Boston Wine Festival Opening Gala.
I like wine!
(Yes, that needed an exclamation point. Obviously.)
I am no wine connoisseur, I have no ideas of flavor... Or is something needs to "breathe." I know prefer red wines to white. And I prefer pinot noir or shiraz to anything else red. I have been known to enjoy rose wine in the summer. And occasionally I can be convinced to glug away on a glass of pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc. And I adore bubbles!!! Prosecco, sparkling whites, cava, champagne... YUMMY!
But this is the extent of my ability to be refined about wine. I enjoy drinking it a few times a week. (Though if I buy a bottle, I never seem to be able to finish it within a week. Then, sadly, it goes bad.) So when Frogger recommended I buy a ticket to the Boston Wine Festival Opening Gala last week, I figured it would be my opportunity to get a little more educated about a few varietals and vineyards from across the world.
Boy was I wrong. If I could go back and not spend the $100 on the ticket, I would.
I walked in just as it was starting and felt giddy. I grabbed a glass of Moet (not my fave, overhyped - in my opinion) and sipped away waiting for Frogger.
The Feng Shui of the place was odd. But we were there just to drink wine and nibble, so I ignored the lagging energy of the place and picked up collateral on the festival...
I finished my champagne before Frogger had the chance to show up and started digging into the wine. I tried a pinot noir from the Russian River Valley first. Loved the color...
The room soon got very crowded. And 30 minutes into the event, the jazz trio that was playing left the small stage. The only background noise were the voices of the crowd, as people began to form a long winding line for food. The lines for the wine tables spaced throughout the room began to get long as well.
I eventually found Frogger, and after a few attempts at food and more wine, we packed it in and went to a restaurant nearby for dinner and wine.
"What a waste of $100," I said. "Whoever organized and styled the event did a shit job."
She was more diplomatic about it, but agreed it was a messy event. The space wasn't big enough. We witnessed some of the waitstaff cut the line to get wine for themselves. We had maybe two full glasses of wine, and very little food. Not an elegant evening at all.
I will say, though, that the few pieces of food we were able to eat were good. Chef Daniel Bruce is quite good. But it is unlikely I would ever attend any of these events ever again.
(Yes, that needed an exclamation point. Obviously.)
I am no wine connoisseur, I have no ideas of flavor... Or is something needs to "breathe." I know prefer red wines to white. And I prefer pinot noir or shiraz to anything else red. I have been known to enjoy rose wine in the summer. And occasionally I can be convinced to glug away on a glass of pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc. And I adore bubbles!!! Prosecco, sparkling whites, cava, champagne... YUMMY!
But this is the extent of my ability to be refined about wine. I enjoy drinking it a few times a week. (Though if I buy a bottle, I never seem to be able to finish it within a week. Then, sadly, it goes bad.) So when Frogger recommended I buy a ticket to the Boston Wine Festival Opening Gala last week, I figured it would be my opportunity to get a little more educated about a few varietals and vineyards from across the world.
Boy was I wrong. If I could go back and not spend the $100 on the ticket, I would.
I walked in just as it was starting and felt giddy. I grabbed a glass of Moet (not my fave, overhyped - in my opinion) and sipped away waiting for Frogger.
The Feng Shui of the place was odd. But we were there just to drink wine and nibble, so I ignored the lagging energy of the place and picked up collateral on the festival...
I finished my champagne before Frogger had the chance to show up and started digging into the wine. I tried a pinot noir from the Russian River Valley first. Loved the color...
Because it was a wine tasting, though, the pours were very small. And there were buckets to dump or spit wine out if you wanted. But my reaction to that was "why the hell would you waste wine?" Clearly, I am a wine amateur.
The room soon got very crowded. And 30 minutes into the event, the jazz trio that was playing left the small stage. The only background noise were the voices of the crowd, as people began to form a long winding line for food. The lines for the wine tables spaced throughout the room began to get long as well.
I eventually found Frogger, and after a few attempts at food and more wine, we packed it in and went to a restaurant nearby for dinner and wine.
"What a waste of $100," I said. "Whoever organized and styled the event did a shit job."
She was more diplomatic about it, but agreed it was a messy event. The space wasn't big enough. We witnessed some of the waitstaff cut the line to get wine for themselves. We had maybe two full glasses of wine, and very little food. Not an elegant evening at all.
I will say, though, that the few pieces of food we were able to eat were good. Chef Daniel Bruce is quite good. But it is unlikely I would ever attend any of these events ever again.
Comments
Is this in Boston???
They started in Boston and now hold RIOTS all over the country! This year we get TWO!! It's a great time! Very well organized, crowded, but in a way that makes the atmosphere exciting rather than annoying. Photo booth with props, local food truck vendors (because grilled cheese goes so well with a good Pinot), and they even have a app that lets you track what wines you've sampled at each booth.
(I don't work for Second Glass, I'm just one of their biggest fans!)