Connecticut Wine Festival

Contrary to the reviews, 2014 seemed to have turned a new wine grape Leaf. I was able to get many pours, sometimes generous pours from each vendor. I was also very very inundated with the amount of wine knowledge given by the staff. The food trucks had some great food — BBQ, Bison burger, Apple fritters, chocolate covered bacon and Faddy’s donuts. The staff were pretty chill, friendly and sociable. I had an amazing time!

Previous reviews have the story right. These folks just don’t really know how to run a wine festival. They say they will incorporate recommondations in next year’s festival, and don’t. Once again the festival gates will not open until the pouring starts. Thus, there will be long line of pissed off people waiting to get in. Well run festivals open a half hour before pouring starts to avoid lines. Wineries can only bring four wines. Let them bring what they want. People can not bring their own food. What do you care? It’s no wonder more wineries don’t attend.

Once again the Ct. Wine Festival has been reduced to a free– for– all to get drunk.
The number of wineires that participate in the scrum @ Goshen has fallen again.
I submit that this event no more represents the wineries around the state than does your local watering hole. The primary objective of the majority of the attendees to this event is to get drunk. Most do not inquire about the wine and even more do not purchase wine.
Several of the bigger wineries in the state use this event as a showcase for THEIR business. They are always located at the same strategic spots in the buildings. They have the first shot at the drinkers and can take advantage of the flow of traffic and cooler air as they enter the metal buildings.
The festival would be better if the entire property could be used by the wineries. Let each winery set up a tent on the outside grounds. This would help eliminate the crush of the crowds trying to line up at a 15 foot table.
The festival has become a joke. Please tell me why only a fraction of the state’s 36 or so wineries participate?

Let’s start by saying Ive never been to a wine festival. I had glorious expectations. I pictured something Kentucky Derby –esque and alas I was was sadly mistaken. It was more like if the Big E had a wine tent. It was a gorgeous day which was nice. «Admission includes a commemorative festival wine glass (Tasting Ticket only), tote bag, specialty food samples» But there were no specialty food samples??? Where was my swag? Disappointment. *sigh*
The wine tastings were split between 2 air conditioned, stables? barns?. Something resembling the Big E. It was organized chaos… moooo. It was almost better to just buy a $ 5 glass of wine at each booth than to be squished amongst the many hoards of tasters. However, we were able to get through all the tasting booths and have gourmet grilled cheeses in about 2 hours time.
oh the ticket mentioned entertainment. where? when? We made our rounds, we drank we ate, we left. It was an experience but not sure I would return. It’s a much better experience to travel to each vineyard.

I looked forward to this festival for a year after getting caught in a thunderstorm there last year. I couldn’t wait to go again so I could experience the full festival. After my visit this year I realized I truly didn’t miss much last year… Don’t get me wrong, the vineyards (for the most part) were great! Its the endless crowds of rude people cutting and shoving making the event feel like a rock concert mosh pit!!! The heat in the TIGHTLY packed hangars make it all the more unbearable. And to think my girlfriend and I went out of our way to visit every vineyard last year just to get free tickets to this. A mistake we won’t make again… At the end of the day I would have rather just gone to a vineyard a

I think this is a great idea but execution needs some work.
First, the positive. Lots of CT wineries represented (more than last year because the gorgeous weather didn’t create a field of mud), excellent food trucks, vendors (many selling crafts with a cork or wine bottle theme) and well-​maintained restrooms — not portapotties, hooray!
$ 30 admission included a CT Wine Festival branded tote with a wine glass, plus tastings at all wineries represented. While this was a lovely idea, it translated to mobs of people clustered around each winery’s table, each receiving a full tasting with explanations of each wine. Again, great idea but it ended up leading to TONS of people waiting, shoving, etc. Oh how quickly a classy wine event can decline to mirror the feel of a frat party.
Also, could the lady representing Taylor Brook winery BE any ruder? After my first tasting, I gave up on worming my way through the crowds and instead opted to buy wine by the glass (shout out to Hopkins vineyard for their lovely Westwind!). As I’ve been to Taylor Brook in the past, I ordered a glass of wine (can’t remember which, but one they had available) and the gal at the register snapped at me and «suggested that I do the tasting first.»
Nope. I went straight back to Hopkins.
Overall, the cost of admission wasn’t worth the frustration of the crowds.

