My first ever Yelp Elite Event and I managed to score two free tickets to Wine Riot Boston! I was beyond excited and this event did not disappoint. My plus one and I arrived shortly before 7 PM and there was already a line out The Castle at the Park Plaza. The staff were extremely friendly and efficient in checking IDs and getting everyone in. The layout was spectacular - they really utilized the space to their advantage. So many different wine samplings from all around the world. I particularly liked the vendors who were knowledgeable and either worked for the company or did their research ahead of time. It was much more enjoyable to ask questions and learn something than just be poured a sample by someone who had no idea what the wine was. Perhaps focus on that for next time? I loved all the free swag and the interactive App that went along with the night. My only other qualm would be that there were no real little food samples to cleanse your palette with (or keep some people from getting too drunk). There was food for purchase but even some crackers or pretzels to shake things up a bit would have been nice. With that said, I enjoyed my cheese and cracker plate (but it was $5). Great location, great staff, tons of samples, and lots to do! Thanks Yelp for the free tickets! It made this girl feel special. read more

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Full disclosure: big thanks to Yelp for comping me 2 tickets! The line to get in is long, but don't be scared away by it as it moves very fast...15 min. The event was sold out, but there were many booths with no lines all afternoon long. Those that had lines had only a few people. My tips: taste wine for an hour, Then take a break and get a grilled cheese. Sip wine for another hour, then create a crepe... And maybe catch a free wine class. Go back to all your favorite wines... And catch a cab for take the T home. Unless you spit out the last 30 wines, you are drunk. THE DEAL: $60 a ticket, should include coat check. The girl charged me for two coats because I wear a jacket with a vest, insisting the price was per piece! I'm sure, at $120 a pair, girls were putting their coats together on one hanger. I get the impression the coat check girls were charging them double... and pocketing half. read more

Wine Riot - Festivals Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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I love wine riot, I keep going back and always have a great time. It does get packed towards the middle and wait time is more than if there wasn't anyone..so get their before the event begins so you can get to drinking!!!! There is so many types of wines and I tried using the wine riot app but it's just a hassle when it crashes so i've resorted to just taking pictures of the wines I enjoy. They also have a ton of food samples towards the left when you go inside the castle. Free tattoos! Free pics that can be posted to twitter! Do those things first if you don't like waiting in line. There are also food stands inside as well, towards the front where you enter. My favorite table is always the cheese table...mmmm. Lots of red wines which makes me happy! But plenty of whites for those who enjoy whites as well. They give out free water and also there was coconut water as well. The lines for the bathroom stink...but moves quickly. Go before you actually need to go... You will probably get drunk if you drink fast here ... be careful :) read more

I absolutely love love love wine riot. Second glass has unearthed the greatest event in both wine-drinker and non-drinker but wine-curious history. It's youthful it's fun and the number of vendors present make for a diversified experience so that you can find what you love and buy it in the future. Come with friends, as a couple, or by yourself and make new friends. All of those situation will result in a great time. I have been four times now and always go in hoping to come out with 1-2 new wines that I love. I am always successful. Instagram photo printouts by tagging #wineriot, wine riot tattoos, wine courses, handouts, food vendors, yelp desk obvi, and DJ all spice up the event to add those extra twists to it being just a wine tasting. people dress in everything from shorts and a T-shirt to full suits or Halloween costumes in the case of this year. But what you wear doesn't really matter when you are covering yourself from head to toe in photo booth swag. Do not miss the photo booth. You and your friends will get some seriously awesome pictures here. Here's my number one tip when it comes to rioting. If you are anything like me you will walk in and get your cup. After you get that first tiny ass pour and think "Wtf, this is shit it's gonna be so lame and I won't get close to drunk. Four hours later the room will be swaying like a motha fucka on your way out." Trust me, you get real nice despite the small pours per sample. Think about it, no matter how small the pours you still have the potential to do nothing but drink wine for four hours straight. Enjoy! read more

Wine Riot - Went as Annie & Daddy Warbucks to wine riot October 2013 - Festivals Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

