Attended Grapefest for their Sep 2023 event. The event was $10 per person. Parking was free because we went early (11:00 am) and the adjacent lots next to one of the entrances was empty! There are a lot of food options, and different wines to try. We went on a Sunday, so the majority of the wines I wanted to try (all the sweet ones) were all sold out from the days prior! Service was nice! Everyone working/volunteering at the event was kind! Cool place to walk around, and people watch! read more

Grapefest - Wineries Near Me - Grapevine, Texas

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First time attending and I wish I would've come to this festival sooner! Get there early for parking. There's less people early so you're able to enjoy all the vendors. Lots of cools stuff to see and purchase. Wine everywhere! There are lots of stops to experience like small business shops and places to buy wine while enjoying the festival. We went to the People's Choice Wine Tasting event, which is such a good deal! You get a souvenir glass and have 90 mins to go around tasting Texas wines. It's a great opportunity to experience the different wines and learn about local Texas wine spots. It always sells out so buy your tickets early. Live music, performers, food, and wine is all I need! read more

Grapefest - People's Choice Wine Tasting event. - Wineries Near Me - Grapevine, Texas

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Grapefest in Grapevine, Texas! Grapevine is known for throwing the best parties! Each year for about a week in September, they bring out great food, interesting wines, beers, other drinks, and so much excellent food of all types too! The shops are all open with special offers and air conditioning ;-) It is only $10 to enter and the crew working the entrances are subject matter experts who are happy to share what they know about the festival. There are various events happening each day, concerts, and just cool stuff going on in general. Plenty of parking within walking distance and there is a shuttle to and from some of the local hotels if you want to stay the night. You may opt to become a "wine expert " by purchasing some wine tastings, or simply by buying it by the glass, straight off the food trucks... This year there was a pretty awesome band playing Journey songs as we were walking around. read more

We went this year on a Saturday evening, admission was $10 per person. We paid $10 to park at the Harvest Hall parking garage just a short walk to the festival. Overall it was okay, a lot of food options at restaurants, food trucks, harvest hall. Great people watch read more

Grapefest - Wineries Near Me - Grapevine, Texas

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Great atmosphere! Great food. Don't drink so can't help you there. Stopped in for lunch Friday and Olivia was our waitress and she took care of us. Ice tea and water never went empty, and yea, it was hot that day. This is one of my favorite places for lunch in Southlake. read more

Grape fest is so much fun. Wonderful wines to taste. The cuisine is amazing. I made several new friends. I had a wonderful time. I definitely recommend. read more

The carnival area is a major ripoff especially this year, you have to buy a card $3 convenience fee and then load it with money, $1 a credit most rides or games are minimum $4, most are $5 each, so if you spend $20 you get 17 credits. You can then play 3 games or ride 3 rides. Then you will have 2 extra credits and to use them you need to add more money. So $40 essentially gets you 7 rides or games and if you are riding with your child $40 will get you 3 rides. The rest of the festival is ok read more

I signed up for a wine tasting event at the Grapefest. Just to have a new experience, it was very delightful. They gave me a nice souvenir glass to sample my wine. A lot of the ones that were there were Texas wines they provided sweet dry wines red and white. When I finished up from there I went out into the festival and I watch some entertainment. Which was mostly old-school Motown music which I love a lot and the guys did a terrific job it was a nice atmosphere. I went in on Thursday when it was free so it was no entry fee. There was more than enough parking far and close if you did have the park far away they will have a bus shuttle you down. Overall I had a wonderful time and a nice experience. read more

Grapefest - Wineries Near Me - Grapevine, Texas

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It is that time once again! Grapefest time that is. I thought it was high time for an updated review!! Especially since I try and hit up this festival every year. This is always the event where I like to celebrate the soon to be wonderful fall season. If you are a wine fan you will definitely find something to enjoy. I will say bring cash and lots of it. Every year prices go up and even parking is a pain. So come early if you can. The People's Choice tasting is also an option if you want to spend even more dough and get tipsy faster. In my opinion People's Choice is something VIP to try like a "one and done". You sign up online in advance and you get a free vino glass which is nice. Also get cash before arrival because ATMs are few and far between. Eat a solid meal beforehand. I think that covers a lot of it. I will still go and enjoy Grapefest but if you've been once it's just an "OK" thing to do. My two cents. read more

