I attended this event Saturday after receiving a complimentary pass for attending the Inside Eats…read morepanel discussion earlier that day. I learned that Wine & Dine Wisconsin was in it's 5th year, but I could swear that I attended more than 5 years ago, maybe it was a similar event with a similar name at the same venue, or it was reinvented, or maybe I was there 5 years ago (likely).
I can tell you that I never went back because the event had more wine than food and I wasn't wowed by any of it. Plus the layout of the event seemed to encourage bottle necks. What is it about a row of tables that makes a large crowd feel obligated to start at the first table and form a line moving table to table? So instead of multiple lines perpendicular to each table, allowing a person to choose which lines he/she wants to stand in, there is just one LONG, agonizingly slow moving line because the people who never get out have to stop and make friends with the people working the table and talk about how the item reminds them of their daughter's wedding or a vacation they went on. Nobody cares! Just keep moving. I spent most of my time in line and did not get my money's worth, which was $45 or $50 at the time, if I remember right. That was the event that I remember.
This event was NOT that, at all.
The floor plan for this event was brilliant, IMHO. There wasn't even a pattern for me to travel up and down aisles or starting at an outer perimeter and moving toward the center. It seemed random, which I loved! There were no more than two tables side by side at any point on the floor. Traffic flow moved well, except for two areas.
The cheese islands had the continuous line of people moving station to station, but there were several cheese islands so that helped. I didn't go to any of them because of the aforementioned line of slow moving herds.
The other area where traffic did not move well was the chili cook-off area. There were six participants and of course everyone started at the first table and the line formed behind them and got really long and hopeless. So I skipped to table 4, where there was NO LINE because the people at tables 1-3 were chit-chatting. I hit tables 4-6 with no wait, then went back and found a gap at table 2 between chatty chili eaters, then grabbed a sample from Table 3 and called it a day. Sorry Table 1, I couldn't get to you and I was not willing to wait for 30-35 people to pass through before I could. I voted for the chili from Table 6.
Rant completed. I feel better now.
So, there was beer, wine, spirits, and food. If that's not a party, than I don't know what is. I only visited a small number of beer, wine, and spirit vendors because I still had my nephew's 21st birthday party that night, and I'm a responsible adult (mostly).
I specifically looked for beers I've never tried before, and was able to find a handful. There was a large section called "The Best of Belgium" or something to that effect. I got excited! I love Belgian beers. Then I noticed the Stella Artois signs everywhere and realized that was probably all they were serving. Stella Artois has a brilliant marketing department. I don't think that beer even slightly embodies a Belgian beer, but the light beer drinkers love it, so more power to them. I want nothing to do with it.
Central Standard Distillery was serving samples of three of their craft cocktails. LOVE that idea. Getting away from sampling straight alcohol and instead offering up craft cocktail (the latest hot trend in the industry) samples is a nice change of pace. Great Lakes Distillery may have been doing the same, but I'm already familair with their products, so I skipped that booth.
There were three stages with chef demos, drink demos, and other cooking related presentations.
I stopped at the Chef's Stage to watch Chef Michael Feker. He's very passionate about what he does and has a fun personality, so he puts on a great show! This was no exception. He made a squash soup and we each received a delicious sample.
My favorite part of the day was visiting the Critics Choice area. This area featured food samples from Carol Deptolla's Top 30 restaurants. Most were there, but not all. The food samples were great for the most part, and the area also offered beer and wine samples. Guests attending the main event needed to purchase a separate $30 ticket to this area. To be honest, I probably would have just paid the $30 to attend this area and called it a day.
$65 for the main event and $30 for Critics Choice brings you up to $95!
Was it worth it? The Critics Choice area for $30, I say yes. The main event for $65? I say probably, especially if you go there to try EVERYTHING. I wasn't there to try everything, nor did I want to attend every presentation. I can see that valuation, but it's hard to drop $95 on any event.
Based on my experience this year, I will at least CONSIDER going & buying tickets next year. So mission accomplished, W&D WI!