This was such an amazing event and I am so glad that I was selected to attend. There were tons of wines available to try and all of the wine representatives were more than happy to have you try each one! Depending on your taste of wine there were a wide variety of dry, sweet, semi-sweet, and balanced wines available. My friend and I tried about 30 or so wines and everyone was amazing. Also, what I loved was that they had cheese, crackers, ice cream, and other foods for you to try for free. It was amazing to see so many people walking around with glasses of wine and scoops of ice cream. There was also food available for sale and they did take cash and cards. The atmosphere was very positive, fun, and uplifting. Everyone that my friend and I met were so nice and positive--you could tell that everyone was there to have fun, unwind, and relax after a long week of work and school. The event also had these awesome wine 101 tasting classes where you got to hear from a wine expert about certain wines and try them as well. I loved that they had this available as you were able to sit down, hear about a new wine, and try it as well! These classes were at no additional charge and again you got to try new wines-or did I mention this already?!? I would recommend this event to anyone who is wanting to try out new wines in the Boston area. This is a great way to get to know your pallet and expand on it. I wish that you were able to actually buy the wines at the event as they were offering a discount, but the nice thing ones the representatives at the buy wine area gave out cards and asked that we contact them regarding purchasing it and they would still honor the 20% discount. This event was so fun and relaxed! I will definitely go again next year! Thank you, Yelp! read more

For my first introduction to Yelp Boston, I won a pair of tickets to Wine Riot (THANKS Damien! ..can you tag other Yelpers in reviews? Probably not..but if you're reading this Damien, thanks so much!). My drinking partner and I chose to attend the Saturday night session. We'd never heard of Wine Riot, but tasting wines from all over the world sounded perfect to us! The wine was plenty, and the event wasn't crowded at all. We kept one glass for the entire night, but there was ample water on every stand to wash out the glass or keep you hydrated. We enjoyed learning a bit about wines, and all the wine pourers were patient and very happy to indulge us in our stupid questions. There wasn't a lot of food, but we were happy with the free samples of Cabot cheese, bark thins, and beef jerky. We had a lot of fun at the photobooth and temporary tattoos stands as well, when we wanted a break from trying all the wines. Such a great time! Not sure if I would've paid $70 for a ticket, but we had a we really loved hanging out with other ~very happy~ people for three hours for a Saturday night. The only problem was that the bathroom smelled awful from the outside (I didn't even attempt to go in), so maybe they could find a better venue with more bathrooms or have someone clean them better. read more

Wine Riot - Festivals Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

My husband and I had a great time at Wine Riot this fall! Thank you very much for the free tickets for Yelp Elites! We went to the daytime session on Saturday, and it was pretty awesome. There were so many different stations with wine to try, and it was very difficult to choose which ones to sample. We were able to sample things ranging from a standard Merlot to the sweetest Moscato I've ever had (way too sweet, in my opinion, but my husband loved it). As someone with a rather limited knowledge of wine, this was a great event for being able to try different things and learn about the differences between types of wine, aging processes, etc. In addition to the wine, there were also samples of Bark Thins chocolates and Krave jerky. If you want to sample numerous low to moderately priced wines and explore new options, this is a great event. I can't think of another place with the opportunity to try this many different types. At $65 per person, however, I think you have to be really into comparing different wines to find it worth it. read more

First off, shout out to Yelp for the free tickets! Normally, it would have costed me $65/person which would have come out to $130 for me and my friend. Personally I'm not sure I would have paid $65 for admission but that's only because I'm too inexperienced to appreciate the nuances between wines. If you've ever been to Costco, then the nature of the event will feel very familiar to you. You wander around the auditorium and "sample" different wines from across the world. I think it would be a little more engaging than simple drinking "red" and "white" if the staff gave little spiels about the wine or gave info cards that tell a little history about the wine's origins. If not, it's hard to appreciate and justify paying such a steep ticket price. With that said, it should be noted that this is not an event for wine connoisseurs. The crowd is millienial af and everyone is there to just have a good time! There are a few snacking stations where you can try cheeses and beef jerky. There are also some stations where you can buy food too like oysters or cheese platters. If you decide to check it out, be sure to check in at the Yelp booth for some swag! Alright, that's all I have to say. Ready, set, RIOT! read more

Wine Riot - Woot! Wine riot! - Festivals Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