We didn’t listen to the irate man out front, shouting at newcomers that it was too crowded and too regulated to appreciate a sample of anything, and that the cost of admission wasn’t worth it.
Why, in a state that generally treats its citizens like adults, among a people celebrated for their decorum and good sense, where I can legally glug Rob Roys on the highway, why, I implore the viticultural authorities of this improbable vineland, WHY are we beholden to a paternalistic list of Can’ts and Don’t You Dares?
Can’t sample more than four wines per winery. (Cuz the winery is barred from offering five.)
Can’t pour from a bottle without one of those retarded little plastic half-​ounce regulator caps, engineered by MADD and Women’s Temperance for 90% less fun.
Can’t purchase more than a dentist’s cup of wine to drink at a time, They call it a «short-​pour» and it’s $ 5.
Don’t you dare get caught a-​sippin’ if you’re DD – the gestapo catches you endangering lives by swilling a combined wine total of one Dixie cup, and they throw your ass out.
Don’t you dare open that bottle you just purchased. Get caught imbibing local agriculture, and they throw your supportive ass out.
Don’t you dare sweat too much in the summer heat or drink too much wine (yeah right). Water must be purchased from vendors who must first purchase it from the Festival, at a price dictated by the same. Ice sold separately in some far-​flung merchandise tent.
Rules about how many and how much of a sample you can have, how you can purchase wine and what you may do with it – especially when posted in bold-​face on enormous placards – are insulting to civilized people and stink of distrust. Come on, guys, what do you think this is, MASSACHUSETTS???
The pushing and shoving for wine and food samples is frightful, and I passed on some tastings so as not to be a part of it. The chaos is made all the worse by the humidity in the stuffy barns. And once you’re in, be prepared to move with the herd. There’s really no place to stop and stand. Try not to moo.
I don’t remember many wines that I sampled, or that I did indeed sample many wines, but I thought they were mainly pretty bad: flavorless whites that stung the gums, strangely spiced rosés, cloying fruit concoctions, and reds that tasted of the set-​up to a punchline that never came. Against instinct, I swallowed something from a bottle marked «New Haven.»
I am puzzled as to why Connecticut does wine or what possessed it to start in the first place. The more I wonder, the less I understand. (Perhaps I am late to the party; Niles & Frasier were ripping Connecticut champagne back in season 2.)
For my date, the high point of the day was the food truck serving local bison burgers. For me, it was stopping at Action Wildlife to pet the animals on the way home. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we went to CoWFest. Now that I know what I’m not missing, I never have to go again. I do drink regularly from my souvenir wine glass, beautifully etched so that even on Franzia’s home-​stretch, I will always recall that goofy, disappointingly sober circus from whence it came.
Don’t let the war stories scare you; go at least once, I mean, if you really want to. Put on your biggest smile – you’ll need all the good cheer you can muster to navigate the sweating hordes – and expect the unexpected! Cuz, well, who was expecting Connecticut wine, anyway? (But don’t expect too much.) You get a complimentary souvenir wine glass for sampling, and hey that’s something.
****Update, of sorts: I’ve been ruminating the whys and hows of Connecticut wine, the intrigue growing each time I pass a scrubby, pint-​sized vineyard, & fed by local media’s ballyhooing of CT as the Dionysian dynamo of the frosty North. Bewildered French & Californian friends concluded «c’est pas possible» and that the situation was «hella fishy.» An Internet search yields 5 decades of history of the modern CT wine industry, beginning with its birth via legislative decree in 1978. I hate to spoil a truly fascinating read, but my pal’s Cali-​cool dismissal of CT wine was largely validated: much (read: most) «Connecticut wine» isn’t really Connecticut wine. Not even close. In fact, our permissive labeling practices run afoul of stricter federal rules, which is why few wines are sold out-​of-​state. Harsh economic & climatic realities have led to progressive deterioration of standards and enforcement of how homegrown is homegrown – a farcical, hair-​of-​the-​dog treatment to stave off of a looming hangover that would’ve seen licenses revoked industry-​wide, with just 1 or 2 exceptions. Sadly, some of CT wine’s earliest pioneers have quietly spun an industry & agri-​chic narrative from deceptive practices masquerading as local pride. It truly is a shame for those winemakers who are making an honest effort.
Wanna try your hand at wine? 2 vineyards in Litchfield County are currently on the market. One’s a biggie.

