If you happened to follow along my Instagram this weekend, you know I was enjoying every bit of my time at one of Grapevine’s most anticipated events of the year: GrapeFest.
GrapeFest is the largest wine festival in the Southwest, but don’t let the name fool you into thinking its just a party for us wine enthusiasts… this festival is definitely a once a year opportunity to make fun for the whole family! I can try to explain my little heart out, but as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words so I’ll let them do the talking!
I would like to start by honoring some of the most wonderful ladies and gentlemen of the weekend:
This years’ wine experiences, sponsored by The Gaylord Texan, included a host of guest wineries from the Finger Lakes region of NY as well as the Niagra-on-the-Lake regions of Canada. It truly was hard to pick a favorite as all of these winemakers possessed a vast array of knowledge regarding not just their wineries, but also the sister wineries among them to help provide a reference of comparison. I was amazed at their friendliness, humor, and their hospitality when it came to sampling and learning about their wines. To be fair, my top pick was:
The Pilliteri Estates’s Pinot Grigio. It’s one of the most refreshing, crisp, and smooth whites i’ve had in a loooong time. I told Jared Goerz, the winemaker, that this wine is what I consider dangerous as it’s so smooth I could drink it like water and not know how far I’d gone till it was too late! If you ever have the opportunity to, visit them! I’ve linked their website so you can book a tour!
Now, onto my second favorite event of the festival: THE GRAPE STOMP
What is the Grape Stomp you ask???
Its an opportunity to create your own “I love Lucy” moment with a partner as you battle 5 other couples to stomp the most grape juice in 2 minutes:
I’ll give you a warning nobody gave me: It’s a WORKOUT! While my beloved and I only managed to pump 11oz of grape juice, our sour loss was mitigated by being able to take a photo with the all time (4th year in a row) champion couple:
I have never seen human feet move as fast as when these guys get in that barrel! (AND she’s with child!! Amazing.) Be on the lookout for them when you attend next year đŸ˜‰
*P.S. Children are also able to participate and they have their own designated area.
Now for my champagne lovers, if you missed this year’s Champagne Terrace, you missed the opportunity to walk into a very french themed terrace… complete with all the bubbly-in-a-glass galore as you roam around a beautifully decorated Eiffel Tower:
Did I mention the Chandelier???? Do you think Sia would approve???? (Raise your hand if you catch the reference!)
If you aren’t a fan of the bubbly selection inside your glass (like my beloved wasn’t), you can still enjoy the bubble machine blowing bubbles all throughout the canopy:
However, if you wanted to skip the alcohol altogether, there are plenty of activities to enjoy throughout the event:
(Multiple live music stages as well as standalone artists like this amazing violinist!)
The Carnival and Midway for games!
Or just enjoy all the other fun vendors and entertainers all throughout the festival!
I thought this was a statue until he moved and scared me!
I was obsessed with her artistic wine glasses!
Marty the Magician is truly one of my favorite entertainers. I loved watching as people were in awe of all his “magic” tricks!
No festival is complete without a stop at one of these. Classic festival Corn dogs FTW!!!!!
No festival feels complete without snagging a good friend or two to enjoy it with!
If you missed your chance to attend this year’s amazing event, don’t worry they will be back next year (and yes you can be sure to find me there next year too!)
While every year they do something different, I wanted to give you a small recap of some of my favorite moments this year as well as lessen your broken heart about missing it by reminding you that its never to late to mark it on your calendar for next year as one of your DFW bucket list events to attend!