For a person who loves wine, this was the perfect event for me!!! Thanks to yelp and Mary T., I got to go to this event for free! Mary T. scored some free tickets and I went to this event as her guest! This event was phenomenal! The venue was a decent size, big enough to host a wide selection of wine from different regions! I love white wine and I had to opportunity to taste different wines from France, Spain, Italy, Australia, South Africa, and California. You first check in at the tables then pick up a glass that you keep throughout the event for all your wine tasting. They even have water bottles set up for you to take whenever you feel a little thirsty from the alcohol. This event was not too crowded and did not have to wait to long to talk to the people representing different vendors about their products. For each tasting, the vendors will pour out a small amount in your glass. My goal was to try out 50 different wines but I got a little too drunk half way through the event and left the event early. I definitely had a hard time trying to stay classy and not trashy! read more

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Wine Riot was the perfect way to kickoff the weekend. Everyone looked fresh and ready for summer. Girls were wearing floral dresses and guys were sporting sports jackets while imbibers "toured" the world of wines from Newport, Massachusetts to New Zealand. Also, they had fun vendors like Roxy Grilled Cheese, VitaCoco, the Paris Creperie, and others. I definitely left a little toasty - you definitely have to be careful, I realized I was starting to regress into the inebriation stage of my early 20s - when I start to smile like an idiot at any cute guy, share TMI with anyone I'm speaking with, and gesticulate wildly (hence the need for a Roxy Grilled Cheese). I also did obtain a wonderful metallic tattoo (that in a wine-induced phase, I considered making real). The vibe was awesome (who doesn't have fun drinking wine?), and the experience was super fun. Next time Wine Riot is in town, bookmark it and make sure you go! I personally came via the Yelp hookup (thanks Yelp), but I'll definitely hit it up next time without any incentive -it's totally worth it! read more

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Many thanks to Yelp for the awesome score of these tickets! My +1 and I had a great time learning and sampling wines from all over the globe. There's a fun photo booth with 'bling' gear, coloring stations, and cheese samplings! We also sat in on the info session for Beaujolais. The Beaujolais- Village is now my favorite wine. All of the wines were reasonably priced and the selection is perfect if you're trying to discover something new and need budget friendly wines when you're hosting an event (Holiday season is approaching). The food from the vendors was amazing, but I learned the hard way that wine does not pair well with avocado and bacon grilled cheese, but it was the BEST grilled cheese I've ever had LOL! After cleansing my palate I was able to continue and ended up circling the Beaujolais table once more bcz it is hands-down my favorite now. So, if you're on the fence, check out the Wine riot. You get tons of bang for your buck and people are very knowledgeable and happy to answer any questions with an in-depth explanation. Most importantly: sampling of course! read more

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On arrival I was checked in and handed a glass. Then the waiting began and my patience began to be tested...... For the cost of the event it is very oversold.....you have to wait and wait for your tastes. It's cramped, and loud music is being pumped through the venue. It makes it difficult to hear about your wines that you're tasting. I have been to many wine tastings before this, and this seems to be catered to a younger crowd. The price point on the wines is very affordable and the discounts when you buy almost make the ticket price almost worth it. Wine Riot wish list: -A few less people please (or larger space) -Price lists on every table of the wine -Bring in some actual vineyards from local places to tell us more -Pairing goodies or crackers on the tables -ability to pick up wine on exit (although that may be due to weird MA liquor regulations) -wines in more price points and some higher quality tastes ****IF YOU DO GO TO THIS.....BUY THE WINE!!!!! IT'S A GREAT DEAL. read more

The Wine Riot turned out to be very true to it's name. On a beautiful Saturday afternoon - it was indeed a riot. For the size of the ballroom at the Park Plaza Castle, the place was packed with booths and vendors. But very well organized. We happened to start in the anti clockwise direction because it was very much a 50-50 split going on either side and it didn't take us too long to decide it was going to be crowded regardless. One of the best things that I liked about the event was - the Second Glass app for your smart phones. I downloaded the app a couple of days prior to the event to get myself acquainted with all the vendors and their collections and gave me the opportunity to kind of plan my navigation around the event. And rightly so, I made full use of it. Not only did I get to rate the wines and the bubblies that I tried, the app helped me keep the record of the ones that really stood out and would be useful for future purchases while getting wines for family and friends and for special occasions. Very useful indeed. The vendors were - for the most part very nice, very knowledgeable, and totally into making sure they could market their wines to the best of their abilities. Some were more overwhelmed by the crowd situation - given at some booths, there was almost a beeline of tasters - especially at the Bubbly bar were. Very very busy. There were great side activities as well. The tattoo table to stamp on your faux ink was my favorite. The photo booth was fun too. I only wish there were more options for food besides the 3 tables out of which clearly the grilled cheese one was the biggest hit. The next day, I was not so surprised when I got a recap of my tastings from the previous night - 54 of them while I was still rating them. Not bad at all. But nowhere near the 250 odd bottles that were out on display to be tasted. All in all, everyone had a ball of a time. Highly recommended if you haven't been to one before. read more

