ginger & lime
  • Frozen Jamaican Punch with Sailor Jerry spiced rum, Malibu coconut rum, lime, orange & pineapple juice
  • Ginger Limeade with fresh ginger, brown sugar & lime juice (non-alcoholic)

Margaritas

  • Negra Lager (Modelo)
  • I Said What I Said Key Lime Margarita Sour (Evil Genius Beer Company)
  • Branco (Aveleda)
  • Red Wine Blend (Cooper & Thief Cellarmasters)
  • Prickly Pear Margarita with José Cuervo tequila & prickly pear
  • Frozen Lime Margarita with Jose Cuervo tequila & fresh lime
  • Frozen Watermelon Margarita with Jose Cuervo tequila, lime, & watermelon

Sangria Garden (Opens May 11th)

Food

  • Sangria cupcake: berry & merlot cupcake with wine reduction buttercream

Drinks

  • Red Sangria with red wine, orange, lemon, lime & cherry
  • Sweet Tea Sangria with moscato, sweet tea, peach & raspberry
  • White Sangria with white wine, lemon, lime & orange
  • Rosé Sangria with rosé wine, lime & strawberries

Herbal Infusion

Drinks

  • Infused Moscato with lemon & rosemary
  • Strawberry Basil Mousse with strawberry mousse & basil whipped cream
  • Watermelon Mojito with puréed watermelon, lime, mint & rum
  • Green Goddess with Tito’s vodka-infused green tea, mint, and arugula with lime
  • Mint Julep with Kentucky bourbon, mint & sugar
  • Lavender Lemonade with fresh lemonade & lavender flowers

Island Freeze

Drinks

  • Piña Colada with Bacardi Rum, Coconut Cream & Pineapple
  • Bahama Mama with Bacardi Rum, Pineapple, Orange & Grenadine
  • Strawberry Daiquiri with Bacardi Rum, Strawberry & Lime
  • Bellini with Prosecco, Peach Schnapps & Peach Purée
  • Frosé with Rosé Sangria
  • Mango Cart (Golden Road Brewing)
  • Larry’s Lemonade
  • Frozen Tropicolada (Blake’s Brewing Co.)
  • Tropicolada (Blake’s Brewing Co.)

OktoberTaps

Drinks

  • Hop-On Pale Ale (Abita Brewing Company)
  • Island Beats Tropical IPA (Lagunitas Brewing Co.)
  • Sangria Cider (Austin Eastciders)
  • Lager (Estrella Jalisco)
  • TripleTail IPA (SweetWater Brewing Company)
  • 757 Lager (Back Bay’s Farmhouse Brewing Co.)
  • Dry Cider (Buskey Cider)
  • El Guapo Agave IPA (O’Connor Brewing Co.)
  • Dreamsicle Cream Ale (Apocalypse Ale Works)
  • Aussie Punch (Tito’s® vodka & strawberry)
  • Green Tea Shooter (Jameson Irish Whiskey & peach schnapps
  • Bayou Mule (Sailor Jerry spiced rum)
  • Hibiscus Paloma (José Cuervo tequila & hibiscus)

Concerts

Food and drinks aren’t the only special thing at this event!  There will be live local entertainment throughout the festival at the France Pavilion.

  • Amity
    • April 29th & 30th
  • Jessica Lynn
    • May 6th & 7th
  • Forest Hill Duo
    • May 12th
  • Starting Early
    • May 13th & 14th
  • Darcy Dawn
    • May 19th & 21st
  • Melissa Quinn Foxx
    • May 20th
  • The People Collection
    • May 26th-28th
  • Tyler Meacham
    • June 2nd, 3rd & 4th
  • Morgan Lynsey Band
    • June 10th & 11th

Busch Gardens Ticket Discounts

So about those discounted tickets!  We go over how to save money on tickets, as well as give you a full guide to the theme park, here.

Also, a great way to save money on the food and wine you have at the festival is with a Food & Beverage Sampler.  You can buy either a regular one, which gets you ten different menu items, or a Deluxe Food & Beverage Sampler, which gets you fifteen different menu items.  Click here to buy one of these samplers.