I love this event, came here last year and had a blast. Came again this year and still had a blast. I think the prettiest people in Los Angeles come here and drink (Or is this the wine talking? ) Again, this year they had it at Majestic Halls. Yes that place. The same place where Usher shot his video of " DJ Got us falling in Love" http://www.majestichalls.com/EventVideos.html Great central venue. Because I had something to compare to last year, this is why I would give it 4 stars this year instead of 5. There seemed to be less vendors than last year-Sure I couldn't have drank "over 250 wines" in any given day but I loved the selection last year, including the place in redlands that did the ice slushies. It was refreshing, different, and was much needed to cleanse the pallet. I did wish we had something similar this year. There also seemed to be less "real food" for purchase than last year. This year, the grilled cheese truck was present as well as a "gourmet hot dog" inside the place. I'm wasn't a fan of either one so I opted to walk half mile to Nabeeya (Thanks James for the rec.) for a quick bite. I came back in time to have some sparkling that was in the front. The lines seemed more unorganized this year. Sure most people wait behind the booths but this year, for some reason it felt like people were "driving on the opposite side of the road". If there were lines on the left, I saw people coming from the right. This wasn't too bad because the lines moved rather quickly. The only time it mattered was when the people over the booth were edumacating the public , thus taking time away. The instagram #wineriot was a nice touch. But for private accounts and changing it to public just for a picture, it doesn't work as we waited over 2 hours for our picture. I saw some familiar faces here like Tara Taylor who was over at our favorite Spanish Wines. I saw Erica Nagashima over at #madriasangria . Of course got to chat with James a bit and met his friend Joy. Stopped by the Yelp booth to say HI. (BTW, thanks again @KTB! ) To Morgan, @Morgan1st, I saw you hustling around and I think you guys did a wonderful job. read more

Definitely the BEST Yelp Elite event I've attended so far (as of 7/22/14). Yes, the event took place in May 2014, so it's a review long overdue. Better late than never ;) Brought my lovely +1 from San Diego, and we had a fucking blast. Unlimited wine for 4 hours? With amazing goat cheese (which I usually hate) on the house?! And to mention, short seminars on sake/wine? Met some great people, me and the girlfriend ended up having hot pot dinner with strangers turned friends. What better way to make friends than over unlimited wine & good vibes? Yeee. Plus, I LOVE the fact they had an app called "Second Glass" where you could rate the wine you just had based on stall#, so you won't forget what you enjoyed. I don't know too much about wines, so this was the perfect way for me to remember exactly what I liked, and what I didn't like. Thanks a bunch to Katie B. & Yelp for this AMAZING event! Hopefully I can go again next year :) read more

Wine Riot - Me & my +1, drinking that wine ;) - Local Flavor Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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I've only been to one Wine Riot event and after hearing about the past WR's, it seems safe to say that they are pretty consistent when it comes to event quality. Besides the 250+ wines, there was this... OTHER THAN WINE Classes - There were two separate classes going on at a time and it seemed that these were every 30 mins. I only went to the sake class and it was great. The host taught us about sake and we got to taste 4 different samples. DJ - music the entire time Photobooth - fun as always Temp. Tattoos - a station where you got to choose temporary tats and put them on FOOD Just like in the past, food is not included in the price of admission. I only saw a hot dog vendor and another one called carb nation. This is definitely the area that I would improve upon for the next event. At least one more food option would be good. LOCATION For 2014, WR was held at the California Market Center in Downtown Los Angeles. It was a good location on the lucky 13th floor. Temperature was well controlled and the room was well ventilated. PARKING Parking in LA is never fun but it isn't too bad for this location. There's a Parking lot at Main and 9th. (east of 9th) $5 flat. The building's own parking appears to be $9 flat. There are several other parking lots nearby but many of them are over $5 and some even $10 read more