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"wahh wahh, I had to spend money, wahh it costs to get in, buy food, buy drinks, park, wahh wahh wahh, there's lines for everything, wahh" Holy crap people, popular events usually cause lines, and while not all of them may charge an entrance fee, you are going to pay for everything else, if there's anything worth paying for. Grapefest is a popular festival for many reasons. It may not be the end all wine festival, but in DFW it's obviously the best one. Main street Grapevine is pretty cool, you gotta admit. A lot to do, places to eat, and then you throw in all the festival stuff to go with it. Yea, there's some goofy stuff, and some companies hawking stuff, but that's how they pay the bills. Think the bands are playing for free? Nope. Think all those sound stages and equipment is free? Nope, they pay for those setups. So hey, I understand some places, cities, get great sponsors, and shell out the money, and offer FREE entrance. Anyway, what I see it comes down to is this. If it's not a good value to you, then don't come. But I've been to the last 8-10 years worth, and it keeps getting bigger and more crowded. It's always fun, great people watching, and yes we tend to jokingly call it "drunkfest". (politically responsible disclaimer, "please drink responsibly") But it has a lot to offer for anyone, and don't think I've ever seen any problems with the crowd. It seems to be a nice, mid sized festival that everyone I know enjoys going to. read more

Grapefest - Wineries Near Me - Grapevine, Texas

If you like LINES, this is the place for you! A LINE at the ATM to get cash so that you can get in the LINE to buy entrance tickets ($8 each) to get in a LINE to have your purse inspected (don't bring in anything because they make you throw it away, just like the airport so to that you are forced to purchase drinks) , a LINE to buy coupons, so that you can get in a REALLY LONG LINE to get a soda or a beer, then there is a LINE to get food, and LONG lines to sit in a restaurant to eat, and even LONGER lines to get into the wine tasting areas, and LINE to get into a store to see anything, and then another LINE to get on the shuttle to go back to your car which you parked at the mall. If you like LINES, this is the festival for YOU! read more

Grapefest - The first of MANY lines you get it wait in for Grapefest. Organizers have announced that next year's name is Linefest. - Wineries Near Me - Grapevine, Texas

Ok..I didn't go to Grapefest to enjoy the festivities but to just walk my daughter to where she was volunteering and let me tell you, I don't understand how people can hang out in this kind of heat...I was drenched in sweat (I know gross) just walking from the main entrance to the kids area. Oh my goodness...can you say HOT? Miserable heat. This Cali girl cannot hang. And everyone I looked at was drenched in sweat. I was downing ice water too!!! Pros: If you park at the library there are free shuttles that transport you to the South entrance very quickly and they are nice and cool. It is well organized with a lot of police present and walking around. Good ways for vendors to make some cash because a ton of people go. Cons: September is still HOT. If you are not from TX, you likely will be too hot to stay long...but maybe just me. Also as the name implies, this event is geared around drinking, so if you don't drink (like me) probably not worth your time. There was some live music and a huge crowd, so if you enjoy people watching or that kind of vibe maybe you should check it out...there are fair type food vendors and restaurants on main street to grab a bite too. read more

Fun festival in Grapevine with lots of good wine for decent prices as well as some good food and rides for the kids. They also have cooking presentations and free music along with some shaded seating. Aside from that, our favorite stand this year was Wild Bill's Soda stand. http://www.wildbillssoda.com/index.aspx You could buy a nice metal cup for $12 and get free refills all day of this amazing soda (root beer, birch beer, sarsaparilla beer, orange soda - our favorite, vanilla cream soda and grape soda). It's fun for the whole family and definitely worth it. read more

