Up this Friday: Indy Wine Fest
Topic: Events & Festivals
Posted: Tue, Feb 7, 2006 
WFYI is hosting their annual Indy Wine Fest this Friday, February 10 from 5:30-8 at the Indiana Roof Ballroom (140 West Washington Street). $50 buys you lots of wine and hopefully some food (although the web site was a little vague about that). Pony up $100 and you get access to the balcony, where they hide the better wine and fancy pants hors d’oeuvres. 10% of sale of all wines that night benefits Public Broadcasting in Central Indiana.
Many Indiana wineries are represented, including Butler, Chateau Thomas, Oliver, and Easley.
Frankly, I'm on the fence about going because I simply can't find enough information. I'd like to know what kind of food, if any, will be coating my stomach against the wine onslaught. I'm no expert, but I recognize a lot of these as the second-from-the-bottom-shelf big bottle wines that are sure to give you a hangover. There are some good ones in there, but I'd ask a wine-knowledgeable friend to go through the list with a highlighter ahead of time. Once you're there, sorting the wheat from the chaff could be tricky.
The higher-end Connoisseur wine list looks promising, but $100 is a lot of dough. I could buy two very nice bottles for that kind of money.
Then again, this is a Fest, which means it should be festive, right? Festive! It makes me want to wear spangly earrings and laugh gaily. ha ha ha! I'm having a fest!
Seriously, has anyone been to this thing before? Is it worth it?
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Comments
1. Feb 8, 06 10:21 AM | Steph Mineart said:
Given that you know way more about wine than I do, Jen, I'd be going to you for the highlighter help.
Considering the number of local wineries on the list, you might want to check some of them out in the event that HB 1190 (forcing local wineries to use a distributor) passes and they start going belly up.
http://tinyurl.com/9rfe6
2. Feb 8, 06 10:42 AM | braingirl said:
I'll be there on Friday. These wine tastings are fun -- there are quite a few in the Spring, but you should know what you're getting into. First, take a pen and make sure you get a catalogue when you get there. There will easily 100 tables of wine -- with 4-6 different bottles at each table. You will not get around to all of them. You will be able to see what's what with the program -- and hit the tables you want to taste first. It's worth it to pick one varietal -- say, only Pinot Noirs or only Cabernets. The wine on the main floor will be much better than just grocery store wine, although you'll see some familiar lables. Frankly, skip the Indiana wineries, skip the el-cheapo wines, and skip anything you already know. These tastings are a chance to try some new things! There will be dump buckets on each table, so if you sample something you don't like, pour it out. There will just be too much to taste.
I use these tastings to ferret out bargains, wines I'll look for over the coming season, or to try things I've seen lurking on wine lists from time to time. It's also a chance to try some higher end wines (in the $40 range) that you wouldn't normally just buy to taste.
There is food -- usually a big pasta bar or something similar, and definitely try to eat as you go. I always end up toting crackers around by the end since it's tough to taste reds. Skip the expensive ticket -- there are plenty of great wines to try on the main floor. First and foremost, remember these tastings are most often fundraisers. Get there early -- the entire lower floor of the roof will be *packed* by 6:30 or 7:00 p.m.
There are a couple more coming up this spring -- but at least one (the Cystic Fibrosis tasting on 2/24) is already sold out.
3. Feb 8, 06 11:15 AM | Jennifer Bortel said:
Thanks braingirl. This is great advice!