Thanks to Craig Camp of The Wine Camp Blog for his assistance in getting me a press pass for this event!I will be attending both days of the festival, and look forward to visiting many of the over 200 wineries and vineyards that will be pouring their wines. I'm also hoping that John of Anything Wine will be able to attend as well, he was also granted press credentials, and it would be exciting to meet more Virginia Wine Bloggers! By the way, if you haven't been checking out John's blog, it's definitely one to add to your list.
The D.C. International Wine and Food Festival is scheduled for this Saturday and Sunday at the Reagan Building in D.C. The festival features around 240 exhibitors, both of wine, spirits, food, and other related items. I found this short list of featured Wineries/Vineyards/Distributors but cannot find a full list. Anyone have any suggestions of places not to miss based off the short list?
Also, anyone have any thoughts on strategies for tackling such a large festival? I have not attended anything of this magnitude in the past! I'm thinking backpack instead of purse so I can have a hand free for my notebook and another for my wine glass, probably sneakers since I'll be on my feet most of the day, dark clothes because I'm bound to spill on myself or be spilled on, I'm considering attaching my Nalgene to my backpack via my Carabiner Hook so I don't have to be concerned about having a 3rd hand to carry a water bottle....Anything else anyone thinks I must do (besides the obvious of eating a solid breakfast/lunch and making sure to spit/dump and continue to eat while there!)?
Posts
This event is similar to the Boston Wine Expo so I am assuming their set-up will be similar. They usually divide the room by regions, so for example all of the Spanish wines are together.
I suggest you pick a few regions where you would like to concentrate rather than trying to find specific producers. Unless there are a few specific producers you really want to taste. Maybe try a region you don't know much about.
Going during the trade hours is great as you will beat the large crowds. You will have the time and opportunity to really talk to the wine people.
2/29/08, 12:17 PM
My best advice for large tastings (and maybe you already know this): bring a large, colored plastic cup with you. This way, you don't have to get frustrated with the people hovering over the spit buckets -- you have your own personal spit cup that you can empty at your convenience. Also, take crackers and bottled water. I'm sure they have that available, but if you're carrying a backpack anyway... it just saves you some time. But the personal spit cup is the big one. Some people have no common sense at industry tastings. I can only imagine at the ones that are focussed on consumers!
2/29/08, 7:35 PM
Thanks again for the shout out!
I really like Carol's suggestion of the personal spit cup.
See you there! It should be a lot of fun.
John
3/1/08, 9:01 AM
Hi! I just wrote a post on a very similar topic in terms of how to survive those events - great timing :-).
http://1winedude.blogspot.com/2008/02/spy-in-house-of-booze-how-to-survive.html
Have fun!
3/1/08, 9:47 AM
Thanks for all the suggestions everyone! Will definitely find a plastic cup to take!
3/1/08, 12:19 PM
I was there and "hands free" because of wearing my 'very BoBerry "Eat Drink & Be Merry" wine glass holder. Seriously, it allowed me to be hands free to jot notes and drop flyers, etc. into my bag. I should have taken a picture while tasting to prove it! Ha. It really is cool because the fabric covered wine glass 'sling' is better than all the other glass holders because it holds all sizes, adjusts to hold cups and cans too and doesn't wrap around the glass so you can still see the color and clarity of the wines. Also, it's way better than those 'stem gripper' models or the leather ones. They're sold online and at festivals for just $8 - $10 each.
3/4/08, 3:58 AM