The Burger Blast was...a blast! Great variety of burgers from the India K'raja awesome veggie burger to the massive Mosaic masterpiece, there was something for every palate. The beer selection was terrific. My personal favorite #sidamo coffee stout by Hardywood. Never made it to the wine tables because of super long lines. Next year the organizer should consider doubling up on the wine offerings. Music was provided by Griff's band and they were really fun. They took standard favorites like Elvis's hound dog and gave it a folk/bluegrass twist. Music was a nice addition to this year's event. read more

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Super thanks to Yelp Richmond for running a FB contest to win tickets to this event beacuse I won!!! That's right two free tickets to the Virginia Wine Expo!!! I found out I won 24 hours before the event. Babe! !! Road trip! !! I didn't mind driving up from Chesapeake to attend this event in Richmond. This event is world renowned so heck yeah we're game to attend. Parking was a beast!! We arrived about 2pm and the event I believe started about 10am. So yeah we were super late and knew we would have to deal with ridiculous lines for the wine sampling. But no worries... We were blessed to run into a man that was coming out of one of the pay to park lots and he offered to give us his paid for parking voucher. A free voucher for 3 hours...yaWhoooooooo!!! So let's do the math...free tickets valued at $55 each and now free parking...Oh we are in store for an awesome Saturday! ! I didn't do my research on this event, but if we ever return again I'll be ready. They offered private samplings throughout the day and I believe I saw evening tastings too. These tastings included food sampling as well. Bummer...most we sold out too. I believe about 20 openings were available for each private sampling. I'm sure this made an awesome time for a day date or date night. I saw something about a burger blast not sure what that is, but mad we missed that too. I tell yeah it was a lot going on and I'm sorta disappointed we didn't get the full wine expo experience. So definitely do your research before you attend. But we're checked in and wristband ready!! I was able to get a free wine bag that holds up to 6 bottles of wine...ahmazing! !! We picked up our crystal wine glasses...they were beautiful!!! We didn't know where to start. Let's start where the lines are the shortest. As time went on no lines were short so be ready to wait. Patience indeed. All the wine and malt liquor you can stand...this is the event for you! Every 10 minutes it seemed you'd hear a loud roar or cheer even. I thought some kind of contest was going on but nope!! Wine glasses were being dropped left and right, therefore, cheers if you will! ! :) Amongst the wineries different vendors were present and my fav there was Yelp!!! Heyyyy Bevin! !! She was the Yelp ambassador present on Saturday afternoon. She was awesome at greeting guests and telling them more about Yelp. She also had some cool swag to pass out to those that expressed interest. But the highlight at the table, Yelp provided beads and stems to make wine jewelry!! Fun fun fun!! I'd definitely recommend this event. And wear comfy shoes and eat lite before arriving. Have fun :) read more

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This is my 2nd year going to this and I love it. This year, it was a lot less crowded than last. There were certainly lines for a lot of the vendors but it went by pretty fast and if you looked carefully, there was always empty spaces at random different vendors. There were plenty of wine vendors options as well as a few ciderys too. If you are looking for knick knacks and food, there were plenty of those as well. This year they featured a lot of different wines from Cali and Spain. These were wines that you could get from a store (like Total Beverage or BevMo) but not at the expo. A lot of vendors also did will call, so you could purchase as much as you liked and then pick it up before leaving. Last year, if you broke your wine glass, it was free, but this year it was $5 to replace. Throughout the day, you'll hear random cheering, it's bc someone broke a glass. If you grabbed your tickets early this year, they had a sale on Groupon for almost half off! Retail for this is around $50. Grabbing an Uber or Lyft is also not a problem outside. Many people were being picked up and dropped off at the same time. We also stayed til the end when the expo closed and it wasn't bad at all getting a ride. read more

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This is an event that I look forward to every year. This is now a six-day affair with luncheons, dinners and parties on and off-site away from the Convention Center. Choose wisely the day you go to the Walk-Around Grand Tasting. If you go on Saturday, expect crazy, heavy crowds of happy, wine-swilling (and spilling) people! Sunday is much less crowded and you can actually sample everything from every booth! The risk of going on Sunday, though is that some of the booths might run out of portions of their stock, so some tastings can be limited. This year, there seemed to be a larger number of wineries present that I'd never heard of! My favorite is still Barboursville, and their sommelier was lively and charming. There are also booths for sampling cheese, nuts and other foods. There was a hat booth, cigar booth, a jewelry booth, two booths that turned wine bottles into serving dishes, and more! Virginia Lottery was even on site! I wonder if anyone bought a winning ticket there? Plenty to keep you entertained. Cheers! read more

