What: NJ Food & Wine Festival
Where: Crystal Springs Resort, Vernon Valley, NJ
When: March 13-15, 2009
Why: It’s time to let your inner oenophile come out to sip and spit. Because you really need to get away this weekend and it’s still too cold for a Central Park picnic. Pack up the Longchamp, you’re riding the rails towards New Jersey’s answer to the recession blues: unlimited fancy food and fine wine at the exclusive Crystal Springs Resort & Moët Hennessy hosted event.
If you’re not one to eat, drink, and run, for $689 per couple, the Ultimate Package includes accommodations at the resort, a winemaking seminar, the Grand Tasting—a swanky gala with top cru, cuisine, and entertainment by the 17 piece David Aaron Orchestra—and a Sunday champagne brunch. When’s the last time you put on that cocktail dress or suit and danced to a live orchestra?
Quaff your way through the world’s best wines and champagnes, taste artisanal cheeses, sample raw bars, and enjoy first-class culinary creations from executive chef Michael Weisshaupt of Restaurant Latour. On Saturday afternoon, Krug winemaker Julie Cavil will take you to the restaurant’s award-winning wine cellar and explain how champagne is blended and what makes each champagne house different. Brush up on your méthode champenoise and savor those gourmet bubbles. The beautiful Crystal Springs Resort is surrounded by over 100,000 acres of preserved mountains, deep forests, and crystal clear lakes, so you can round out your trip with hiking and biking. Cheers.
Cost: Check event schedule for prices starting at $65 for The Art of Blending Champagne Seminar.
How to get there: Easy public transit directions via NY Transit Bus, NJ Transit Bus, or rail from New York City are provided by the Crystal Golf Resort website. Download the directions here. (Crystal Springs Resort. Route 94, Vernon, NJ, 973.827.5996, crystalgolfresort.com)
Photo: Courtesy of Crystal Springs Resort
Sarah Knapp is a Brooklyn based entrepreneur whose love for the outdoors and community building led her to the October 2013 creation of OutdoorFest. She has a BA in History, is a Wilderness First Responder and a NY state hiking, camp and boating guide. Her proudest achievement to date is reading the Aeneid in Latin. 
Allison was one of our first top writers and Chief Editor but is no longer working with offMetro. Allison is a native New Yorker, who has lived in Rome, Tuscany, Melbourne, Toronto and Los Angeles. She frequently contributed travel pieces to Family Travel Forum, using her own children as guinea pigs as they travel the globe. She never missed a chance to sample local delicacies, as her love for travel goes hand-in-hand with her love for food and wine. 
Josh Laskin is a freelance travel writer and photographer based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. When he is not at work or on the road, you can find him in the mountains snowboarding, climbing, hiking, fly fishing, mountain biking, and eating bagel bites.
Annie is a travel writer, environmentalist, and surfer based in Venice, CA. She heads up our West Coast team, keeps our grammatical errors in check, and makes sure our California writers always have a plan for their next adventure. Follow Annie’s travels @annelisemcb.
Carly Pifer is a freelance writer who has been known to follow whims inspired by romantic movie scenes or colorful street style shots to India, Japan, Tunisia and Argentina. After stints living in Seoul, Boston, Paris and Los Angeles, writing and searching for something intangible, she landed somewhat steadily in Brooklyn and has begun to find inspiration in her more immediate surroundings. 
Kate E. O’Hara is a New York based freelance writer and photographer who loves all things food—especially the people who make it and market it. Her writing aims to capture the essence of the food experience; the stories that go well beyond a plate of ingredients. In addition to her love of food, Kate is also known to have a hankering for red wine and craft beer. You can also find Kate on Instagram