This was the 19th annual Cincinnati Wine Festival. It’s grown to be one of the largest ones in the country. This year, over 600 wines and 130 wineries were present. If you are a wine enthusiast, this is the opportunity to sample hundreds of wines in one place.

Since I am always on the hunt to find wines I like, I’ve found it is very difficult without doing the tastings. The alternative is to buy full bottles which can get real expensive, real fast.

The admission for the event is pretty steep at $70 for the grand tastings… and another $35 if you wan to attend the master tastings. While it makes it a little less attractive for the person only getting into wine, it’s w ell worth it if you ar going for the reasons I do. You also get to bring home a couple $20 Riedel glasses after the event. Much of the funds go to several big charities so that too makes it worth it for me.

The food is gourmet. The Cincinnati State Midwest Culinary Institute was present with some amazing food and desserts. I got a few pics. I have a lot of respect for this school and the emerging chefs that come from it. I’ve attended several events that were served by the students and it makes me want to go back to school.

Overall, another great event. My wife and I were able to escape for the first time in a long time, and we had transportation to and from… so we did it right.