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My 200th review! I wanted to reserve my 200th review for something special so I decided to dedicate this review to an event that features my favorite beverage--WINE. I came here with Idy T. on October 26 and I had a blast! You know it is a fun event when you lose track of how many wines you have tried! I like how the banner in front of the entrance says something like the less you drink the more you can try. Too bad, I like to swallow rather than to spit so I got a little carried away. I stopped tasting when I knew I had too much, but I had a fair share of the different variety of wines. It was nice to try a lot of local wines. Moving to the east coast, I thought we only have good beers, but the wines here are pretty good too. The wines I tried from local winery that day were very crisp and refreshing. One of more memorable wines I tried was the Mionetto. I have seen their proseccos at markets, but I was hesitant to buy a whole bottle home to try. Knowing how good it tastes now, I will definitely go and get it some time. I would have liked this event even more if there were more food options or if they included more complimentary snacks. Cheers to my 200th review and to more reviews to come! read more

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I really don't know how to rate this event. I was so excited to be going to my first Elite Yelp event that I didn't take the time to research what the event was all about. I just thought that if free wine tastings were good, a paid wine tasting would have to be much better. Mostly my fault in not knowing what I was signing up for. Somewhat the event's fault for not making it obvious what they were offering. My wife and I go to 2 to 3 wine tastings a year. They are free except for the fact that we usually purchase a few cases of wine to take home with us. At these events, they provide some small amounts of food to cleanse your pallet every once in a while. Mostly cheese and crackers, but also some other more substantial things like sandwiches or meat balls. This is all free of charge. Each table is staffed by representatives from a different wine distributor who is very knowledgeable about the wines they are offering and the wineries and areas they come from. The wines you taste are offered at good discounts if you buy them at the tasting. The Wine Riot is nothing like a traditional wine tasting. The free food is minimal and is only there to get you to buy some. You can't buy wines there and the retail cost of the wines is totally unknown. For me, it is very easy to find a $50 bottle of wine I like. It's super difficult to find a great $15 bottle. It does me no good to fall in love with a wine that is beyond my budget. Some of the people behind the tables were knowledgeable about wines. Others were dumbfounded when asked basic questions that went beyond their prepared scripts. Assuming you paid for admission (which I did not), the night out for two is not inexpensive. Admission for 2: $130. Parking: $15, Coat check: $8, Two grilled cheese sandwiches: $16. Total: $169. However, there is a target audience where this all makes sense. If you know little or nothing about wine and have a sincere desire to learn, this is a good starting place. If you can remember half of what you learned, you will have taken your first step towards appreciating fine wines. read more

Just went to a really fun event over at the castle live the Hotel Plaza. It was very well organized with newest and exciting wines from both Europe and in the United States. They also have some nice giveaways and some tasty vendors that are selling bites to eat like bacon and scallops. The crowd was incredibly eclectic ranging from the from casual to business, vintage and young. Very nice energy and lots of fun. read more

Wine Riot - Fun - Festivals Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

I had the opportunity to attend the Wine Riot first session on Friday 4/21! I thought it's ok. The selection of wines were pretty good although I thought there would be more. I think they need to make it more fun. More games or something. There were 3 food vendors on site, Roxys grilled cheese, SATE (Vietnamese) and frozen hoagies. I only saw one cheese table, they were soooo good! There were photo booths. Water bottles were placed on tables for your taking! There's a temporary tattoo table, love this! Certain wine host knew what they were taking about, others seem like they're not interested in a conversation. I sat in on one of the crash course and the host was quite funny. Love it Jason! Keep up the good work. I enjoyed it and glad that I went but also glad that I didn't pay $65 for it. Thanks Yelp!! read more