Wine Riot - Madria Sangria - Local Flavor Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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WOWIE, what an AWESOME AWESOME WINE event!!! ;-) UNLIMITED tastings @ 250+ wineries...so many wineries.. YAY!! =) OMG, OMG, I was in Wineo HEAVEN!! =) THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Katie B. for the tickets, you are THE BEST-EST CM ever & ever & never will be less than that!! =) My FAVES of the Faves of the evening..Mind u, I'm a picky Wineo =) : Atalon winery (the ONLY winery from Napa Valley @ this event): Atalon Pauline's Cuvee 2010 +9.9 pts Atalon Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 (10+ pts...the BEST Red wine that I had tasted @ this event by FAR...) this was so smooth, rich & complex..so many layers & flavors, it gets better & better with each sip that you take.. (they haven't yet to release this to the public yet..) =) Ghost Pines Winery: 2010 Ghost Pines Red Blend..+7 pts 2009 Ghost Pines Cabernet Sauvignon +8 pts Charorange wines- yummy, fruity reminded me of vodka & Orange zest =) +6.5 pts Dr. Loosen Wines: All the wines featured, were awesome & great prices..great value, best best bang for your buck =) 2011 Dr. Loosen Dry Slate Riesling +7.5pts..pretty dry... 2011 Dr. Loosen Riesling was sweet & smooth..just the way I like it =) +9pts 2006 Dr. Loosen "BA" Riesling- yumm +8pts Dr. Loosen Riesling sparkling (more bubbles & less sweet) +7.9 *Remember the higher the alcohol the wine, the less sweeter it'll be" =) "Germans will not throw $$ on a bad wine, they are frugal" (Dr. Ernest Loosen- He gave us a very detailed & fun lecture- (w/ generous wine samples) on German wines that day =) Also, they had a Yummy YUMMY sorbet made out of Dry Ice & Moscato / Champagne...it was so Delicious!! =) read more

I honestly want to know if anyone has actually lasted all 4 hours at this event. Those must be the people that swirl and spit (but at our 7-11pm event in LA, I did NOT see this happening). First all, BEST (or worst?) idea to have a flat fee entrance and free tastings inside! All the distributers here were super nice and quick. They're happy to share a lot of information about their wines (what's in their blends, where you can get them, the aging/barreling process, etc) if you are curious. Otherwise, if you're there to just get your drink on, you can do that as well! My fear was that it'd be like a giant trade show where they'd try to push you to buy their wines, but it was NOTHING like that. It's also best to plan out where you want to taste your wines by studying the map beforehand on the free app SecondGlass has! Here's how the night went: 7:00pm: Line up (whoa, the line stretches all the way around the building ALREADY), but good thing the line moves fast. 7:15pm-7:30: Show your ID, hand them your printed ticket to scan (IMPORTANT TO PRINT YOUR TICKET because otherwise you'll be held up at this point!), get a wristband (FOR INS AND OUTS!), grab a plastic glass and a bottle of water and hit the tables! 7:30-7:50: We started out with some of the sweeter dessert wines--clearly didn't plan out well. After about 3 whites (from various tables), we moved on to reds. After a couple of these, we just remembered to use the app to start marking what we liked! The first hour is CRUCIAL because you really do taste the difference between the same types of reds from different brands and you develop your preferences. (I'm no wine expert, but I definitely found a few that I liked!) 7:50-8:00: TEMP TATTOOS! Took advantage of the WINE RIOT finger tattoos before they decided it was too much work so they put them away. 8:00-8:30: We're getting a little warm, better take some pictures while we still look semi-decent. Line was short; they take 3 professional snapshots with your choice of props and you can review on some iPads after you finish. They sold a 4x6 for $5, or 3 for $10 (but I found out they posted these all on Facebook after anyway!) Also took advantage of the free pictures if you #WineRiot on Instagram. Printed and kept a couple of those :) 8:30-8:50: Decided to check out upstairs while it was still safe-ish for everyone to be climbing stairs. Upstairs had all the California wines as well as the ladies' favorite Sangria. When using the app, I was happy to find out that all the wines (or at least the ones I double-thumbed-up were SUPER affordable). It got really HOT up here (likely because of all the people and being on the second floor), so after 30 minutes, we called it quits and went back downstairs. 8:50-9:00: Air break outside 9:00-9:30: Went around and covered the OTHER side of the building, wines from Chile, France, Spain, etc, all while still using the app to mark our favorites, though things are starting to lose taste here and we're starting to lose focus! 9:30-9:45: Decided to sit in on a pairing seminar they had (one of many they had that evening!). They walked around with more samples to try while the speaker explained what they were paired with. Definitely attempted to pay attention and remember her advice. 9:45-10:00: NEED to revisit the ones I liked to make SURE I like them. 10:00: OK bad idea, let's go to IHOP. read more