A really fun event with excellent wine and ciders and a large but agreeable crowd of winos. After visiting nearly every winery surrounding Charlottesville, I was thrilled to be able to taste some of them back-to-back, along with other wineries all over Virginia, at the annual Virginia Wine Expo. The inclement weather might have scared some of the crowd away as my group of friends were able to taste wines with minimal waiting times. The quality of the wines and tastings varied from winery to winery. Some of my favorites were Lovingston, Bold Rock, Barboursville (people complained about a separate tasting fee to try their Octagon red, along with three other reds, but hey Octagon is $60 a bottle and you get what you pay for), Cardinal Point, Burnley, Gabriele Rausse, and Well Hung Vineyard. The pours here were generous and the wine excellent. Overall, it was a well run event with all you can drink wine (make sure you carbohydrate up and drink plenty of water before AND after...you'll thank me later). The only disappointment was the Yelp table - chap sticks and wine glass charms guys? That's it? Get with the program and give out some of that yelp swag I know ya'll have. read more

Virginia Wine Expo - Festivals Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

7th year going to the Virginia Wine Expo but first year pregnant. We go on Sundays for lesser crowds and you can actually hear what the vendors have to say about the different wines and answer questions if you have any. The first two years we tried going Saturdays but you could barely get your glass in for a tasting or hear anything. They have a café with decent prices on a variety of foods. This is where I spent most of my time in between sips. The Panini was excellent! I love coming every year because you have vineyards close and far but all in Virginia. Our grapes grown on this side definitely give California competition so go and enjoy! Also if your going with a friend but not huge on wine you will also find a few cider options as well. -Few tips if its your first time- - Coat check offered for free when you get there -I like to carry the drawstring bag in stead of a purse because after a few drinks in you really don't want to have to carry anything or worry about losing stuff - Visit the wines you plan to purchase first because they sell so much on Saturday a lot of the vendors could be low on your favorites also after a few bottles in everything starts tasting the same and you might make purchases you normally would have not:) - If you are one to get on Amazon after a drunken night out and have random boxes show up to your door days later and not remember when or what you purchased well think of the wine expo the same way with delicious wines at your fingertip and ready to buy...if this describes you bring CASH instead of a card so you know how much you spent the next day. - Uber is your friend!! Or you can just have your pregnant friends as DD's haha - Takes lots of pictures for memories. I also like to get on the wine tasting list of wines from my favorite vineyards visited while here for prices and descriptions - Look to purchase tickets on Groupon or Living Social in advance to attend Saturday or Sunday events for cheaper prices than the Expo Website. I got ours this year on Groupon for $29.99 and last year on living Social for $39.99 both are better than paying the $45-49 on expo site. I don't think I forgot anything but if something comes up ill come back and edit. Definitely worth going to at least once. I cant speak on the food and wine pairings they have over the course of events I just attend the Walk Around. read more

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My first time to this event and it was awesome!! You need more than one day. I only did one day and didn't get through half of it. Next year 2 days. read more

Virginia Wine Expo - So sad... Lol don't worry I got another - Festivals Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

This was my first year going. I had a blast. I attend a lot of wine festivals in the area. It was great to see some familiar wineries and trying new ones. The Opening Night Burger Blast was fun. I would advise that you arrive when it starts. We got there at about 8:30 pm and only a few vendors had burgers left. We were able to get a few sliders though, drink wine, and enjoy the band. We attended the Saturday walk around tasting. The lines could get pretty long but you weren't standing in line for longer than 5 minutes. There's no organization to the lines, so if you're in a group, you have to kind of push yourself up to the front to stay together. It's easy to get separated. All of the other tasters were pretty nice, making sure there was room for as many people possible. The only complaint I have is that it's hard to hear the wineries' employees talk about the wine. There were tons of other vendors there. So make sure you bring money! I ended up buying homemade salad dressing, barbecue sauce, wine glasses, accessories, etc. All of this on top of bottles of wine. Nothing was really too expensive, but at the end of the day it added up. Also, if you don't want to carry your wine bottles around, you can ask the winery to send it to Will Call and you can pick up your bottles at the end of the day. Overall this was a fun experience! It was hilarious every time someone dropped their wine glass at the walk around tasting, the crowd would cheer the whole time. I can't wait to go again next year. I plan to attend more of the events! read more

