Wines from around the world, cuisine by expert chefs and lively entertainment take center stage October 18-November 16, 2003, during the eighth annual Epcot International Food and Wine Festival at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Among this year's festival lineup are the hip, flavor-filled Party for the Senses food and wine tasting, the prestigious Bordeaux Wine School program and Vertical Tastings.

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 October 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 October 18 and features several hundred wineries from around the world and 26 international marketplaces, continues through November 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 October 1 through November 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.