UNLIMITED WINE. that's right. let's start a riot right now! This was wine tasting 101, on crack, for your average joe. I loved how casual and unpretentious it was, for being a wine event, in hipsterville dtla, with food trucks galore, and lots of pretty people, Katie B heading up that train per the usje. I walked in and was greeted with the bright lights of the word RIOT over the staircase, and thought, okay, this is kinda rad. Then looked over and saw rows and rows of tables, set up with bottles and giveaways, and smiling vendors. Each one poured you 1-5 different wine samples and told you a little about their grapes, vineyard, make, etc. Or just got you boozed up. And there was even a "second glass" iphone app to rate your favorite wines (and therefore remember what the heck that delish pink one was, and find the closest place in your zip code to pick it up. ingenious!!). throughout the night, a tv showed the crowd favorites trending, which was super cool to see. overall i heard there were 250+ wines to try! that's insaneo!! in 4 hours! with little food. Pete S. and his lady were uber smart and came prepared, and my favorite trojan and the fantastic Marthie (fellow bruin!) benefitted from their generosity. the wines were not my favorites ever, but they were plenty tasty, and ever-flowing. PLUS, there was such a great variety--including reds, whites, desserts, champagnes, a spritz (italian orange drink, awesome), and even some cocktails--that everyone had a great great time. add in photobooths, temporary tattoos, champagne slushees, and everything else awesome and how could you not have a ball. Simply put, wine riot is for everyone. it's wines by the people for the people, and they really know how to make it hip, young, fresh, and cool. i loved it, and will look forward to many more! read more

Wine Riot - Local Flavor Near Me - Los Angeles, California

An entire afternoon of various unlimited wine! Thanks to Katie B., who gave us a free pair of tickets, my bf and I spent our Saturday afternoon at the Wine Riot. There were a variety of wines from all over California, and also a large amount from other countries. I tried mainly the reds, and enjoyed many of them. I also really liked the sangria that was served there. There wasn't any food served at this event, but there were a couple food trucks. I ended up buying food from Ragin Cajun to help absorb some of the alcohol. The venue itself was a great place for this event. There were two floors filled with different wine booths. The first floor also had a photo booth area, and another section where they held seminars (even more wine, plus you get educated). Wine Riot is a great event for oenophiles to go to without spending too much. I hope I can attend again next year! read more

This is my second time going to Wine Riot. My first time was during their night shift. This second time I decided to stay classy drinking in the day time. This year the location was located at the Market Center on the 13th floor. 13th floor seemed sorta scary for me cause I was thinking we were gonna be at the roof. Hehe, thankfully not. Space was very spacious. Either there were plenty of room or there weren't as many people during the day time. I'd like to say it was a compilation of the two. Let the unlimited 4 hour wine drinking start! Plenty of wine selection to choose from, sweet, dry, old, young, etc etc. People are nice (there aren't any snuck up people) and there are many free things to get! Take advantage of their photobooths, stickers and tattoos! This year they also served free cheese! Yummm. They have a great app that let's you keep track of your favorites and worsts wine. This is a great event even for someone that doesn't like wine that much. You bet you will be finding me every year at this event :) read more