Virginia Wine Expo - The dog of Peaks of Otter Winery and I were dressed alike. Make sure you earn your Kiss the Devil sticker when you visit them! - Festivals Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

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This was my first trip to the Virginia Wine Expo since 2009, and man have things changed. Virginia wineries are popping out of the woodwork, which is great, and many of the wineries in the far-reaches of the state (like the locations near the North Carolina border; a Virginia wine area I haven't visited yet) are present. The climate control of an indoor wine festival puts Virginia Wine Expo light years ahead of the outdoor festivals in the state. That said, it is now a three star experience. One problem is in the control of the Expo planners - the Will Call idea. I know wineries are there to move wine but it was utter madness at 5:30, when the will call booths opened. There are many groups attending the expo, and having the Will Call booths open earlier in the day would have minimized the lines. If someone picks up their shipment of wine early, and there is another person in the group, a "watch person" can be assigned to watch the bottles while sitting at a table in the convention center. Also, shutting off the tastings at 5:30 but advertising "tastings until 6" is misleading. The second problem is the people - the rows get congested and people seem to linger, wanting additional tastings, at each tasting booth. Plus the cheering whenever someone breaks a wine glass. Is everyone a child now? What is so funny and cheer-inducing about breaking a glass? Some winery booths featured the owners or winemakers pouring - those visits were a treat. But you could tell that the folks working behind the counters were dumbfounded by the idea of people cheering over breaking wine glasses. I suspect that plastic wine glasses will be used in the future to stop this. Plus imagine the money the Expo planners could save by not offering a free Riedel glass for every ticket holder. Sundays may be more laid back than Saturdays so it may be a Sunday trip next year to the Expo.... read more

Let me preface this review by saying that we needed to borrow the dolly from Wellmade Vineyards to get all our wine to the car, so you know I had a good time. We went on Sunday and while the crowds were large but not so that you had to wait more than 10-15 minutes for a tasting. While most of the wineries were set up so you could taste all the red and white options at once, Baboursville had a terrible set up. You went to one side of the table to try reds and then you went all the way to the other side to try whites. They were also the only ones I saw that were CHARGING a separate fee just for a pour. Listen, I know it's a more expensive wine, but don't bring it if you can't just include it in your tasting. What I REALLY liked was the ability to valet your wines at each booth ans then pick them up at the end of the day. I would like to see the addition of a service that would help you get your bottles to the car. If you buy more than a case it really is a logistical nightmare to get them to your car. We will most certainly be back next year. read more

There's no secret to avoiding the crowd, short of running through the Grand Tasting Floor during the last half hour, glass held aloft, indiscriminately demanding tastes of wineries. Not that I saw people doing this. The Expo is a great chance to try out wineries you've never been to before, engage in fun activities like special food or winery field trips, and gawk at the shirts you know that ladies have had picked out for months: "Forgive me, I have Zinned!" "How Merlot can you go?!" "Wine a little!" A very fun time is had by all. Best recommendations I can give are the following: 1) Wear good shoes. 2) Ignore the well known wineries, as they'll be packed. Go for the smaller wineries, you'll try something new and cover more ground. 3) Look at the whole calendar--there are some really fun events that go on throughout the Expo. 4) If you are going to purchase wine, be prepared for a wait at the end. Things are getting more and more organized each year, but there's still a wait for bottle pick up at the end. 5) Take a taxi if you think you'll need one. I imagine that nothing could ruin a lovely day of wine like flashing blue lights and a field sobriety test. read more

Bevin ( I hope I spelled her name right) was so awesome! The tips and suggestions she provided for actively participating in Yelp was greatly appreciated and the ChapStick is amazing! read more