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I had a great time at Wine Riot, at the Saturday 1-5 session! Thanks to Yelp Boston, I won free tickets, but they're usually $60 per person. As others have said, be sure to eat before you arrive or you can find yourself quickly inebriated. There are over 250 wines available to try, but don't be stupid and attempt to try them all. (I ran into 2 guys who were trying to do this, but they already sounded too far gone at booth #5!) You can learn as little or as much about wine as you'd like. It's really up to you. The wine vendor staff are very friendly & knowledgeable about their products. They can talk to you about the wine if you'd like, but they're also willing to just pour a sample and let you go on your way if you aren't interested in chatting. The photobooth is fun, and the pictures are posted to Facebook after the event, so it's worth it to get a few fun pics of you and your friends. My husband & I had a great time and tried wines from most of the booths. I'm a sweet white wine fan, and he's more of a red wine fan, so we enjoyed the variety of wines that were offered for samples. Second Glass (the organization that puts Wine Riot together) sends all attendees that they have e-mail addresses for a recap of the event in the week after it. Included is a list of wines that were rated highest on their app at Wine Riot. I hope to return next time Wine Riot is in Boston! read more

Thanks, Yelp, for the tickets! I didn't even know this event was going on before I got the notice from Yelp. It's coming back in April 2014 so I will have to look out for tickets! Wine Riot Boston was held in a really cool building in Back Bay. It was the perfect venue. I went with my friend and we had a good time trying all the different wines. The other attendees were fun and the people at the booths were pretty knowledgable with the exception of a few that just seemed like they were there to lend a hand. My favorite part was the Wine 101 booth where you try different wines to determine your preferences like sweet vs. dry, young vs. mature, etc. I've been drinking wine for a long time but I was always unsure how to describe my favorite wine until I visited that booth. It was cool that they held classes there but unfortunately we were too busy sipping wine and getting tattoos (the temporary kind) to have time for an educational moment. Some food was there including a grilled cheese company which was awesome. I can't remember what the company's name was. It may have been Roxy's Gourmet Grilled Cheese but someone correct me if I'm wrong! I also like that there was an app you could download to keep track of the wines you liked because really, after 20 samples who can remember much of anything really? Cool beans. Will look out for their future events. read more

Wine Riot - Festivals Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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A great time to spend with your squad! Wander off solo to sample the wines from around the world. Reconnect with your people to compare notes. Hit a few tables together to ask wine questions. Even a few courses to learn about different varietals of wine. My new favorite is Spain's Tempranillo! Fun time, wear comfy but cute shoes, take public transportation or Uber it like we did! read more

Wine Riot - Festivals Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Thank you for the free tickets, Yelp! My +1 and I learned about and enjoyed many wines from different regions of the world along with some yummy cheese samples. We attended the 1-5pm session and it was pretty crowded (never too early for some day drinking)! This year they had colored markers lying around so you could personalize your wine cups (don't believe they had this least year, nice touch to the event). Roxy's was one of the food vendors again (amazing grilled cheese sandwiches....mmm with bacon and avocado). There was a temporary tattoo and photo area (tattoos were definitely an upgrade from last year). Overall, I loved WR and it's something I look forward to every year :) :) read more

Wine Riot - Festivals Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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I got free tickets to wine riot from Yelp. I would not have paid the $60 fee to go otherwise, but if you have an extra $60 and want to try a lot of wine, it's a good event. Just outside my budget. We went to some of the Wine 101 classes and tried a lot of wine. The bathroom situation left something to be desired, though. It was really crowded. This review lacks...substance. In short, it was a fun event if you want to shell out $60/pp but be sure to hit the rest room early on. read more

This event was super fun! My friend and I got there around 12:50 and didn't wait in a long line at all. Everything was relatively quick - waiting to get in the venue, the tastings of wine, cheese, and photo booths! It's definitely an event for a younger crowd and as one staff member said "It's not an event for wine snobs." I enjoyed everything and had a blast. I was a little surprised that the food wasn't included with the ticket, but that's a minor inconvenience. The only thing I wished for while I was there, was for a place to sit down and relax a little to take a break from all the wine tasting! Other than that, I will definitely be back if they're ever back in town! read more

Wine Riot - a man and a woman holding signs - Festivals Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

I saw the negative reviews and was extremely apprehensive but I had a blast! Make sure to eat before. Is this a wine expert's expo? No. Is it a place to bring a date/friends if you want to get a little drunk? Yeah. Fun event overall! Loud music, age group is from 25-40, and a few cheese and meat samplings. read more

Totally in love with Yelp for the help. I got tickets, a sweat band & turns out a phone holder. Lots of good whites ( no red, thanks) and very patient staff. Crowd wise though, you lose a star for poor etiquette. Crowds are fine, but don't hog the table, people, step back while you sip and chat so the rest of humanity can move it along. Thanks. read more