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So much fun! Super super overdue review. Thank you Yelp for allowing some of our elites to attend this event! Getting buzzed around noon time was absolutely wonderful, especially with all the wonderful wines we get to taste! Everyone at the wine booths are very nice and very informative. I've noticed that there's a lot of moscato wine booths as well, my favorite! They also have an app called "Second Glass" where you can rate the wine that you've tasted and can bookmark them if you like them. Other than wine tasting booths from many different California wineries, there were also seminars that are hosted. One of them that my buddy and I attended were the sake seminar. Pretty darn awesome!!!! There were also a mini photo area where you can take pictures with provided props and you get to print them out instantly for a souvinir. So darn awesome. I also got some yelp swags while I was there. Yay! It was absolutely a great experience since my buddy and I were planning a wine tasting trip to Napa and we get to get first time experience on basic lessons on how to wine taste, gained basic knowledge about certain red or white wine and had fun! read more

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This event is pretty good: upon entry you get a bracelet (after paying $60, unless you're lucky enough to get comped tickets) and that entitles you to unlimited wine. The pours vary from vendor to vendor, but if you can handle all four hours here you'll get more than your fair share of vino. The event feels fairly small, especially if you've attended other events at this venue. But it makes keeping track of where you've been fairly easy. Parking here is a pain, but you probably shouldn't drive unless you're the DD. If you like wine and want to try new ones then this is a good place to go for that. read more

Wine Riot - It's a riot! - Local Flavor Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Wine riot ! My first time attending and I thought there would be a lot of wine, well, there were more than a lot ...all vendors were super nice and informative, I could only wish they didn't let us try so many drinks because towards the end we were pretty much running out of room to taste more wine... The sangria was def the highlight of the day, it was sweet but not overwhelmingly sweet! The educational sessions were wonderful , the sake 101 was great but too bad they didn't have manju, but hey, who does lol All in all, a great experience, will definitely go next time~~ read more

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This was a really fun event! Was lucky enough to get 2 free tickets to go. It was held in the California Market Center on the penthouse floor with beautiful 360 degree views of LA. There were many different types of wine from all over the world and were grouped by region. The wines ranged from dry to sweet and red, rose/blush, white, sake. There were unlimited tastings and sessions to learn about the different types. Also, there was a fun tattoo station and food for purchase - the bacon wrapped dates from Carb & Nation were delicious! It was the perfect wine lover's event, and my husband and I enjoyed it very much. Thank you Katie B and Yelp!! read more

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Fun experience but needs a little work. First, the location is confusing. There were no signs outside until you get into the long corridor leading into the building. I would recommend putting little signs up on poles or a standing sign somewhere. Once inside the CPC, the people working in the building (NOT wine riot people) were useless and not at all helpful. I saw pics from the other wine riots and let's just say the CPC venue is far from picturesque. Old, worn, and certainly not picturesque. I also thought the two food choices could use some friends...as is more food vendors! I like that there was a vegan choice (hot dog) but come on, a buzzed girl needs more options!! All in all, well worth the price but it is still going through growing pains. I'll go again, but def with lower expectations! read more

Wine Riot - 13th floor...not bad! - Local Flavor Near Me - Los Angeles, California

