New York Wine Expo & Tasting: February 27-28, New York

OK New Yorkers, listen up. Most of the time, America looks your way with envy. You've got the best restaurants, the best films, the best theater, the best art scene, it goes on and on. But one thing you ain't got so much of is good public wine tasting events. Which is why there's always a bit of jealousy in the voices of my friends in New York when we talk about the wine events that happen every month or so here in San Francisco.

So here's your chance to fix that in a big way: The New York Wine Expo. It's big, it's commercial, and it's busy, but it's one of the few chances New Yorkers have to really try a lot of wines in one place.

Regular readers are quite used to my mantra about such tastings. They represent singularly valuable opportunities to educate your palate. Try 40 Merlots and decide whether you really do prefer Pinot. Decide what style of Chardonnay you care for. Try wine made from the Alicante Bouschet grape for the first time. And so on.

The attentive attendee can come away with a much improved palate, not to mention a list of wines to go out and buy that are pre-screened as delicious.

The New York Wine Expo will feature more than 170 different wineries pouring hundreds of different wines, alongside chefs and food purveyors of different kinds. There are also seminars you can sign up for if you want a little more formal education than what you can get by just tasting a lot, plus cooking demonstrations and more.

And just for being a Vinography reader, you get a discount on tickets. Simply use the coupon code VIN10 to get a $10 discount on the price of the Grand Tasting.

Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York City
Friday, February 27, 2009 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Saturday, February 28, 2009 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM
655 West 34th Street, New York, NY 10001

Tickets can (and should) be purchased online in advance. Don't forget to use the code VIN10 for a discount before February 26th.

My usual tips for such public tastings apply: get a good night's sleep; come with a full stomach; wear dark clothes; drink lots of water as you go; and spit if you want to enjoy yourself and learn something -- if you want to get drunk you can pay half as much at your local bar.

Posted by: Alder on February 14, 2009 2:37 PM: Tweet; Share this post elsewhere: Digg it! - Add to del.icio.us - Add to Stumbleupon - Add to Reddit; Filed under: Wine Activities

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Comments (6)

Jack wrote:

02.14.09 at 8:26 PM

Not an impressive list of "wineries" pouring. But there are SIX booths occupied by Cyprus; so if that's where you drink wine from, you are so golden.

And the web page for this is almost unreadable; the trick is to highlight the text so you can read it:
http://www.wine-expos.com/Wine/NY/wine-distributors/subpagelink.asp?xPID=608671618&PID=272551526&SHID=146703101.92373891

Jack wrote:

02.14.09 at 8:36 PM

Further reflection: This is not a tasting worth paying for. Unless you're dying to taste "Iron Chef" wines.

Dylan wrote:

02.16.09 at 12:17 PM

The Jacob Javits Center is a great place for conventions. I've been there in the past for an events hosted by WIRED magazine and Comic Con (No, I didn't dress up. And, yes I thought more people would be).

I'm not sure if it's the event organizer, or the center itself, but both experiences proved to leave plenty of elbow room and make for an enjoyable day.

Alvin Lewis wrote:

02.24.09 at 9:37 AM

It seems, from reviewing the exhibitor list, that New York wineries are well under-represented. The state's wine industry just doesn't seem to do enough for itself to market its own products even to itself. This should be an easy one to attend and a no-brainer. NY is the third largest wine producer in the country and markets like it is New Mexico. There certainly is a thing or two New York could learn from the example of San Francisco, that is how to market its own wine to its own major cities. And yes, I am envious.

Kat wrote:

02.26.09 at 5:31 PM

I attended this last year. Entertaining, but no wines that jumped off the table and grabbed me. Mostly huge wineries with product that one would find in an Olive Garden or Red Lobster, rather than Bar Boulud or French Laundry.

I'm giving it a pass this year. Most of the wines will probably show up again at one of the Southern or Lauber portfolio tastings.

Chicago Pinot wrote:

02.26.09 at 9:27 PM

>>The state's wine industry just doesn't >>seem to do enough for itself to market >>its own products even to itself.

I suspect that's the case with most U.S. states. In fact, I would extend the example to most local produce; how many communities have an active, professionally run campaign to encourage its citizens to embrace the local food options?