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| - The concept is good: an outdoor wine festival with a dozen or so vineyards pouring samples of well over 100 wines, while other vendors either sell food or you score a seat under a tent to watch a gourmet food demo with plenty of samples. Live music under the band shell and plenty of people watching under Carolina blue skies.
And now for the twist: all of the wine is from NC vineyards and apparently a memo went out to all 20-something guidos and guidettes that this event was mandatory attendance.
Bottom line: hard to see how the $25 ticket price results in anything close to a break-even investment.
Look, NC wine is not presently on the wine world map. Mainly sweet wines derived from muscadine, strawberry, and blueberry, this is not an event designed for the serious wine connoisseur. While the winery reps will still flash the smile and a micro pour in your glass, this is not the kind of stuff you could stand more than a glass or two of in any one sitting. Yeah, there are some folks trying to work with Bordeaux grapes, but the NC climate is not ideal in most parts of this state and these wines are generally lacking in the structure and finish that is prized in more established wine regions. *Save for the highlight I'll mention below...
Add to that the fact the the crowd mentality possessed by other attendees is utterly lacking in the areas of "waiting your turn" or "listening to the professional," and you have a less than ideal tasting experience. For example, some wine tents were impossible to get to because there was a small mob at the front that kept thrusting their glasses forward for the next pour. Other people from behind the mob were not afraid to reach over shoulders to get a pour for themselves.
I can understand why some reps were grumpy. I can also understand why some folks were grumpy since they could never reach the front of the line. Folks had no concept of running thru a pour of the portfolio and then moving away for the next group to come in. My favorite was a small group of ladies who would thrust their glass in from the side and boldly interject, "Can you pour some sweet wine?" A serious percentage of people here were just looking to drink, rather than learn about a winery or its portfolio. That makes for a serious downgrade.
So the one highlight? There is one region of NC doing some exciting things with Bordeaux grapes- the Yadkin River Valley. Just west and north of Winston-Salem, these guys apparently have the climate and technique down to get some pretty good juice. I tasted a couple of Merlots that would do well in a blind taste test against more well-known competition. I also tasted an oaked Chardonnay that need not bow down to any of the big Cali chards that rule the current market. There is hope here, but sadly there was a lot of swill to get thru to find it.
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