Great gravy!

I spent part of Sunday afternoon at the Vendemmia Italian wine and food fest at Tubman-Garrett Park on the Wilmington Riverfront.

It was a gorgeous, warm day and the park was packed with people seeking out glasses of Sangiovese, cups of tiramisu, pork sandwiches and plates of pasta.

Once again, I was asked to be a judge for the "gravy" contest along with Michael Waite from WJBR, John Conley of CW Harborside and Dr. Larry Giordano. After sampling 20 different tomato sauces, I thought I would be living on Tums the rest of the afternoon, but it wasn't so bad. (Though why does it always feel like a summer day when I have to taste 20 hot gravies? We joked about wishing we were judging a gelato contest.)

You would think that tomato sauces would all taste the same. Yet after the first few sips that proved not to be true.

Some were flavored with seafood; some were spicy and fiery; one, unfortunately, tasted burned and another tasted weirdly sweet.

Others were as thick as ketchup and one was as orange as a pumpkin.

I didn't know the names of any of the contestants - they were all given numbers.

But Mike DiFonzo, one of the event organizers, told me that Edea Barilo was the winner this year.

I'm going to give Edea a call and find out the secret of her winning sauce or, if you prefer, "gravy."

Stay tuned for an update.