I went to 3 wine fests so you don't have to

Hi there! Me again. No I am not about to write about another travel adventure but I am here to tell you about a different kind of adventure. I don’t believe that adventure only awaits when you leave the Town, City or State, I strongly believe you can adventure everywhere. Therefore I’ve decided that now and again I’ll let you know about things I do in and around NYC. This blog is not only about far away destinations but also about every day experiences easily available to each and every one. 

Just a random photo I took of a random wine
on a random rooftop

In January of 2019 I have decided that I am going to be a healthy adult and took part in dry January. For those of you unfamiliar with concept - don't try this at home. HA! Basically it's a sad & cold winter month when one gives up alcohol. As any healthy adult who just gave up drinking for at least 30 days would do, I immediately found and bought tickets to a wine fest. The good news is it was months away so plenty of time to give my liver a chance to regenerate itself after all the birthday and holiday drinking. My friend JM who is very into wine was more than happy to join me and after paying 29$ for a ticket each on Goldstar we began counting days... just kidding we put it on our respective calendars and totally forgot about it. Since then we decided that we have to step up our wine game and test out 2 more wine fests and so here I am now telling about them so you don’t have to go to all (unless you want to of course). 

Ok so Wine Fest #1 

NYC Winter Wine Fest - It takes place on March 9 at PlayStation Theater which transformed into an indoor vineyard!(their words not mine). I remember that day as of it were yesterday and as we embraced New York’s winter air and ventured out into Times Square on Saturday afternoon we both remembered why we typically avoid Times Square on Saturday afternoons. If you don’t like crowds perhaps this experience is not for you. We had 8 pm tickets and had to stand in somewhat of an annoying line to get inside. Inside just as outside was bustling with Long Island, stay at home moms who finally had a night to themselves. Don’t get me wrong, you do you girl but for those of us who have the luxury of having an adult beverage anywhere, anytime, their enthusiasm was just a little unnecessary. 

The PlayStation theater was huge and we drank tons. At some point there was a live band, details are fuzzy. Also we made a mistake of eating Panera before which is also the day I, for the first time tried a bread bowl which btw is delicious!!! 

FYI if you go next year, there is food. See this is why I am here, to give you helpful pointers. We are talking cheese, pasta, salad, crackers and bread. By the time we wanted more food it was already the kind of food that has been sitting and breathed on for hours so a hard NO. Lesson learned - don’t eat before!!! 

Overall if you have a lot of time and don't mind large crowds with a lot, a lot, a lot of wine to try I do recommend. We made some friends and kept coming back to the same counter, took some boomerangs at a photo booth and tried blue wine. For more info Wine Wine Wine.
Because one wine fest is not enough, a week later JM and I bought another round of tickets to NYC Wine Fest for April 9th, also on Goldstar but this time for 14$.
Wine Fest #2
We had 6 pm tickets and this time did not eat. We met at The Tunnel (for those of you my age and spend your earlier years in NYC clubs, yes Tunnel!!! for those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, carry on) and as we walked in were slightly disappointed by the crowd and lack of wine tables. We drank some wine, snapped some selfies, I ate an overpriced lobster roll and we got yelled at by a man giving out champagne gummy bears. Quickly after we bounced to continue drinking at an East Village bar. Piece of advice to you all, skip this one as I do not recommend. If you don't want to listen to me but want to try for yourself Click here
If you think 2 wine fests later we were done, you don't know us at all. Recently I stumbled upon another $29 deal this time on Puls'd and immediately sent it to JM cuz #winebesties. We had some other girls join us and after we met on a sunny, hot Saturday at Second Floor on June 15 at 1 pm, I had quickly realized this event is #BasicAF (I say as I use "hashtag basic"). Out of the 3, probably my favorite although I have had the least amount to drink.
Wine Fest #3
The wine was all Portuguese and the event was very Instagram worthy. From trendy dressed (for the most part) couples and group of friends, to a very sophisticated glass, to some very nice food tastings (dumplings and mochi ice cream just to name few), and a nice outdoor space where you can boomerang as many times as you need to get that perfect story, I definitely pick this one over the rest. To plan for next year Go here.

Few tips: Buy discount tickets in advance, they do sell out, bring a large enough purse to carry the glass home when you are done (if you are into that sort of a thing), don't drink on an empty stomach & have fun fun fun!!!

As always,

Daydream and Wander