@movernie
Have you been to Wine Fest Toronto? If you haven’t, I recommend you to purchase tickets to enjoy this annual summer event. What I like about this event is that….you pay a ticket, and you get to enjoy all-you-can-taste wine from around the world.
This year is even more special as LCBO, the main government liquor stores staff were on strike across all the stores, which means, there are limited ways to get wine and beer. Thus, Wine Fest Toronto becomes even more important allowing the thirsty drinkers samples of wine from around the world. No LCBO, no problem!
That’s right! You didn’t heard it wrong, it’s all-you-can-taste (AYCT), like, is that even legal you may ask, yes it is, coz they are samples, you can drink as much as you want and they serve food with food trucks. Of course, you got to pace yourself and drink responsibly. Don’t drink and drive. I highly urge anyone who is attending Wine Fest Toronto to take an Uber or other public transportation.
How It Works?
You purchase a tix to enter Wine Fest Toronto, it goes from Friday, Saturday to Sunday, you choose a specific timeslot, there is 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM afternoon or evening. We went on the afternoon as we prefer to enjoy wine while in the daylight and the sun. Honestly, 3 hours of all-you-can-drink is enough, there will be lineups to sample a wine but lineups aren’t that bad, but reasonable.
At the entrance, they scan your e-Ticket, then security check your bags to ensure you don’t bring anything unsafe. I brought a bottle of water as I worry about being dehydrated, the security guard said I have to finish drinking the water before entry and they said you can get water inside. Although I didn’t see any water station as I was busy mingling with people and lining up for wine, so I can’t conclude if they have any water station. Although, I know when an event is serving any alcohol, they have to sell or provide water to prevent people from being hydrated and faint. After you have clearance, the staff at the entrance will hand you an empty glass where you will need to keep it with you and you try various wines.
Wines are pretty much from around the well-known regions. There were wines from California, Argentina, South Africa, New Zealand, Chile, France and other European countries. And of course, our home grown wine from the Niagara-on-the-Lake regions.
Many offers white wine, red wine, rose and other unique flavours such as White Malbec from Argentina, which was refreshing and my favourite wine of the day.
What if you don’t like wines? Well…first of all, it doesn’t make sense that you pay a ticket for a wine event and doesn’t like wine. Anyhow, they do offers vendors selling cocktails, beer and seltzer as alternatives.
In terms of food, I saw people ordering food from the Filipino Kitchen, tacos, jerk Chicken, sausages and more.
It was super cool when we got to chat with the mastermind behind the planning and organizing this annual Wine Fest Toronto, her name is Angela (aka Super Wine Girl). I know Angela way long time ago when she took many of the media people on a coach bus to the Niagara-on-the-Lake region to taste wines and to learn about different wineries. I learned a lot from Angela and she is definitely very passionate and knowledgeable about wines from around the world.
We asked Super Wine Girl if there are wines that we should be aware or should try, she recommended the white Malbec from Argentina. I luv Malbec but most are red, so I was super excited to try the white Malbec, it’s refreshing. I enjoyed it. The staff at the Argentina station told us that the locals in Argentina have been raving about white Malbec and it has been super trendy for the past few years.
Last year, the event took place at RendezViews, which is in the heart of Downtown Core, but personally, I prefer this Roundhouse Park as you are surrounded by Steamwhistle Brewery, CN Tower, Rogers Centre, Ripley’s Aquarium and the Rec Room. I feel like the vibe is more energetic and you would appreciate the view of the CN Tower when you look up.
The venue is spacious and very organized and orderly, there was a potty area for washrooms, then food trucks, followed by various stations serving wines, there was a caricature station. I really enjoyed the DJ station as it was located at the top of the slope, you can’t miss it, then beside it, there was the “Wine Fest” signage. Lots of lawn areas for people to sit on.
The only drawback with this setup is that…there are hardly any chairs or sitting areas and if it rains, you are pretty much soaked as there are no indoor shelter area, so you better treat this event as if you are going to an outdoor concert.
MoVernie TIP: Check the weather report being heading to Wine Fest Toronto. Dress accordingly, bring an umbrella or poncho or wear a sweater if it’s chilly at night. Also, eat and fill up your stomach before you go there. You can order food from the food trucks but there maybe lineup or the options aren’t as readily as if you eat it at home or at an eatery nearby. Moreover, I function much better when food is in my stomach ahead of time to be ready to absorb the wine samples.
If you never been to Wine Fest Toronto, I highly recommend you to purchase tickets next year and experience it yourself.
Wine Fest Toronto – Round House Park, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Website
Address: 255 Bremner Blvd, Toronto, ON M5V 3M9
Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Fj2TuDWrn5jrC366A