My first wine tasting, thanks to Katie B! I had an awesome time, smelling, sipping, not getting crunk.. haha Oh wow, there were so many wineries that it was a bit overwhelming for my first time. It was very chill though. I thought the tiny sips they poured for us wouldn't do anything, but after like.. 10 booths, I was like.. whoa haha getting tipsy! I didn't get around to sitting in any of the classes, but I'd def like to do it next time! That being said, I didn't really learn as much as I would've liked to, but maybe my palate isn't as refined to distinguish all the nuances anyway. I only learned that I don't like Chardonnay like.. at all. For whites, I prefer Pinot Grigio, Riesling, and Moscato (in decreasing order). For reds, I think I pretty much like all of them. I just remember tasting a difference at the first booth (which was like a wine tasting 101: young vs. mature) - the mature one tastes much smoother and richer. I liked that :] In addition to the wine, there's a lot of other fun stuff. The "photobooth" wasn't a real booth, but it was still fun. Their signs were great! "I spit" & "I swallow" made me LOL I am now an adult, so I had to resist from partaking in such vulgar humor hahaha Catherine H. and I used some of the other funny signs and took some pics to post o Twitter. My favorite station was the temporary tattoo booth!!! The tattoos were awesome! Great designs all centered on wine. Upon taking closer looks, I definitely appreciated the art haha Anyway, I asked for all of them (there were like 25) and asked the girl who was helping me to cover my arm in a sleeve haha I was super badass and received many compliments. I will note that they were quite difficult to get off all of my arm. Such is the price for temporary cool. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/wine-riot-los-angeles?select=w6o-3PPSp3Etv6GRtyX-PA#4YbSFTYLpzK3338AH9kscA I guess Wine Riot holds this event all over the country. One of my friends who's a fellow Elite in Boston said he attended as well! read more

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This event was soooo fun! Of course my review is a bit biased since I was inebriated during the event... but hey, who cares?! I wish wish wish wish wish I had higher tolerance so that I could've stayed the whole time. But noooo I'm lightweight and could barely get to hour 3. Sigh. Everyone there was super nice and very helpful. I learned a lot.... (but I think I forgot everything by the ninth glass)... and the GOAT CHEESE WAS DELICIOUS. I really appreciated that the temporary tattoos and photos were a nice break from all the drinking. If and when I attend this event again... I will pace myself better and dump out whatever I don't finish so that I have room to try more wine! I thought I was so tough in the beginning... joke was on me :( read more

As Shanika H. put it..."Second glass definitely has their ish together". This was such a well-organized, well put-together event. The staff was friendly, knowledgeable and helpful in identifying wines to try based on my flavor preferences. The crash courses were the perfect balance entertaining and truly educational (shout out to the presenter of Me Gusta Spanish Reds...I think I found a new favorite type of wine!) The only thing more impressive than the event was the APP! @secondglass #wineriot teamed up with some really sweet techie peeps to create by far the most ingenious means of tracking personal 'likes' 'loves' and 'meh' wines...but beyond that it provided updates throughout the event on what the rest of the group is rating the wines on the room and gave me and my boo a focus (since it was obviously impossible to try them ALL). This is definitely on my calendar for November and I am already counting down the days!! read more

Great event! 4 hours of wine tasting...great concept and at first I thought, man only 4 hours for $60? but then (fairly quickly) you realize...how many of us actually spit out the wine? So we ended up lasting a good two and a half hours and felt BEAT. You know...like that feeling you get swimming through cement? well its a good metaphor to me. The event was great, I learned a little more about wine, enough to nod and listen and get a word or two in before the wine was getting into my head. I discovered some new wines I will purchase, got some fake tattoos and got to take silly photobooth pics. Oh yeah, and got a bag of freebies. Overall, I would DEF do the event again next, but please make the event cheaper...ya know for those weaklings among us who cant last 4 hours. PS: FOOD! Seriously, you need to try and feed us with at least appetizers or have better food options than 2 food trucks...especially for $60 tickets. read more

I've never been wine tasting until now. Thank you Katie B for the tickets! A lot of wineries to choose from, a lot of different wines to try, some food vendors, some cheese, and classes to learn. I am not very knowledgeable in wines but I know now that I'm a fan of Moscatos and Rieslings. There were some Rosés that were very good. I met some yelper friends for the first time and we all enjoyed the moscato sangria from Quady Winery. Delicious. I was a huge fan of the goat cheese by Cypress Grove Chèvre. I loved the Humboldt fog and truffle tremor. So creamy and flavorful, each in their own unique ways. The workers for the event were friendly and polite. Overall, excellent event. -Give it a try! read more

