Hudson Valley Food and Wine Fest

This was our first time attending the Hudson Valley Food & Wine Fest and Craft Beer Fest (awesomely combined into one) at the Dutchess County fairgrounds. Several cars were making U-​turns at what seemed to be the main entrance with the Dutchess County fairgrounds signage, as the actual entrance to the festival was another block away. The cars overflowed in the parking area quickly and a line formed at the ticketing gate shortly before 11am. As we were part of the opening crowd, the line moved fairly quickly and we sported our orange colored wristbands for the wine and beer activities.
The event staff handed each attendee the appropriate wine and/​or beer glasses, as yellow wristbands indicated only water/​soda, purple for wine only, and orange for wine and 5 beer tickets (woohoo!) And off we went to the large tented areas to sample local wines and food. We had so many tastings of both wine and food that I don’t even remember all the names. The PA system was also a good idea for the event because the announcements for cooking demonstrations and wine pairings were fun and informative. At the beginning we were also given labels for the wines we bought during the event so that they could be picked up at a central location afterward, eliminating the hassle of carrying all of it around.
A bunch of Hudson Valley food trucks were present and we found a few vendors interesting. Although the prices were festival prices, it kept us full and allowed us to space our drinks out. Bathrooms were well cleaned and there was an attendant … making sure no one got stuck on the toilet (just kidding!)
There were several beer and wine glasses dropped during the event but luckily they were quickly cleaned up by the event staff. I witnessed a few craft beer ticket holders unable to take advantage of all 5 tasting tickets and gave them graciously away to other beer lovers. But of course I didn’t allow ours to be wasted! I recall having multiple IPAs, pumpkin ale, pumpkin cider, pear cider, hard cider, lavender cider, hibiscus cider, and a few more. As you can tell I am a huge fan of ciders but my favorite was the lavender cider from Awestruck (Gravity Ciders)…clear and crisp notes were present. My 2^nd favorite was the pumpkin cider from Downeast. The pumpkin flavor was evidently pleasant and the apple gave it a subtle tart taste. I noticed Nine Pin was there and had their newest Hunny Pear cider for sale but no sampling because they are a limited batch :-(
Would I come to the festival again? Yes! It was a fun experience and an eye opener as so many local wineries/​cideries/​breweries were showcased. Looking forward to more food and drink events! Is there a better combination?