The Expovina wine exhibition takes place every November on wine boats docked along Lake Zurich. I…read moredidn't go at all in 2011, but I went 3x in 2010. Mostly because each time I was with a different group of friends who wanted to attend. (This reminds me of back in the day when I watched Robin Hood Prince of Thieves 6x in the theater for the same reason. Thank goodness my crush on Christian Slater was enough to overcome the annoyance of staring at Kevin Coster over and over again on the big screen. :P) Since I am a complete wine novice, I have no clue what I'm doing at these things. So my excursions mostly involved tagging along behind my friends as they swirled, sniffed, and sipped their way to glory. Mostly wine, but also champagne. So, as a wanna-be foodie, I will now write about what catches MY attention--food. Expovina was my first time trying Chäschüechli, a Swiss small cheese cake/pie baked in a buttery crust and loaded with calories. Sprinkled with fresh cracked pepper and a generous dash of paprika, this stuff left my mouth in a greasy bliss. My second visit resulted in a stopover at the Fondue- und Racletteschiff «Panta Rhei» for Raclette, Fondue, and yup--you guessed it-- more wine. The stench of cheese was a bit smothering as you first stepped onto the boat, but once we sat down with the food and drinks, all was soon forgotten. I would say even if you are not a wine connoisseur, Expovina could be fun to check out with some friends. Or, if you don't want to go in, you can just walk around Bürkliplatz and see all the action from outside the boats while enjoying a lovely view of Lake Zürich. :)

First, let me say that the joint was packed! All boats were swelling with visitors and May C. and…read moreI had a difficult time finding a spot at any number of the producers' tables. I think we went in and out of two boats before deciding to push through to a third boat, both literally and figuratively, and making a claim on area with Italian, Portuguese, and Slovenian wine producers. We experienced some lovely wines delivered by both engaging and not-so-engaging wine folk. What a difference an attitude makes! I sort of felt like I spent more time jockying for position than I did focusing in on wine selection and that sort of took a bit of the allure out of the evening. Had it not been for May C. navigating us through the crowds like a pro, I might have given up on the whole thing and scurried on home wine-free. (I'm told that the boats will sail on down to Zug next week. Maybe Zug would have a more relaxing vibe? I might check it out.)