This was my first experience at the Virginia Wine Expo and it was a great time! Where else can you try lots of Virginia wines while learning about each vineyard. If you are not a crowd person and want to attend the grand tasting, I highly recommend going on Sunday when it is more mellow. Sunday was still busy and for the more popular vineyards there was a short wait to taste. Most of the vineyard reps gave nice size tasting pours, so you could taste two sips of the wine...much appreciated! If you liked the wine, some vineyards offered wine by the glass in addition to selling bottles. I highly recommend checking out the VWE! It introduced me to some Virginia wines I was not familiar with and now love. It also gave me the opportunity to taste some high end Virginia wines that are typically out of my price range....now I know they are worth the splurge:) Another tid-bit...there is delish food available....both to taste and full meal size. I enjoyed an awesome gyro and baklava along with some samples of chocolate, sausage, peanuts, and lots of other yum things. Yes, it was an afternoon of decadence. Cheers! read more

An enjoyable social experience. I went on burger blast night and I wasn't super impressed with the burgers that were served. I did get full off of the burgers as I made my way around to most vendors. There were two locations who had a really good burger. The other places were A-ok. I think I was expecting more of a burger festival type of burger selections (hopefully that makes sense). Wine.... Well, I tasted more beer in a day than I ever have and I was at a wine festival. Why??? The amount of wine poured for the tasting was so small that I'm not even sure if I had enough to really taste the wine. I also wish that with the ticket purchase you received a free glass of wine as it just wasn't enough of a wine experience for the entry fee. The beer amount was pretty decent. Although I am a sweet beverager (yes made up word) I wish I was able to get more cider options. Overall, the space was a great size. And...it was great company. read more

Cool event....definitely packed with a lot of people and vendors...prepared to drink as much as you want all day. Prepare also stand in some lines...when you're taste testing all the vendors, everyone is eager to get their swig of wine. Overall it's a fun adult event...(don't bring your kids) read more

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I went on Sunday and arrived around noon although it opened at 11. My ticket was $45 purchased online the morning before. I can't believe I've lived in Richmond my whole life and never been. There was plenty of wine flowing. The vendors had some amazing samples. I tried delicious sausage, olives, pickles, and pound cake. When trying the wines, most of them are up for sale. You just pay and then you can pick the bottles up at the front just before you leave. No one left there sober. This is definitely an "adults only" event and worth every penny. read more

This expo has a great selection of wineries. I arrived early and was very impressed by the size of the wine glass they were giving out. It's much larger than you get at a normal winery or festival. The lines were not to bad at each table so I was able to taste a lot without much of a wait. I would still recommend arriving early as the crowd definitely gets a little rowdy towards the end. It's definitely more enjoyable with friends. They also have some concessions if you need a snack. I would definitely go back again next year. It's not too crowded and has a great selection of wines. read more

This is our second year there and we have a blast every time. It didn't seem like there were as many people this year but what do I know I had early admission so my counter was probably off (LOL). Anyways, looking forward to next year. It was set up nicely and the people were very nice. read more

Virginia Wine Expo - Festivals Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

Lots vendors, wineries, and tastings for both wine and food insiders. So much to do you will not get bored. I have never been able to taste all the wines in one day. Great fun with friends. read more

The Virginia Wine Expo is a great event, especially if you love wine. The Virginia Wine Expo features some of Virginia's top wineries. You're giving a nice crystal wine glass for wine tasting (souvenir) .Most of the booths have different wines you could sample and purchase. I enjoyed some of my favorite wines and found some new wineries I love. I found some unique combinations of wines at this event. I tasted everything from peach to chocolate covered strawberry wine. Water was placed throughout the venue to keep you hydrated. Also, you could find tabes and chairs to relax. The will call at the wine expo was a good idea. Once you purchased wine, you could will call it and pick it up at the end of the event. This made it easy to purchase wine and not worry about carrying around a lot of bottles. The wine was reasonably priced. I recommend bringing your own wine bag to the event. Besides wine some venders were selling desserts, food, and art .On Sunday, the event wasn't overly crowded. I like how the atmosphere wasn't too crazy. I was able to enjoy all the booths without being crowded. This event is amazing. If you're curious about wine or love wine, the Virginia Wine Expo is a great choice. read more

