Treasure Island WineFest

First year it’s been called Lodi Uncorked. Yummy food and wine! Been here a few years, and this last year was pretty good. There was plenty of food, though a little less variety than the second year (the best year so far in my opinion!) and third year. Quit a few pourers left early this year, and they ran out of bags very early. It was unfortunate because I would have bought more olive oils and such with those more durable reusable bags. Traffic was awful in the city, so we showed up about an hour after the event started, and it felt like the event was already winding down a bit unfortunately. It seemed like this year there was a rush at the start, and then people just got a bit drunk and silly. In past years it felt more like a wine tasting event, rather than such a free for all.
With that said, the wine was still great, there were some fabulous vendors, and the location is perfect to watch Fleet Week. The band was fun.
Overall, a fun and worth the funds event yet again.

Great wine event on treasure island! 2 tents full of over 200 wines to sample, good food and live music!
Once on treasure Island, WineFest was easy to find with multiple signs pointing you in the right direction. Once you’re there, they have ample free parking with attendants showing you the next available spot.
Entering the event was very easy and well organized. They gave people info on the vendors, free reusable totes with WineFest logo, as well as an event glass from Lodi.
Now this is where the fun begins… WineFest is during fleet week and is timed perfectly so you are able to watch the airshow while enjoying the breathtaking and serene view of the sf city skyline with the bay and golden gate bridge in sight.
Each tent had tons of wineries surrounding the display of catered buffet food including: pasta w/​red sauce, chilled Asian noodles, cheese and salami, an assortment of bread and crackers and whole roasted garlic, just to name a few. The inside tent had a great 2 man acoustic band playing the entire time.
There was also a couple of outside seating areas to bring your food and wine and just sit outside and enjoy the day. Also outside there was wood-​fired pizza for purchase and free wine seminars given every hour. The outside area was where people gathered to watch the blue angels fly directly overhead. So close we could even read «US Navy» on the underside of the planes.
The reason this event was given a 4 not a 5 was because of two downfalls. The first and most important reason was because some (not all, not even most) of the vendors were very rude. Some vendors, not sure if its our age, would practically look through us and just automatically help other people standing behind us. We weren’t even acknowledged. The other reason was (which we know is out of the hands of the event coordinators, but still put a damper on the experience) the occasional sonic booms that felt and sounded like an explosion. It was really startling, even the event staff was shocked and looking around for damage done. It only happened twice but it was scary and left our hearts pounding for awhile after.
All in all it was a fabulous event. So amazing watching the blue angels swoop elegantly under the golden gate bridge and through the wide open blue sky while enjoying a plethora of great wine and yummy food. We cannot wait for next year!

The concept of this event is good. A wine festival on Treasure Island during fleet week with the Blue Angels flying overhead, and unlimited wine tastings. Sounds good right?
The reasons why it wasn’t so good:
Extremely crowded
not enough wineries for the amount of people
The food which seemed to be of good quality was sparse
when the food arrived people swarmed it like they had never eaten and it was gone.
The worst of all:
no tongs, serving spoons, toothpicks on anything!
People were grabbing food from the platters with their fingers including things covered in sauce!
It was so disgusting, and if there is not a massive outbreak of h1n1 from everyone who attended I will be surprised.