. . "1"^^ . "1"^^ . . "4"^^ . "2014-10-08T00:00:00"^^ . "4"^^ . "Love wine? This is the event for you.\n\nRundown of what you need to know:\n\n-This is an event that IMO the VIP is not worth it. You don't really get all that much more. Some access to a VIP tent that has some cheese and samples of a few other wines. $25-26 for general admission is a great deal to enjoy a day of sips.\n\n-Bring chairs, blankets, etc and enjoy the day. This is a day long festival and Symphony Park is a great place to spend an afternoon. There's live music, food options for purchase and some different craft type tents to explore.\n\n-Parking is free. However, it's hard to find a spot if you don't get there early. The restaurants block off their parking areas and the mall is just busy in general. This is a drinking event. Take a cab or Uber.\n\n-I know it says you can bring kids, make it a family day and what not. However, people get super drunk. Wine drunk. Holy people watching drunk.\n\n-The crowds are not very good at the whole concept of making a line to get a sample after hours of consuming wine. You're going to get a little annoyed. Good thing you brought that blanket, right?\n\n-Seriously, drunk should be in 72 pt font here.\n\nI had a good time meeting all the different vineyards and vendors. I don't know a lot about wine. I buy based on what the label looks like. So, it was good to learn a little bit along the way.\n\nJust like Beer, Bourbon and BBQ (the same people put this on), I think this is a festival that gets a little bit better each year."^^ .