A great venue. Lots of wine, food, vendors, wine, wine. Did I mention wine? So glad we went. I was introduced to Messina's Winery while there, and it was amazing. You don't need coupons for the wine sampling at Messina's. 4 sampling's for $10.00. Just keep in mind that you do need to purchase coupons in order to buy food throughout the fest. You can't pay with cash or card in most places. Bought an awesome Texas flag from David at Grapevine's Market on Main. A very cool shop with lots of neat stuff. Overall a really good experience. I highly recommend. read more

We happened to be in town during the event, and I am glad we did. I was amazed at how organized it was and at the variety of vendors they had. In my little corner of Texas an event like this would be filled with Scentsy and It Works vendors. (insert eye roll!) We throughly enjoyed the wines, food, and all the fun rides for the kids and kids at . read more

Found out about this at the last minute but it was so worth it. The tickets for food are kinda expensive but it is to be expected. The night we went they had a Bon Jovi tribute which was really cool. A lot of people showed up. Some of the merchandise was sold at really decent prices while others were overpriced. Overall awesome experience and would totally do it again read more

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Maybe I just don't get it, but I think that was my last Grapefest. I had expected a bunch of stalls run by Texas vintners showcasing their delicious wares, supplemented by boutique craftspeople offering samples of delicious cheeses, pickled you-name-its, etc. Instead, it felt like a generic weekend outdoor bazaar with all the normal t-shirt sellers, jewelry hawkers, etc. We ended up spending most our time exploring all the shops one that strip that Grapevine was laid out on. It was fine, but as I told Gal Pal, it only made me want to come back to Grapevine any time EXCEPT Grapefest. read more

The year 2011 marked the 25th anniversary of Grapevine's famous Grapefest! What is Grapefest you ask? It's only the largest wine festival in the Southwest. If you are a wine connoisseur, lover of the culinary arts or just a person who enjoys drinking and festivals you will need to save a spot on your calender for this annual event. Here is a list of some of the things that went down at Grapefest this year: professional demonstrations on various food topics and wine pairings at the Culinary Pavilion; Grape Stomp where two person teams stop 18 pounds of grapes to vie for the coveted Purple Foot award; a traditional midway with lots of rides like a Ferris Wheel and carousel; various outdoor tents with art, jewelry, clothing and more for purchase; six stages that house various live entertainment from jazz, folk, country, rock, blues, disco and just plain ole' pop cover songs; trips on the vintage Grapevine rail road that takes travelers to the Fort Worth stockyards; and most famously the People's Choice Wine Tasting Classic which is the largest consumer judged wine competition in the United States. I would say hands down the best part about Grapefest is the Wine Tasting Classic. You have to pay $20 (as of 2011) to be able to participate in addition to the fee to get into the festival (which as of 2011 was $8 entry--parts of the day are free like Fridays and Saturday during the day) but it is worth every single dime. For that price you get to keep a commemorative wine glass that you will use during the tasting. You have a lengthy 90 minutes to do the tasting which are all Texas wineries spanning 33 wineries with over 119 wines to sample. You will find a large mix of wine from various reds (cabs, merlots, ect) to whites and blushes. There is a bubble sheet ballot to use to mark your favorites that you turn in at the end. They offer crackers and free cheese which go wonderfully with the wines and help to prevent you from getting completely drunk--because yes if you sample all 119 wines you will feel it!! Most of the wine tastings sell out so buy your ticket early. They normally do at least a couple of tastings a day (with the most held on Saturday). Grapefest also has beer, including a tent that sells yummy beers like Sierra Nevada brewery selections, Real Ale selections, the delicious Shock Top beer and best of all is the beer tent featuring beers from various countries all over the world like Belgium, Australia, England, Germany and more. It is a great event for both adults and even kids as Grapefest has a KidZone area with a petting zoo, Legoland discovery center, games and more. See you next year! read more