Anyone who has been to other wine festivals in the region knows that the Connecticut Wine Festival just plain stinks. Here’s a complete list of reasons why.
–The Connecticut Wine Trail has 24 wineries. Thirteen showed up this year. Given the diminuitive size of the state of Connecticut, that’s absolutely pathetic.
–Any given winery could offer no more than a paltry four wines for tasting. Given the fact that most wineries make 6 – 10 wines a season, that’s absolutely pathetic.
–Those goddamn half-​ounce socialist-​régime wine pourers, mandated on every bottle. Given the fact that other wine festivals let the WINERY choose how generous to pour, that’s absolutely pathetic.
–Connecticut annually proves it simply cannot produce a palatable red wine. That’s absolutely pathetic.
–If you want more than an ounce of wine, your only choice is to buy an overpriced short-​pour glass for $ 5. If you bought a whole bottle, you weren’t allowed to open it at the fairgrounds! Are you KIDDING me? Absolutely pathetic.
–Trying to get a taste of wine was like the trading pit at the New York Commodities Exchange. Pushing and shoving through the crowds, haplessly sticking your wine glass out over the table, hoping that someone with a bottle was paying attention. Clearly, they sold too many tickets to an event with not enough wineries, yet another way to control the flow of alcohol to a slow dribble.
In short: the complete lack of trust exhibited by the Marxist beauracrats running this circus was as plainly obvious as it was loathesome. This is the level of social control to expect at punk concerts and Philadelphia Phillies games… not a wine tasting in rural Connecticut.
The ONE bright spot was the wine tasting class, which featured a short lesson, a few exclusive wines, and most importantly, no stingy wine pourers…
But other than that, forget it. For my $ 30, I would honestly rather buy two decent bottles of wine, take them to a secluded area, and drink in peace.

The Connecticut Wine Festival embodies both the good and not-​so-​good of the Connecticut Wine Trail. Luckily, at least in my opinion, the good far, far outweighed the not-​so. With roughly half of the «official» CT Wine Trail vineyards participating, the Festival was a terrific way to try the best wines from each vineyard in one central location. Each vineyard had its own large table, and offered roughly four samples from its current stock. Bottles were also available for purchase, and the price of admission ($ 25 at the door, less online in advance) included a logo glass and a reusable cloth wine caddy, which held six bottles. This was a great price, considering a single «on-​site» tasting will run anywhere between $ 5-​$ 10.
My friend and I found the place to be quite crowded on Saturday, and understandably so. The finesse with which the crowds were handled varied from table to table, as some were obviously better equipped, and more willing, to deal with a high volume of patrons. At some tables, we waited in crowds several people deep, and were treated less than graciously by the pourers. (I won’t name names, but I will say that my previous Wine Trail reviews are an indication of which vineyards’ employees are consistently rude.) However, other pourers were clearly thrilled to be there, and happy to chat about their products. The crowds also seemed to ebb and flow throughout the day, and there were certainly many times when there was no waiting period at all.
Local crafts and other goods were also on display for sale throughout, which was nice. There were food vendors as well, but for the most part, the offerings were somewhat iffy– with the exception of one, maybe two places, it was primarily carnival-​type food.
I’m looking forward to next year’s Wine Festival, and think it’s a particularly good event for those unfamiliar with CT wine, as well as those who want to enjoy the novelty of sampling wine from all over the state in one convenient place.