UNLIMITED wine? Sold! In several hours, I was able to travel around the world. Experience 250 different wines on hand. From the sweetest of the sweets to the driest of the drys. The DJ bumping that bass. Beautiful people roaming the grounds. Where the hell are we? An ancient Roman emperor's orgy!? Sans the nudity part and more on the wine influenced partying part. While MDLC and I were slowly conquering the wine world at Wine Riot, I spotted Pixie at the corner of my eye amongst the boozing crowd. If you have read my previous reviews, you would know this is my home girl. My partner in crime when it comes to Grade A breakfast burritos. I plowed through the crowd to just greet her. MDLC suggested that we join forces for the duration of the event. Best idea ever! Being w/ MDLC is already an unforgettable time but when you get a chance to be with two lady bruins, that ish is taken to a whole other level! (Did I really just admit to that? FTFO!) We combined forces to conquer the rest of known world. I had my fair share of wines. The best thing about this wine festival is the integration of smart phones and social media. They encouraged to use Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. to spread out to the interweb your drunken stupor. Second Glass had an ingenious mobile app that not only have a virtual map of the place BUT had a list of every single wine on hand for the event that you could bookmark and it tells you where the closest location to your home that you will be able pick up. I had a lot of favorites like the Thorny Rose Cab and the champagne infused slushy. The last time I visited the slushy guys, I only asked them a question and ended up being given two more slushies than I really needed but I'm not complaining because that shit was amazing! There were several that I wouldn't say weren't my favorite but really needed some food pairings to go along with to give the full experience. Being hungry and hearing them describe how amazing this wine would go with food, I nearly passed out. Shout outs to my girls MDLC and Pixie, to the guys Vin and Pete, and to the sister from another mister Katie B. Wine Riot is an awesome experience to have if you are an experienced wine connoisseur, first timer, or someone who is ready to try something out aside from 2 buck chuck from Trader Joe's. Would I be back? Given the chance to experience this again, I will gladly return in a heart beat. "Bottle of white... bottle of red... perhaps a bottle of rosé instead?" -Billy Joel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMij0UwhZU0 read more

I had a great, then fantastic, then perhaps a little bit messy (but still fantastic) time here. A gabajillion wineries (a couple hundred) were spaced around the room, and with glass in hand we were able to taste, sniff, laugh, giggle ourselves around. The selection was huge, from educational and innovative, to sniff and sip, to pour and devour. There were Spanish, Italian selections as well as closer to home picks from CA, WA, OR; bubbly and muscat vs standard reds and whites. I was impressed by the number of educational-based wineries - it was cool to see second glass put such an emphasis on wine knowledge. Some highlights: Lafond Syrah for sniffing and sipping That delicious BOTTLED sangria for pouring and devouring. The hot dogs. My tattoo swag. Everyone seemed like they were having a great time, and I left just in time to maintain a semblance of classiness. Thanks to Katie, as always, for providing us with such great events! read more

i've been to this event two years in a row and i absolutely love it! this year's event was held in downtown L.A. which is ideal if it were on a weeknight. last year they had it in Santa Monica which I thought was a better location. it's a wine taster's heaven! lots of wines from various regions all under one roof. it's unfortunate that you cant buy any of the wines you like. which is probably better so they dont have to spend too much time with transactions. there are classes you can sign up to attend, fun entertainment including tattoos and photobooths. i enjoyed a lot of the wines i tasted and dislike a lot as well. at least i know what to get and what not to get with Wine Riot's handy dandy mobile app which allows you to either like or dislike the wine you're tasting. the only downside to this is that, at this year's downtown L.A. location, i couldn't get any reception with my Tmobile service. i think this is something that should be considered when choosing location, or at least provide free wifi for the evening. even though it's nice to be able to chat with the winery reps about their wine, i really dislike how people just crowds around the table socializing with their friends. people should just get their pour, drink, ask questions if necessary and leave. give others a chance to get some pours too. also, i attended the second session and some of the vendors actually ran out of their wines at the beginning of the session. i think that's unacceptable. what i really liked about the 2011 Santa Monica event was that they had Pretzel Crisps there giving free munchies (which REALLY helps when you're drinking a lot), plus CoolHaus was there last year where you can purchase treats. This year in downtown L.A., they had food trucks (which i am really not a big fan of), and nothing else to offer. i understand this is a wine tasting event, but i think offering something to cleanse the palate helps. something that they should think about is providing pretzels, crackers or even cheese would be nice for wine tasting. if it's not free, at least for purchase. even though i wasn't completely satisfied with this year's event, i still give it 4 stars for their ingenious idea to bring wine enthusiasts together with vendors from all over the world under one roof. i'm looking forward to attending next year's L.A. event. read more

