What to Eat, Drink, and Shop at EPCOT's 2021 Food & Wine Festival

The 2021 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival kicked off July 15 at Walt Disney World and runs through Nov. 20. This celebration of food and drink from around the world features more than 20 global marketplaces celebrating cuisine from six continents - and there's even more to come as the festival continues to evolve over the course of its whopping 129-day run. Here's what to eat, drink and experience at the 2021 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival.

The 2021 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival is Walt Disney World's first festival to drop "Taste of" from its title since EPCOT reopened last July ("Taste of" referenced the modified offerings necessitated by pandemic-era operations). With eight new marketplaces and nearly 50 percent of this year's menus featuring new items, there's nothing scaled back about this culinary extravaganza.

With all of the menus in one place, plus boxes to check off as you eat, the Festival Passport feels more like a challenge than a menu - and one we hungrily accept. Plant-based and gluten/wheat-friendly items are denoted throughout the booklet for easy reference for those with dietary restrictions.

Opening-day guests flocked to try the new offerings at both returning and new global marketplaces. The Noodle Exchange celebrates "the ancient art of noodle-making and the delicious dishes noodles have inspired around the world over thousands of years of culinary innovation." Clever infographics include fun facts and details exploring "what's in a noodle" and the types noodles and dishes popular throughout the world.

The Noodle Exchange serves four different bowls of noodles, each in a different steaming, aromatic broth. Take your pick from Traditional Spicy Vietnamese Beef Pho, Char Siu Pork Udon, Shrimp and Coconut Curry Rice Noodles (our pick for best at the booth), and Tofu Pho with Enoki Mushrooms and Thai Basil. We expect to see this marketplace get even more popular as temperatures drop. In the meantime, a cold Green Tea Pale Ale or crisp, not-too-sweet Riesling should help keep things cool.

Another new festival marketplace, the Swanky Saucy Swine features a pig-packed menu of dishes like Crispy Barbecue Pork Rinds, Crispy Pig Ear Salad, and this Roasted Porchetta with Pork-fat Roasted Potatoes.

This may be a food and wine festival by name, but every year seems to take cocktail, beer and cider offerings to the next level. One cocktail served at the Swanky Saucy Swine has everyone talking - the Bourbon Bloody Mary with Labrot & Graham Woodford Reserve Bourbon Whiskey, which swaps the traditional vodka for a smoky bourbon and is garnished with a piece of bacon.

EPCOT's Morocco pavilion has been undergoing a series of updates and refurbishments and is looking more stunning than ever. Coinciding with the start of the festival was the reveal of the pavilion's newly refurbished centerpiece fountain. Former quick-service location Tangierine Café has temporarily become a new festival marketplace, Tangierine Café: Flavors of the Medina, with menu items and flavors inspired by Morocco's medinas, or "old cities."

This newly reopened indoor/outdoor marketplace features old and new details and an open kitchen where you can watch the Stone-baked Moroccan Bread with Hummus, Zaalouk, and Zhoug Dips, prepared before your eyes.

Other menu highlights from Tangierine Café: Flavors of the Medina include the plant-based Fried Falafel Pita with Tahini Sauce, the Lemon-Garlic Chicken Kebab (the most well-received of the three types of kebabs), and the sleeper hit Pistachio Cake.

Another new marketplace this year, the Rotunda Bistro in the American Adventure pavilion is a great spot to escape the heat. The space and menu are intended to channel a gallery opening vibe - think Champagne and canapes. Sip a crisp, very dry Domaine Carneros Cuvée Brut Rosé, a well-paired compliment to the Chilled Smoked Shrimp Salad, Chilled Crab and Avocado Parfait with Caviar, or the Wild Mushroom and Truffle Tart with Gruyère and Crème Fraîche. While you're there, be sure to check out The Soul of Jazz: An American Adventure, an interactive exhibit celebrating America's jazz history.

An ongoing tradition, Remy's Ratatouille Hide & Squeak is a fun scavenger hunt that takes you on a search throughout 15 festival marketplaces for Remy, the star of the festival and the upcoming new attraction, Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, opening Oct. 1. Pick up a map for $9.99 and get a prize for completing the hunt (you can pick up your prize even if you're unable to complete it). This is a great way to keep kids engaged as you make your way throughout the festival.

An ongoing partnership between Disney and Impossible Foods has brought a wealth of new plant-based dishes featuring Impossible meat to Walt Disney World and Disneyland menus. Earth Eats Hosted by Impossible features two plant-based dishes. A returning favorite, the Impossible Burger Slider with Wasabi Cream and Spicy Slaw on a Sesame Seed Bun continues to impress. Meat eaters who have been curious about Impossible should definitely give this one a try - it just might convert a few carnivores.

Also at Earth Eats Hosted by Impossible, Impossible Three-Bean Chili is a mildly spicy, very substantial bowl of chili made with three types of beans and Impossible meat and topped with vegan cheese, sour cream, corn chips, and green onions. Filling enough to make it a meal, this chili is also served piping hot. We're betting it will get more popular as the weather cools off.