Grapefest - Wineries Near Me - Grapevine, Texas

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I went to Grapefest, but I didn't have any wine. I just moved here and was excited to go to this Grapefest I'd heard so much about, but I ended up really disappointed. Getting there was easy, parking behind the library was free and relatively close to the festival. There's a line to buy tickets to get in, there's a line to get in, then there is another line to buy MORE tickets for which you wait in an ENORMOUS line to get into ANOTHER place where the wine is. Expensive rip off. Also lots of waiting is garbage. We ended up getting drink tickets and walking around drinking beer or some other form of beer and looking at all the art and junk for sale. It was like any other street fair that I see around here a lot. Art, fair foods, etc. I thought it would be a more elegant affair, but it was just an increidble mosh of people at the wine part. I knew people who made it in to the wine section and they were disappointed. A very big wine tasting means a very big rip off and a lot of drunks bumping into each other. Wine isn't meant to be tasted this way. Not to mention, you couldn't even buy bottles of what was being tasted. LAME. read more

Grapefest is one of those things that you would have to try at least once in your life. With that being said, you have to do the grape stomp because it's a blast. It's $10 per team every 30 minutes. The winner of each time slot will go on to the daily champion round. The winner of the day will come back on Sunday for the championship round. The secret: not only do you have to stomp all the grapes, make sure you have a good technique to push the juices out of the spout since it's so high up on the barrel. The People's Choice ($20) was fun because you get to try over 100 different wines from at least 40 wineries. The only problem is that there were too many people in the tent and the line for each sample was long. You only have an hour and a half to try as many 2 ounce samples as possible. They will give you a booklet with all of the varietals segregated by category if you'd like to keep notes. Do reserve a slot for People's Choice because it does sell out. The bad thing was that we reserved the 7 pm time for People's Choice and had to go back for the Grape Stomp Daily Challenge at 8 pm so that cut into our wine tasting experience. At least we know now how to plan better with expectations of going back for the daily championship round. As for the food and beverages, the turkey leg and jalapeno sausages were yummy (sorry, forgot where we purchased them), and the sodas from Wild Bill's is always amazing. For as little as $12, you can get a mug and unlimited refills throughout the day. It had a good amount of vendors - jewelry, spices, clothing, doggy bowls, cowboy hats, golf, etc. It was on a straight strip so the distance from one end to the other was a good 15 minute walk. The cool thing about festival is that they provide free parking and shuttle to four different lots. It's a kid-friendly environment since they have a kid zone. They also have live bands in the center of the strip that played top 40 and country so that was entertaining. read more

Every years it's get busy during the weekend, especially 2014 as we had great weather!! There are a lot of local vendors from arts&craft, food, snacks, beers, wine and many more!! Very state fair theme with where you have to buy copious.. There are rides and games to enjoy while you're there. We didn't get a chance to try all the food but we stopped by Game sausages area where we had some elk and buffalo-- very delicious and not really gamey. There are no public restrooms but local stores, restaurants and bars welcome people in. I'll be back next year to try out more food and wine/beer read more

Entrance fee??? really??? Been to NYC or LA street fairs This was pretty lame, as street fairs usually are .. Except less ghetto Usual Street fair food crap with 1 or 2 exceptions. There was some super lame 23$ wine tasting waiting line that made no sense... Oh yeah and we paid parking too.. Just not worth it... Not coming back read more

While the event was organized nicely and all the staff and volunteers were friendly, I felt this event was a bit of a scam, unfortunately. It's $8 just to get in, and then you still have to pay for the flights at the different wineries, and the prices may/may not have been higher than a normal weekend due to the event. Basically, you're paying to walk on a street that would be free any other weekend to try flights at wineries that always offer the same flights, but during Grapefest, they're higher than normal. I'm not sure I'd attend again as you can save a significant amount of money just by going winery hopping the weekend before or after Grapefest. read more

