The Sun Winefest

Speaking of wine…

This past weekend, some friends, Mr. FSL, and I headed off to The Sun Winefest. We’ve been saying that we wanted to go to this annual event for the past couple of years, but always missed ticket sales.

Yes, I enjoy a good slurp of vino as much as the next 20 something, but the drinks weren’t the best part.

Upon arrival, we heard a ton of buzz about lots of Food Network personalities in the mix. Needless to say, I was ecstatic! I was planning on a good time, but if I bump elbows with Senior Flay, I’ll die!

When we walked in, we quickly realized how huge this event was. The foyer was filled with people getting fresh sparkling glasses and tasting super-luxe Don Julio 1942. Not too shabby. There was also a Grey Goose tasting.

Inside the main ballroom was the wine tasting. There were thousands of people there. Thousands. My foodie ears perked up when I saw this sign:

Meep!

What a spectacular event. Really. It was impressive. Pardon my iPhone photos, I didn’t want to lug around my big girl camera.

There was a cigar roller.

There was a CHOCOLATE tasting! Chocolate accompanied by a wine that was created to perfectly compliment the intensity of the cocoa. I have found nirvana ladies and gentlemen.

I parked myself here for a few moments.

There was champagne and mimosa tastings as well. The upper level had the beer tasting going on. Mr. FSL liked that one more than me. Still fun nonetheless.

As we made our way back down to the main room, we saw a grape stomping contest on stage! Here’s a 3 second shakey and sideways video clip.click here.

If you listen closely, there was a man in the background that was following me & my husband around talking. He kept asking me if my eyelashes were real. Only at a wine festival. Anywho…

A few hours later, a crowd formed around an area near me. The buzz was Guy Fieri. Me being the psycho that I am, I grabbed Mr. FSL’s hand and shoved my way into the crowd, tossed my phone to my husband and cheezed hard as he snapped the picture. He was shaking his head no (something that I’ve grown to think of as a normal reaction to my antics). He started laughing as I tweeted this photo:

Hmm… I looked closely at the photo, walked back over to him to strike up a conversation. A few words in, I realized that I had been duped. He was a fake! I felt like the scene in Elf where Will Farrell says “You’re not Santa! You smell like beef & cheese!” and yanks his beard off. I blurted out “Hey! You’re not him! Why did you trick everyone?!”. Before he had a chance to respond, MR. FSL swiftly swooped in and distracted me away from further embarassment (he’s the best!).

**this is my public apology to all of my Tweeps that were so happy for me** We were all tricked 🙁

After we had enough of Winefest, we headed over to Ballo (Mario Battali’s new restaurant) and shoveled down some lip-smacking ravioli. The food was amazing. Even if it wasn’t, I’d still go back to drool over the decor. Oh em ghee.

When we finished up at Ballo, we headed to the afterparty in one of the casino’s suites. There was a man in a kilt serving up Scotch whisky tastings (that I did not partake in).

There was also food. Good food. Missing from photo: steak & cheese egg rolls and smokey ketchup.

All in all, awesome time.

*******************************************************

Have you ever attended a food or wine festival? Love it? Hate it?

Have you ever been duped by an imposter?

Does your significant other ever rescue you from potentially humiliating situations? Please tell me this is normal.