[Ryan C.]

After eight years and millions of delectable food and wine samplings, the month-long Epcot International Food and Wine Festival, on now, will lengthen its run next year to 45 days beginning Oct. 1, 2004.

In recent years, the popular festival has grown dramatically, attracting a diverse audience of wine connoisseurs and gourmands, as well as droves of wine "amateurs" eager to boost their wine IQs. In addition, the wine fest's Eat to the Beat! nightly concerts, with acts that that have included Sister Sledge
and Three Dog Night, have drawn additional crowds since their 2002 festival debut.

This year's month-long festival, which began Oct. 18 and features several hundred wineries from around the world and 26 international marketplaces, continues through Nov. 16.

"Each year, we host the largest, longest wine fest in the world, and as demand for our food and wine events increased, we knew it was time to grow even more for our guests," said Epcot vice president Brad Rex. "We've added many new events to this year's festival, and guests still have more than a week before the curtain comes down. Come next year, we're happy to announce
the festival will expand by 15 additional days and run from Oct. 1 through Nov. 14, 2004."

Currently, festival chefs are serving up appetizer-sized tastings of
international foods at the rate of nearly 28,000 per day. More than 125 celebrity and Disney chefs are appearing throughout the month to conduct culinary demonstrations or host special dinner- and tasting-events. At least 840 wine and beer seminars deliver complimentary tastings to festival guests. This year's headliner food and wine experiences are "Australia: Discover
Down Under" and "Piemonte: The Land of Chocolate." Child-friendly exhibits include a tip of the hat to fruits and veggies at Kitchen Karnival! and a goober salute at "Nuts" for Peanuts.

Before the last cork has popped on this year's festival, the Eat to the Beat! concert series presents Chic featuring Nile Rodgers Nov. 7-11 and Chubby Checker & the Wildcats Nov. 12-16.