I attended the 2022 event, which was well planned and executed. I pre-purchased my ticket on the…read morewebsite, then showed my phone's email at the entrance upon arriving. The next stop was to pick up a (tiny) tasting glass and 6-bottle wine tote. The lady working that table seemed a little disheveled and probably could have used another volunteer to help her and to direct folks to her (I can see how some people might have walked past her).
This was my first wine-tasting event since returning to the U.S. after nearly 4 years in Chile and California before that. I was excited to try North American, and more specifically, Colorado wines, talk to the winemakers, and enjoy some music. Luckily, I did all of those things, but so much of my experience was through the lens of Chilean festivals and prices, which may have been an unfair comparison (after all, land and agricultural employees are much more expensive in the U.S.). As for price, with the generous military discount, my ticket was only $25. Since this is a charity event for Habitat for Humanity, you can add on a donation to the nonprofit as well. The price was in line with what I would pay in Chile, but the size of the glass was somewhat embarrassing, and every person I spoke with mentioned how unusually small it was. I guess you could add it to your port-wine-glass collection?
The first tent I came upon had a LONG line of people. I stood there for a long while before realizing that the festival goers were not well versed in proper wine-festival etiquette, that is, to accept a tasting and step out of the way so that others can taste in a timely manner. These folks were gaggled around the table, tasting every wine as if they were at a private tasting at a winery. This rude behavior was a real turnoff for me, so I found another table.
Notably, this event was PACKED with food trucks and vendors. I especially liked the Hawaiian reggae music coming from the Island Style BBQ tent--took me right back to Honolulu circa 2013!
As for the wines themselves [fair warning, I prefer dry wines to sweet]: I tossed out 99% of the tastings after the first two sips. The few that I actually finished included:
- Nebbiolo from Bad Bitch Cellars (their Reckless Red merlot blend is also quite good)
- Gino's Rosé from Avanti Winery (made with pinot noir and pinot grigio grapes)
- Pinot Noir and the Pinot Grigio from Deep Roots Winery
- Maréchal Foch from La Noue Dubois
- Symphony in Red and Sophie's Red from Mountain Spirit Winery (also had the best prices with bottles selling for less than $20).
- Cabernet Franc and Syrah from Chill Switch Wines (all unfiltered and very smooth)
It was great that the event provided the wine totes (brilliant, actually), because I then used it to store my purchases. I also made a point of not purchasing from vendors who were impolite or didn't seem like they wanted to be there (there were a few), no matter how good the wines were.
One thing that others pointed out was that this was a no-pets-allowed event (service dogs only). Unfortunately, many folks ignored that and brought Fido along. I'm a dog person, so I didn't particularly mind the friendly, well behaved dogs, but I saw this same disrespectful behavior at our National Parks recently, so I cannot say I'm surprised. Rudeness and flouting regulations is just a new normal for Americans, I suppose.
As for the music: AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME!!! I was truly impressed with all of the performances from jazz to Motown to oldies to a Heart/Journey cover band. All of the musicians did a tremendous job, but I was surprised at how few festival goers stuck around for the headliner band at the end. Yes, there was a little rain and grey clouds throughout the day, but I guess folks were drunk and tired and had other evening plans? I came prepared with my picnic blanket and snacks and took a cat nap on the well manicured lawn before the show started.
Note: There is a VIP ticket option as well, but it didn't seem to be much of a benefit, and no one I spoke with regretted not purchasing that ticket. The add-ons included two chats with winemakers (which you can do at the tasting tables) and "front row" seating at the concert on the lawn. With no bad seats on the lawn and an open dancing area right in front of the stage, this isn't really necessary.
Bottom line: This is an excellent event and I hope to continue to attend it as long as I'm residing in Colorado. Definitely not to be missed!