Wine Riot - Thanks yelp! Wine, sweat bands and phone holders!!! - Festivals Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Thank you to Yelp for the free tickets from the Dranksgiving Giveaway! I was so happy to win for such a unique event. I think the key to this event is pacing, because we bounced around from table to table and felt overwhelmed. Start off by picking up your plastic "Second Glass" cup for all of your tasting. I would agree with others that hitting up the Bubbly Bar early is a good idea since it seemed very popular. I also noticed that the Cypress Grove cheese table was mobbed later on once people go some wine in them. Get your cheese nibbles early (besides the one cheese booth and the beef jerk booth I don't think there was any other free food). We went to the wine class "Order Italian Wines Like A Boss" which was informative and fun. The drawbacks are that the event is very crowded so try to go slow and stay away from the crowded areas. Also, there should have been a little more free food for the normal $60 price tag. Overall, great afternoon! read more

Wine Riot - Wine Riot! - Festivals Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Thanks Yelp for the free tickets! This is my second time going to wine riot, and love the experience. My +1 and I came to the Saturday afternoon session, and it is a lot less crowded than the previous evening session I attended a few years back. I would recommend going to the evening session as it feels a bit more lively, but if you can only attend an afternoon session still go! What is better than free wine and cheese samples? Love being able to try a bunch of wines I probably would never have tried if I didn't attend Wine Riot. Everyone is super friendly and you do learn a lot about wines without really trying. You can also attend a learning session - I didn't attend any but hear they are great. Overall a really well planned out event! read more

I went here on a Friday because of a free ticket from yelp but this review is 100% honest. This event was really fun! There's about 49 booths with several wines at each. I really liked how even though there were a lot of people there werent so many that you actually had to wait more than a couple minutes per booth. I would also suggest getting the app because you can keep track of all the wines you love To be honest i'm not a huge wine drinker and I was excited to try a bunch to figure out what I likes. After going to mostly every booth, I didn't really find a ton I was in love with. That could just be me though. I feel like this event is more catered to dry wine lovers. Also, not all of the booths have people from the vineyard. I was talking to some lovely ladies who just decided to volunteer through their school. They go to culinary school and have some basic knowledge along with a sheet with facts about the wine but if you wanted to get really in depth with them, they couldnt really hold a conversation. Also, be warned, you will get wasted. read more

Wine Riot - Festivals Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

I was lucky enough to snag some last minute tickets for Wine Riot from Yelp, and I am so glad I did! There were so many wines there to try, and at first, it was a little overwhelming. However, my friend and I quickly came up with a game plan. Our first stop was to the bubblies: they had a line of seven different kinds of champagne/sparkling wine/cava. Our next stop was to the grilled cheese line. They had me sold when they mentioned a grilled cheese sandwich with guacamole. After filling our stomachs with delicious food, we continued to meander around: trying more wine, attending in on a few classes that also gave you wine to taste, getting tattoos, sending silly postcards to friends, taking goofy photos,etc. I really liked the wine 101 station, where you got to learn allot different wines, and I felt like I was to figure out what kinds of wine I like the most: sweet vs dry, oak vs unoaked,etc. I also really enjoyed the mini classes that were offered. They had one about Spanish wines, and I learned a lot about the different wine regions of Spain and which regions I preferred. I left feeling more knowledgeable about wine. Thank you Yelp for the tickets! It was definitely a whole lot of fun! read more

Wine Riot - Festivals Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Thank you to our kick-ass community manager Damian for the tix. I had never been to Wine Riot and had a wonderful time. The set up for the event was in a pretty cool space conveniently located off the Arlington t-stop. My friend and I arrived fashionably late and it was great to be in a space full of super friendly and welcoming vendors and wineries who were thrilled to be there, explain what they were offerings and chat and socialize with everyone. Capacity and wait times were key on this one. We didn't have to wait more than a couple minutes to taste and there was a large variety of countries represented for the most part. Not as many as the wine event hosted in Seaport as it was a more intimate affair but it felt more community oriented which was great. Shout out to some favs---the mango moscato wine was the clear front runner of the night. My friend and I went back 3 times (yes they finally were like, "umm have you two been here?") and the cheese mongers, I just wanna say, that truffle cheese business was life changing you angels. Fantastic event to go to after work on a Friday to kick off the weekend! read more