The sweet-tart scent of fresh apples hits your nose before you even step inside Appleseed Orchard, a marketplace that has temporarily borrowed the home of the Circle-Vision 360 show "Canada Far and Wide." Stop in for a welcome air-conditioning break with on-screen orchard visuals to help set the scene. Sip apple ciders (including a non-alcoholic option on tap) and apple-infused beers from around the country (can't choose? Flights are available for both beers and ciders). This booth is all about the drinks but there's also an Apple Crumble Tart and Apple Chips if you want something appley to nosh on.

As you can tell from the name, it's all about the brews and the wings and this new marketplace, sharing a space with the EPCOT Experience, where you can get a sneak peek at what's in store as EPCOT's transformation continues. Refer to the handy heat guide and decide how much you can handle as you choose from Garlic-Parmesan, Barbecue, Teriyaki-Sesame, Traditional Buffalo or Mango-Habanero Wings. Wash them down with one of three fruit-infused beers or three hard ciders-or get a beer or cider flight and try them all.

It's become a tradition for every EPCOT festival to have a food-focused "stroll" with a reward at the end. Emile's Fromage Montage is a celebration of all things cheese at this year's festival. Purchase five menu items from the Fromage Montage lineup, get a stamp for each in your booklet, and redeem for a prize at Shimmering Sips Hosted by CORKCICLE (the festival's presenting sponsor).

If you're tasting your way thought Emile's Fromage Montage and find a cheese so good, you're tempted to order a second, go for it! To complete the Fromage Montage, you can get one of each or double up on any of the menu items along the way as long as you get five. A standout this year is the Griddled Cheese with Pistachios and Honey from Greece. Betcha can't eat just one.

Over-the-top donuts continue to have a moment and this year's Donut Box is going all in on the trend. Sugar fiends will want to head straight for the Candy Jar Donut, a raised donut topped with chocolate icing, M&M's, Snickers and Twix. If salty-meets-sweet is your thing, the Crispy Chicken on a Sriracha-glazed Donut is calling your name.

It's not just about the food. Wine is the other big star of this festival, with carefully curated pairings available at many of the marketplaces. Reasonably priced (and portioned) wine flights are a great way to sip your way around the world. This flight from Australia progresses from a crisp, light Sauvignon Blanc Semillon to a full-bodied Cab.

As usual, this festival is rife with shopportunities. Festival Markets throughout the park are overflowing with colorful merchandise from this year's four collections (five if you count Annual Passholder exclusives!). The festival's lead collection features stemless wine glasses and a 750mL water bottle that (ahem) just happens to be the same volume as a bottle of wine, both by festival presenting sponsor CORKCICLE.

New this year is a first-ever Disney princess-themed festival collection, with Belle and her "Be Our Guest" cohorts as the stars. In the "Belle, Be Our Guest," collection, "Beauty and the Beast" characters become functional kitchen tools-Cogsworth doubles as a kitchen timer while Chip splits up into a measuring cup set.

A special "Be Our Guest" Dooney and Bourke collection was unveiled as part of the "Belle, Be Our Guest" collection, with bags ranging from $198 to $298. That iconic song lyric is concealed on the bottom of the bags.

Will Remy's Ratatouille Adventureset to open at EPCOT on Oct. 1, 2021, the epicurean Pixar rat is definitely having a big year. The "Remy Shakes Things Up" merch collection features apparel from Ashley Eckstein's "Her Universe" label-the first time Her Universe has ever created apparel for an EPCOT festival-plus kitchen essentials, a CORKCICLE tumbler, an ornament and more.

An EPCOT icon and perennial festival favorite mascot, Figment, the imaginative purple dragon, is the "face" of Walt Disney World Annual Passholder exclusive merch.

Apple pie is on the menu in this merchandise collection, which features plenty of pie-baking accoutrements, including an oven-safe pie dish and a rolling pin that will adorn your pastry with imprints of Mickey, Spaceship Earth, and apples.

EPCOT's World Showcase pavilions are filled with shops selling country-specific merchandise. During the Food & Wine festival, you'll find food-and-drink-themed merchandise from the World Showcase countries for sale outside in Festival Market stalls near their respective pavilions.

From poutine to maple syrup, Canada's Festival Market merch celebrates culinary delights from the Great White North.

Local bands from throughout Central Florida play crowd-pleasing covers on the America Gardens Theatre stage Fridays through Monday nights. Daily, hear the JAMMin' Chefs create musical masterpieces on pots and pans on the Canada Mill Stage; Mariachi Cobre perform their signature folk music and Voices of Liberty sing American anthems and Disney classics at the America Gardens Theatre; and EPCOT pianists tickle the ivories surrounded by the UK's idyllic gardens.

How do you keep a 129-day festival fresh? Save some for later! In conjunction with the official launch of Walt Disney World's 18-month-long 50th-anniversary celebration, a whole slew of additional festival kitchens will be opening on Oct. 1. Three new marketplaces, Kenya, Lobster Landing, and Mac & Eats, will join with returning favorites like Spain, Ireland and Brazil.