Portland Indie Wine And Food Festival

What is there to say about a room full of small/​independent wineries that survive a tough juried entry, a small but robust selection of P-town’s top restaurants, and, well, hordes of wine lovers?
A lot.
But I can keep this one short and sweet — Portland Indie Wine and Food Festival is an event I’ve been admiring from afar for years and I finally got to attend today, and I am sure as hell glad I did. I love being face-​to-​face with a refined selection of wines many of which I know nothing about. New, small-​batch, and downright obscure wineries offer pours of everything that northwest grapes have to offer. Lots of pinot, some interesting whites, a few random syrahs, and a random mish-​mash of the rest.
The event itself is very well-​executed and organized. The wines are carefully arranged and the signage is color coded to distinguish between the newbs, the alumni and the food — which makes navigating between this staggering number of wineries much easier than many of the other festivals I hit. Check-​in is quick and organized, you get a cool passport and pencil for notes, and a nice big glass for your tasting needs. The flow of the space is good with the only downside being the bathroom sitch — not enough potties for a crowd that’s drinking so heavily. Otherwise it’s on point.
This is surely an event I won’t be missing again next year. It’s simply an awesome place to learn about new wines.