This is a nice event to change up your weekend, do a little people watching and eat junk food. Overall, to me, Grapefest isn't very impressive if you're going with the mindset to sample and experience wines. I anticipated wine tasting. I saw long lines, but wasn't particularly interested in what I saw going on. On the upside, I did get a salsa sample! read more

Parking was convenient and volunteers were very helpful and friendly. However I am very disappointed that they charge $8 admission to only be overcharged for food and drink items. $9 for a four ounce mimosa and $4.50 for a soft serve ice cream. Thank goodness the stores along the street were open because there were very few booths that were not food and drink vendors. I will not recommend this event until to any of my hotel guest in the future. read more

Didn't realize we could review this event! I LOVE LOVE grapefest!! If you like wine, this is definitely something to look forward to every September. We always go to the People's Choice tasting because its $20 for a souvenir wine glass and you get to sample over 100 different wines from about 40-50 vineyards in the area! I've found some really good wines from these places but they don't let you purchase wine at the festival so you can get their card and visit them at their vineyard. They also have cheese and crackers to help clear out your palette and some water to sober up later on! Parking this year only costed us $5 and the Thursday of the grapefest is always free admission! SO its basically $20 all you can drink! :) read more

Grapefest - Wineries Near Me - Grapevine, Texas

good food, good wine, I was very happy... only thing I would like to make it five star is more areas to sit, but it's hard to complain for being too busy for a festival..... one nice thing is you really don't have to wait for food or wine like you used to a few years ago, there are more than enough places so even with a big crowd you can try a little bit of everything. read more

Grapefest - Beer and wine - Wineries Near Me - Grapevine, Texas

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Everything was so nicely set up. Good food and good music. The people who worked the transportation were extremely friendly and made sure that we had a good time. Had such a great day today! read more

Grapefest - Wineries Near Me - Grapevine, Texas

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The food was delicious as always, we tried multiple different trucks & we were happy with everything we tried. I had the white wine (only one to choose from) and it was really good. Our favorite thing at Grapefest was watching the glass blowing! It was amazing to see the work that goes into something we think is so simple like a plate or vase. Id recommend Grapefest for any age group because you WILL find something you'll enjoy! We also loved all the live music and dancing it was the perfect ending to the day. read more

Grapefest - Wineries Near Me - Grapevine, Texas

$5-10 for parking, $8 to get into the grounds, so you're down at least $13 to start. But wait: then it's TWENTY-THREE DOLLARS for the privilege of tasting wines inside the special area, wristbands only. If I go to visit a vineyard the tasting is often free. Or at my liquor store there are frequent free wine tastings. Even at Kroger. This is because inviting people to sample wines is good marketing and good business. But this event is a massive Chamber of Commerce scam. Someone in Grapevine is running away with a fortune. I'm sure the vendors pay through the nose just like us patrons. So if, like me, you opt not shell out the $23, you've ended up paying $13 or more to fight the mobs to look at touristy junk and buy corn dogs just like at any other street fair. Although this may be even worse because for the privilege of standing in long lines to buy food or drink you first have to stand in a long line to buy coupons. (And if you don't use up all your coupons you've just handed more of your wealth to the organizers since, of course, they're not refundable). Oh, but wait, if you don't have cash you'll first have to get in line at a conveniently adjacent ATM. Fight the power. Save up your money saved not going to these sorts of "festivals" and take a wine country tour sometime. read more

Great time with friends at the festival. Plan to visit Main Street shops at a later date. Great shops!

