The New Gnocchi at the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival? We'll Take 10, Thanks.

Alright everyone, it’s time to see if the Italy booth at EPCOT’s Food and Wine Festival is worth your time this year!

Italy Booth!

The EPCOT 2022 International Food & Wine Festival has kicked off and we’ve been checking out everything it has to offer, from the food to the entertainment to the cheese (cheese gets a separate mention from the food because it’s that important). We’re about to check out the Italy booth which was kind of disappointing last year, but the new items on the menu have us hopeful! So, let’s see if you should include Italy on your list of must-try booths!

Eats

ALL of the food items are new at the Italy booth this year! We started with the new Gnocchi di Patate, which is Potato dumplings with four-cheese sauce and roasted cremini mushrooms for $9.

Gnocchi di Patate number one

OKAY ITALY! We see you stepping up your game this year — if there was an olympic-sized swimming pool of this sauce we would be first in line to jump off the diving board. It’s a little pungent thanks to the mushrooms, but if you’re into those funky flavors this is definitely going to be right up your alley.

The gnocchi was light and fluffy and the mushrooms were cooked perfectly. This is a cheesy and garlicky dish sent from the snack gods above.

Cheeeeeeesy dumpling goodness.

Next, we got the other Gnocchi di Patate that is Potato dumplings with vodka sauce, Romano cheese, and crispy bacon for $9. Just like the first gnocchi dish we tried, the dumplings were cooked to perfection and we had no complaints there. The vodka sauce wasn’t quite as tangy as we were expecting, and a lot of that richness from the Romano cheese really came through.

Gnocchi di Patate number two

The bacon crumbles on top were a great addition and gave the pasta a smokiness, but they were more like bacon bits you’d buy in bulk from the store instead of freshly crumbled bacon. There was just the right amount of saltiness and garlic going on here, and overall gnocchi number two was a treat as well!

A summery sauce

Finally, we tried the new Panna Cotta which is an Orange blossom panna cotta with seasonal berries for $8. We immediately wished there were more berries included in this dessert! There were just four measly berries on ours. Panna cotta is usually thick, but ours was slightly thinner than normal — which could have just been a byproduct of the Florida heat.

Orange Blossom Panna Cotta

The orange blossom flavor was truly delicious — citrusy and subtle without being too sweet. It’s extremely light and refreshing and would be great if you’re looking for a sweet treat that won’t slow you down on your epic quest for more eats. N0w, on to the drinks!

Drinks

All of the drinks at the Italy booth are returning from previous years. We grabbed the Italian Margarita with tequila and limoncello to try out again for $11. This drink has been around at EPCOT festivals for a long time and it’s usually one of our favorites! This year, it was just as refreshing. WARNING: it’s extremely tart so if that’s not your jam, you might want to skip it.

Italian Margarita

Also available at this booth is some Italian Sangria (note if they have red, white, or both) for $11, as well as Prosecco for $10, Moscato for $11, and a Peroni Pilsner for $6 per 6 oz and $10 per 12oz.

Overall

The Italy Booth has been hit or miss for us at past festivals, but this year we think it’s worth giving a shot! The gnocchi dishes were flavorful and certainly didn’t disappoint like other dishes we’ve had at this booth in the past. They’re definitely hearty items, though, so keep that in mind if you have a full day of eating ahead of you!

Full spread at the Italy Booth!

Want to start planning for your 2022 Food and Wine Festival trip? We’ve got ya covered! You can check out the FULL menus for all of the food booths this year right here, click here to see a list of all of the NEW items at the Festival, and click here to see how EPCOT has UPGRADED its cheese crawl!

If you need even more tips, check out our insider tips for the 2022 EPCOT Food and Wine Festival, the 7 truths you need to know about the Festival, and our DFB Guide to the Food and Wine Festival to help you out! We’ll be sharing FULL reviews of all of the booths at the Festival and all of the other information you need to know, so check back with us for all the latest Food & Wine Festival news!

Follow Along as We Explore the 2022 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival

IT'S WINE & DINE TIME!

Food & Wine Festival can be a bummer. You stand in line waiting for what looks like the perfect treat, and it's a bust. But fear not, dear friends, we compiled EVERYTHING you need (and the things to avoid!) to plan the ULTIMATE EPCOT Food & Wine Festival experience.

If you're planning a day or a week at the festival, we've got every performance, activity, and tasty nosh detailed out so you can make the most of your time and money. Listen, it's a tough job eating and documenting the nearly 200 bites and sips, but we do it all for YOU!