Wine riot was so much fun, large variety of wines to sample from. You can be a wine expert or a wine novice and you'll be guaranteed to learn something from this experience or at least try something new! I noticed some of the people serving the wine were more involved than others, some of the people just poured you a sample and didn't explain anything. There were samples of cabots cheese, bark thins, and krave jerky available. Some food available to purchase as well. I loved that this event gave me an opportunity to explore different wines and bubblys all under one roof! Additionally there was a photo booth and a temporary tattoo stand. Also there was plenty plenty of water bottles available if needed. The price tag was 65 pp for this event, probably would have attended anyway but shout out to yelp for the free tickets!! read more

If you're young, fun and have a palette for wine, cheese and chocolate, this is your event. Wine Riot rejects the stuffy, white-haired connoisseur and instead, embraces the Dionysus rosy-cheeks of today's more youthful wine drinkers. 2017 was my first year at the event, and it was Wine Riot's first year under new management. I heard some complaints from Wine Riot veterans that it "just wasn't the same", but I couldn't help but enjoy myself in spite of their stick-in-the-mud attitudes. My one critique would be that there wasn't enough wine, which yea, ok, there were 250 varieties, but somehow that still fell short in the 4-hour session. I loved the incorporation of the photo booth and tattoo stand -another way Wine Riot shed the stiff and bougie husk of traditional wine expos- and I appreciated that Roxy's Grilled Cheese, Bark Thins, and other food vendors provided nommy saturation methods for all the vino. Overall this is a great event that I would return to. I hope that next year to see even more vendors and more attendees, because Wine Riot deserves the love. read more

If you are looking for shitty wine to get drunk, you have opted the right place. There were so many options and all of them had a unique way to disappoint me. I don't understand why people liked this place, when the main item which was supposed to attract the crowd was itself a huge failure. The food in the place was terrible and expensive. Only good thing was I won a yelp grocery bag, but that always reminds me that I spent 2 hours at this place where people pretended to enjoy every bit of the so called "amazing wine from all around the world". P.S : please save your money and get a bottle from your nearest wine shop, box wine is better than what this place offers. read more

Yelp spoiled me with two tickets to this event and I am forever grateful to be able to experience it with my friend. If I'm going to be brutally honest though, it was a little disappointing. It seemed well organized and I loved the water and interactive parts like the photo booth and tattoos. However, it was a bit weird to me that each region (country?) was a mix of different types of wineries and wines. Most people working the event were volunteers who didn't have too much insight to give on each wine besides the basics. They would pour a small taste, give a little spiel, then wait for you to move on to the next wine. It was pretty fast paced because you wanted to try as many different kinds as you could within your session. From talking to some of the vendors, it seems like this year was different than previous years where most booths were represented by the actual wineries. This is more along the lines of what I expected. It was also kind of a bummer that you couldn't actually buy any of the wine that you tasted. Nor was there an easy way to track the ones you liked to remember for the future. I really enjoyed the booth with the bottles of sangria though. The guy working there was very helpful and the sangria was really good, although a bit too sweet. Food was not free but there were some samples of chocolates and cheese. I thought maybe there would be one or two booths for wine-related accessories (cork stoppers, wine openers, aerators, etc) but don't remember seeing any. Overall it seemed to me like a social event for people to power-drink mediocre wine, get super tipsy, and then move on with life rather than actually appreciate the selections and learn. Which might be exactly what some people want, but probably wasn't really my style of wine tasting. The $65 might be worth it for the unlimited samples and the intention to just get sloshed but as a regular customer, I think I would rather have less variety but better quality wines. read more

I attended the first session of Wine Riot on Friday 4/21. This was my first time so I did not have any expectations. However, I did think that there would be more vendors there. I participated in the sessions and they were edutaining. I felt like the food vendors were a little lacking but the ones that was there was great, especially the raw bar. The one thing that I did not like was the vendors were stingy with the samples. All things said, I had fun. read more

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DOPE, Good time. Wines. Camaraderie. Foods. PEOPLE. THINGS. It smells like dead bodies near the bathroom but otherwise it's A OK read more