Very poorly laid out event. Big event planned as if it were small. One of the biggest issues is with the coupons that are required for beer or wine. The line for the coupon booth was 300 yards long and then the individual beer and wine booths had lines just as long. You will spend 30 mins just to get coupons then another 30 to get your drink. Compound the issue with these long lines with the fact that they have the coupon booths set along the main thoroughfare where the lines run directly out across the extremely heavy foot traffic so it creates a messy tangled environment where you can hardly move. They must better utilize the alleys and streets that run across and along Main Street. I might suggest the event planners go visit some of the events bigger cities put on each year. Well thought out event layouts and organization make a huge difference. read more

This is not a "Grapefest", it''s a big tourist supermarket. If they are trying to promote wine, they fail miserably in that arena. Only 2 tents to serve wine on the main drag and the lines were insane. Don't wast your time at this "fest" read more

It's a bit of a scam. Very crowded. We purchased tickets for the Texas wine tasting and voting. For $25 we were allowed into a hot tent, and we had to stand in line over and over just to get 1 small taste of 1 wine, just to then stand in the heat and sip a shot of 1 wine. It was ridiculous. After 3 trips to the line we were all grouchy and hot and we left. Much smarter to go to a few wineries, NOT during the fest, and taste with no crowd. read more

Always go on Thurs to the Festivals in DFW...they are not as packed, easy to park and generally do not charge admission like they do starting on Fri-Sun. Music is awesome. People are ridiculously rude. Crafts and Crap are expensive but starving artist...toss a bone right? I just wish they did cash instead of tickets...that is so lame to me and a waste of time. The BBQ pits etc are groovy tunes. The stores you can go in...but they are open all year so why pay to go if you are just going to shop. The art galleries that have opened since my last visit are quite exquisite. read more

I have been coming here for years not for the festival but for the grape stomping and the wine tastings in the tent. For $20 you get to taste all the wines from around Texas for 90 minutes and meet some really interesting people. If you have never been inside the tent it is a MUST if you are at the festival. Get you tickets in advance because they sell out quick. read more

So much fun! The wines were great! Definitely explore the champagne area, delicious and you get a complimentary wine glass. The food trucks were amazing, I suggest exploring the Cousins lobster truck. It had a wait time but SO worth it!! The bands were fun to watch. don't miss it! read more

We have gone to this festival for years and noted that year's event was not run as well as in years past. First, the event was oversold. The crowds on Saturday were intense, so much so that the one gate (ONLY ONE GATE OPEN???) line to get in (yes after you had your tickets) was over 2 blocks long and required you to wait in line for over 30 minutes in heat with no shade. This in turn made you late if you had a tasting to go to. The People Choice tasting event was moved from previous locations to a different area; laid out this year so that you couldn't easily go to any one winery and many of the local favorites were NOT there this year. I seemed smaller and selections were less. I could have really used a layout of the wineries inside the tent since you couldn't go in any order but had to wander around to see any of the wineries that you wanted to see. Also, the pour samples were 1/2 of what had been done in the past, so you got one swallow - that was it. Not even 1/2 of a shot. Want to see the favor a bit more - you had to get back in line for the sample. For the increased price this year, I expected a better experience and ability to actually sample a wine. Instead I got jostled, and stood in line for most of the evening without little tasting going on. I had hoped to get to sample some new wines outside of what I usually buy, but the poor organization made it difficult to plan what to sample outside of the ballot wines. The crowd on Saturday evening was also thick, hot and louder than other years. More people seemed to have drunk too much versus years past. It partly may have been the heat, but I think that the crowd being so thick made it difficult to move around to browse, so people just stayed in one spot and drank. there wasn't much water either - getting water meant getting coupons (another wait for 30 minutes) then waiting in a different line to puchase the water. I am surprised more people weren't fainting. Lastly - the parking this year was impossible. Shuttles from the library and convention center - you waited and waited. The festival seemed to be wildly successful based on there was no souvenir tee shirts left, and most of the events were so crowded you couldn't move. But it was not an event that I would take my kids to, nor would I go by myself. I used to go by myself, but not anymore. read more

Went on Friday -- liked it so much, considering going back on Sunday. Definitely worth the time. Folks there are great -- so friendly. Very helpful, very wine smart, Enjoyed the Argentina wine experience, enjoyed the Oregon experience even more. The Champagne tent was terrific. Bands were very nice, the food was good, the vendors nice at very high quality. We will be back for years to come. read more