Virginia Wine Expo - My wine from the Virginia Wine Expo. - Festivals Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

I've been going to the grand tasting of the Va Wine Expo for the past 7 years and since the event has moved from the convenience of the Greater Richmond Convention Center to the Main Street Station, it has gone downhill. While the Main St. Station is a beautiful venue, it isn't the most feasible for such an event like this. At the convention center, the expo had more room and the restrooms were on the same floor; at Main St. Station, everything seems compact and close together and the bathrooms, which now feature long lines, are downstairs from where the expo is being held. The most significant change is that at the convention center, the grand tasting (for general admission) was from 12 noon - 6pm; at Main St. Station, it is shortened to 1pm-4:30pm. And tastings cutoff at 4pm so you're really only paying for a whopping 3 hours of tasting time!!!! Also, I don't know what was in the air this year but some of the vendors weren't as friendly and acted as if they were doing consumers a favor by even being present to pour wine. Unbelievable. In all my years of attending this event, this year has been the most disappointing; I definitely will not be attending next year, or any other year until they take the event back to the convention center. read more

This event was my first time attending and I had a good time. We had tickets which allowed us to arrive early which I definitely think was a plus because by the time the crowd started to arrive I had already had quite a few samples. The crowd was pretty chill, very friendly mix of ppl, Good vibes. So yeah, like I said it was a good time. Was it perfect, of course not. It could have had more food samples or even more food venders to buy from, I personally think maybe a nice jazz band playing in the back ground would have been nice to drown out some of the noise of the crowd, and to be honest some of the tastings were literally to small to taste, so much so that I heard a multiple ppl ask for more. But then again, on the other hand, some wineries were very giving so it balanced itself out. I'd definitely go again! read more

Absolutely love. I am new to wine but showed up with friends.... You learn quickly. Do not stop at every booth back to back... Take time to simmer..... And learn to maneuver.... Everyone is tipsy but grown so not craziness no judgements.... Just do not drop that $10 glass! I went on only one day, but do two days! Food there was excellent and not expensive at all like you would expect at an event. Coat check was horrible. They had no idea where my coat was or what it looked like. Glad I brought my bright blue leather jacket, saw it stuck under huge pile. read more

This was my second time attending. My sister and I meet halfway in Richmond. We always attend on Saturdays and stay at the Marriott. The hotel is VERY convenient and we always have a GREAT time!! This year we attended one of their signature events, Smoked, and it was AWESOME! We tasted some of the best smoked foods and hubby was happy tasting all the whiskeys. We always leave with a case of something and plans to visit the Virginia wineries that we visit. We also inevitably make a couple random friends throughout the day who add to the fun. There are food and other treat options throughout the convention center. Highly recommended read more

This is a must go to event. I went to the Burger Blast last night. It was good but the burger were the best when they are hot. There were not alot of wine to taste but plenty of beer. I am definitely coming back again next year. read more

Tons of vineyards, great venue, perfect size tastings.

The best event in Richmond, by far! So many great wines, you can't even get through the whole convention center in one day! Since it's in February, I consider this event to be Richmond's birthday gift to me. It seems pricey, at $50 per ticket, but it is well worth the cost. Go early, stay late, drink wine!! read more

I have volunteered and attended this event 2 years in a row. I can't wait for next year to roll around to go again! There are so many wine tastings under one roof! Folks really have a good time! read more

FUN FUN FUNNN!!!!!! OMG this was my first wine expo and it won't be my last. RVA wine expo was very organized. The crowd was also great, as the time passed by people were frequently dropping their wine glasses, every time someone dropped a glass, the whole building would yell "OOHH!" it was hilarious! People have said in earlier posts that usually Saturday for the Grand Tasting is when it's usually very crowded, but I didn't find it to be obnoxiously crowded to where you couldn't get to a sample booth if you had batman fighting with you through the crowds. There was a decent crowd of wine guzzlers, not so worried about lines, bc nobody could walk straight anyways. read more

Went to one in Petersburg this year--Had lots of fun dancing and sipping wine Great band also!

Attended on Sunday! Crowds and lines were manageable. A few wineries had heavier lines but I suspect it was because they were popular and more known! Will plan to attend again in the future. read more