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OH MYLANTA. Look - if you haven't been to Wine Riot LA, seriously what are you doing? Get tickets, download the app and watch in awe as the most popular pick of the session gets automatically updated! Come with a group of people with their finger on the pulse and learn a thing or two about wine cocktails, Rhones and talk to that cute viking woman by the food stands. Pro tip: make plans to meet at a certain location at a certain time because as people have mentioned before, the cell phone reception can be shy. Also, the photobooth shuts down close to the end of the session, so make sure you get there early and take a (sober vs. wine-y) shot with your group. Want an organic hot dog? They've got that if you've got that green. Yelp Swag? All you gotta do is check in, boo! I loved the fact that there were so many different wine vendors and lovers all in one place and i almost forgot that wine tasting was just that - a taste. Don't expect to get your glass full at all, but expect to get schooled on some quality wines, so stick around for the education. Click to like and LOVE the wines you've tasted and bookmark your wine world travels! It's so easy! All of the wine tastes are included with the admission, so taste away! Second glass definitely has their ish together, so you're sure to enjoy yourself with friendly staff, volunteers and vendors. Document your stay in this DTLA wine country and mosey on over to the photo booth. Get a temporary tattoo to commemorate the badassery and be sure to visit the front table to get that bottle of water you refused in the beginning (y'know, because you thought it would be useless, but YOU SO THIRSTY, THO). I'm definitely down to go the next time the Riot returns to Los Angeles. Go get you some. Learn about some wine, eat stuff , make new friends read more

First thoughts: 4 hours of wine-tasting in a cool, open space in DTLA? I'm in! Wine Riot LA was an extremely organized event down to the T. As soon as we entered the party, we were handed our wristbands for the event and a plastic cup with a thumb impression on it for the wine tasting. So cool! The event was organized with clear signage everywhere in the signature "Wine Riot" font and colors so getting around to do the actual wine tasting was easy. My bf and I tried many different wines and made our rounds with the different vendors. Waste buckets were set up not only at each of the wine tasting stations, but also throughout the standing tables so this made discarding unwanted wine very easy. The "hipness" of the event came with the addition of the bubbly bar (sparkling wine & champagne station), photo booth area with funny signs (I'm sweet & I like it big n' juicy!) and props, and a neat Instagram machine that would print out any pictures tagged with the hashtag: #wineriot. The only slight complaint I would make about that machine was that there were some technical difficulties with people's pictures not appearing on the computer monitor because their instagram accounts, including my own, were private. Finally, after about 15 minutes of wondering, the Wine Riot staff person told the waiting crowd that we had to make our accounts public, delete the photo & re-upload it. Though only a minor annoyance, I do wish the technical difficulties could have been hashed out before hand. Bottom line: Though I left the event a little more happier than when I entered (still no Asian glow though), I was still able to discern that I would be leaving with some newly acquired favorite wines. Wine Riot LA gets two thumbs up from me for setting up such a cool, varied wine-tasting event in the heart of DTLA! I also discovered that I'm a huge fan of sangrias...and not much a fan of anything else. read more

