The time is upon us again, my friends! The Epcot Food and Wine Festival will begin in just a couple of weeks, and I’ve decided to share my excitement by counting down to the Festival with a look at the International Marketplace booths that will be located around the World Showcase Lagoon!

For those who haven’t had the chance to go to the Festival, one of my favorite parts are the dozens of International Marketplaces — little booths, or kiosks, set up that represent a specific country or region. Each booth offers a short menu of tasting plates and drinks from the country or region represented. These tasting items cost anywhere from $2-$7, so they’re a great way to enjoy the Festival without breaking the bank.

Today, I’m going to highlight the representative menus from Australia, Brazil, and Canada!

Australia

This year, Australia is highlighting a couple of the same items as they did last year, but they’re also bringing in an interesting dessert! Here’s the full menu for Australia:

• Seared Barramundi with Blistered Cherry Tomatoes,Arugula, and Lemon Oil
• Grilled Lamb Chop with Roasted Potato Salad and Red Wine Reduction (photo below from Tables in Wonderland 2010 Food and Wine Festival Preview)
• Lamington (sponge cake dipped in chocolate)
• Rosemount Traminer Riesling
• Marquis Philips, Shiraz
• Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet
• Nugan Estate Riverina Chardonnay

I can highly recommend the Grilled Lamb Chop — it was one of my favorite festival items last year!

This year, the Australia booth will be located right between Morocco and Japan, right next to the Food and Wine Festival Merchandise tent.

Click here to see our Epcot Food and Wine Festival Australia Booth Page with Photos.

Brazil

Brazil returned to the Festival in 2009 with an incredible menu, and they’re bringing most of it back this year! Here’s the full 2010 menu:

• Grilled Pork Skewer with Farofa
• Shrimp Stew with Coconut and Lime
• Leblon Frozen Caipirinha

I wasn’t too impressed with the grilled pork skewer last year, but heard great things about the shrimp stew!

This year, the Brazil booth is located right at the entrance to the World Showcase Promenade as coming from Future World, directly across the lagoon from the American Adventure pavilion.

Click here to see our Epcot Food and Wine Festival Brazil Booth page with photos.

Canada

Always a favorite booth among Food and Wine Festival guests, Canada offers some dedicated standards (cheddar cheese soup) as well as new favorites (sausage and corn polenta and nanaimo bars). Here’s the full 2010 menu:

• Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup
• Maple-Glazed Salmon with Lentil Salad
• Chicken Chipotle Sausage with Sweet Corn Polenta
• Nanaimo Bar
• Moosehead Beer
• Vidal Icewine
• Chateau De Charmes Riesling
• St. David’s Bench Vineyard Merlot

I am eagerly awaiting a sample of the nanaimo bars! These decadent goodies aren’t very well known in the states, but they are truly outstanding (assuming they don’t give you a heart attack mid-bite!). The sausage and sweet corn polenta is an exciting prospect as well; it’s a dish I adore at Le Cellier, Epcot’s Canadian table-service restaurant.

Click here to see our Epcot Food and Wine Festival Canada Booth page with photos.

Stay tuned for more booth highlights as we continue to count down to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival!

To see the rest of the booths, including full menus and photos when available, check out our Epcot Food and Wine Festival International Marketplace Booth Menus and Photos Guide. For more information on the Epcot Food and Wine Festival, check out our Epcot Food and Wine Festival Index.

What booth are you most excited about visiting at this year’s Festival? Let us know in the comments section below!