Mucho gracias to Yelp for the complimentary passes which gave my inner wino a chance to come out and play. My friend and I thoroughly enjoyed some proper day drinking and related debauchery. Having said that, if I had actually paid $60 for admission I think I'd be singing a slightly different tune. I'm no wine connoisseur, but it was a bit disappointing that the majority of the wines were from mass producers. I was really hoping to see some small-scale operations present. The only real standout for me was Travessia, an "urban winery" in New Bedford. I did like the majority of the wines I tasted, but it would have been nice to see a wider variety of wineries. While the wines were more or less grouped by region, an old-fashioned paper checklist would have been helpful. Luckily the venue wasn't overly crowded and we could meander without losing track of what we'd already tried. We rarely waited long for a pour, with the notable exception being the Rosatello table run by the Vikings with man buns, understandably. This event has a lot of potential but it needs some tweaking. Get more local wineries in on this! That's a no-brainer. More free nibbles would also be appreciated. And free coat check would be a smart move. Folks are already paying $60, so don't make them fork out even more. As it stands, it's still a fun-filled afternoon (or evening) of wine tasting. You can learn a thing or two about wine, send drunkenly scribbled free postcards to your friends, and engage in some fascinating people watching at the end of the four hours when everyone is belligerent. read more

250 wines in 4 hours. 4 hours sounds like a long time. No, my dear, no it is not. Not when there's 250 wines to try, cheeses to be tasted, and jerky to be had. If you're a beginner wine connoisseur or just trying to travel the world, this is a great way to do it all in one place. Wines from Spain, Argentina, California, Israel, you name it. Obligatory hard cider to boot too. Getting in was relatively smooth, grab your Wine Riot wine glass, try some bubblies, go crazy at the photo booth early before the crowd arrives, and of course, get those temp tattoos to show off the bling blings or styles you'd get after getting sloshed here. I mean release your artistic side. Don't be afraid to ask questions, pour out what you don't like, and remember, rinse your glass to prevent cross contaminating flavors! The Castle is the perfect place for this event. The size/crowd is a mix between busy but not sardine packed, fun and never snobby. There's a wine riot app, you'll download it, use it for the first 4 wines, and then give up. It's an interesting app, not the most intuitive, a notepad for the most memorable but more so take pictures of what you like. read more

Wine Riot was awesome! Thanks to Damien and Yelp Boston, I scored 2 tickets to Wine Riot on Saturday. I took my roommate as my +1 for an afternoon full of good wine, food, and tattoos. After checking in at Will Call, we were each given a plastic wine glass. The wine glass was basically our passport to endless wine tasting and good times. There were hundreds of different wines there to try- some great, some good, and some bad. We didn't really have a set plan so we ended up looping around the entire expo twice and tried as much wine as possible. They have water pitchers and emptying receptacles at each table to toss out wine and wash the glasses - it was nice to get to taste a bunch of different wines without the pressure of finishing all of it (that would've been a diaster). There were a couple of food options at Wine Riot but they were the usual food trucks that make their rounds through boston. The line for grilled cheese sandwiches was ridiculous, so we got a rice bowl from Bon Me. The food definitely helped with all the alcohol we were drinking. I would definitely pay the $60 the the awesome experience that Wine Riot is.Thanks to Wine Riot, I was able to find a couple of different wines that I really liked. Hopefully, I'll be able to find them at my local liquor store and have my own boozy time! read more

I am what, some would consider, somewhat of a Wine Riot veteran. That's right a veteran. I've gone to at least four or five Wine Riot sessions over these last few years and always look forward to having a good time there. I usually go with a group of friends, anywhere from a few of us to a dozen and while we, at times, struggled to stay together, we all end up leaving the place with a big smile on our faces. The wines don't vary too, too much from year to year but there's a few occasional twists which definitely make it worthwhile. The few 'classes' I've attended have been interesting and most vendors are always great about answering questions and educating people about soils, vintages, tannins and terroir. The snacks are usually pretty solid (cheese, pretzels) and the photo booth is a ton of fun as well. The three hour sessions go by very quickly because everyone's having a ton of fun. Whether you're a wine snob or a newbie, I would strongly recommend getting tickets and attending a session. The staff is friendly and the venue is fantastic every single time. It does get a bit crowded, but that helps break up the otherwise frantic pace during which you'll be pouring various wines (and ciders) down your throat. Oh and the food offered by the catering companies is top notch, especially KO Pies who's there regularly - their meat pies are incredible! All in all, this is definitely a must-attend event for anyone reading this. Haven't been? You have no excuse, get tickets and go! They take place twice a year now too! read more