What did you do this weekend? I attended the 9th Annual Naperville Wine Festival and while I drank some wine, listened to some music, ate some food and met and talked to a bunch of fellow winos, I was doing so for charity – the Naperville Area Humane Society.
For the first time in its 9-year history it was held at CityGate Centre. Now, a lot of winos I talked to didn’t know where or what that was, but I had been there a couple of times for my OTHER favorite W word – women (I had attended the Two K Productions fashion show there the last two years). Great idea I thought – the fest gets a great outdoor venue and the property gets some much-needed exposure for its gorgeous Hotel Arista and the upscale Sugartoad Restaurant.
Well, I had a blast! Once I paid my $35 for 10 tastes and a souvenir glass to take home, I entered to see there were like 50 white tents setup all along the perimeter of grassy field as big as a football field. There was a stage featuring live music to one end where I caught a little of the Lloyd Dobler Effect between sips (any Cusack fans catch the reference?). This was my first time so I hadn’t attended the fest when it was at its old venue, the “Naper Settlement”, but most veteran winos I talked to agreed the fest was way roomier and much better organized for your drinking pleasure.
Each white tent had 6 or so wines to taste – do the math – there were over 300 wines from all around the world to taste, including wines from local favorites Lynfred & Cooper’s Hawk. Each new tent introduced you to another eager wine expert whose only agenda was to educate you while making sure that you were having fun. No wine snobs here!
If you missed it you can always attend its sister fest – the Windy City Wine Festival. It’s coming September 9th & 10th and here you’ll be sipping wine around Buckingham Fountain with the Chicago skyline as your backdrop. Be cool and get your tickets ahead of time to save $8! See you there!