Fantastic event! Wine riot was exactly as advertised. 4 hours of unlimited wine tastings from a selection that I couldn't have exhausted even if there had been 8 hours of tasting. The Wine 101 bar was a great concept, where they gave you a prime example of an oaked vs unoaked, old world vs new world, etc. wine to contrast some basic wine characters. It really added a learning component to the event. After an hour or two though, not too many people are here to learn anymore, Wine Riot becomes a full on party! Fun people, fun atmosphere, fun night. My one complaint would be that the music was just a tiny bit too loud, which made it hard to hear the reps at the different winery tables, and almost impossible to take away anything from the 20 minute crash courses which were held in a corner of the main ballroom without any kind of barrier to keep the music out. This event was definitely worth the $$ to get in, both in terms of wines tasted and fun had. If you missed it this year, definitely make it out for next year! read more

This event was SO much fun. I'm a wine-o to the bone and went to school in wine-country, so I'm always missing the ritual wine tastings. When Wine Riot came to LA (and in such close proximity to where I live) my roommate and I decided we had to go. It was awesome, tons of great wine and temporary tattoos, which mix VERY well. The only thing I was bummed about was that I was looking forward to the South African wine booth they were going to have; however, turns out the company forgot to ship over the wine, so there were none. Not their fault, but it was my #1 reason to go. Oh well, hopefully next time! read more

Really nice event at a venue with great views of downtown LA. I got to try lots and lots of wines (and I'm really glad I took the Red Line). It was definitely a fun day and I would go again the next time they're in town. There was a table set up with cheese and crackers, but I wish the price of the ticket included more food (although there was food there for purchase). Temp. tattoos and the photobooth were tons of fun! read more

Cheese, WIne and Yelp.....why have I never heard of this event? We had an amazing time and sampled all the things....LOL or so we tried.

Super fun you know if you are going with your wine buddies, its not like you're gonna have a bad time drinking wine. But the wine was on the cheaper side and for a $60 price tag, this wine snob is expecting more! It's a beautiful space and and they are almost there with the decorating but I think they can goo even more, more food trucks, more advertising. It was definitely geared towards women which I loved with the fun pic's and the tattoos and such. I think that's a good choice. read more

This was the most fun I've had wine tasting (at least from what I'm able to remember)!!! I absolutely loved it and got to enjoy tons of great wine. It was located in a beautiful historical building in Downtown Los Angeles. I will definitely go to WineRiot again next year! WINES GALORE! read more

I went to wine riot on the 10th, with my friend who was yelp elite and got free admission. I'm just getting into wine, and I thought it would be a bit overwhelming, but it was really fun. I tried a ton of different wines, cheeses, and they also had food that you could buy. In addition to the wine there was also a "photobooth" thing, where they had props you could pose with and then send yourself the pictures and also a temporary tattoo station, which was really popular. The tattoos were all wine themed and pesonalized with "wine riot" on them, super cute! I'll probably try and come next year also, definitely a fun event to attend! read more

This was an awesome event. I did learn a little about wine but only from asking the Spanish wine distributor Oscar from Enotrends about wine after seeing his booth empty and having a hard time getting any education from other booths that were packed with people just getting drunk. Knowledgeable guy and some of the other booths had knowledgeable people too. At some point it just became wine tasting - and I had a full range of wine from all over the world (Spain, France, California, Washington, Chile, Australia). Of course I got really drunk, and I wish I had some friends along to drink with me though me and this woman were wine drinking buddies and she told me "Do not drink cheap wine" when I mentioned two buck chuck. But it was a great time. There wasn't much in terms of food to help soak up alcohol except for a food truck that was outside that wasn't that great. I would strongly recommend you have a proper meal before walking into the next Wine Riot. Also, keep an eye out for that alcohol cleansing/electrolyte booth (I forget the name of the product), they gave me a sample and it came really handy on detoxing after having way too much wine. Also the Wine sherbet booth was awesome. Really cool dudes running that. read more

Super fun for wine fans! All you can taste wine, so make sure you have a DD. Some of the vendors didn't know that much about their wine, but most were REALLY aware and could tell you all about what they were offering. The music was a little loud, so it made it hard to have real conversations with vendors, but it was a LOT of fun to taste a lot of different things. read more

OMMMGGGG if i could give it 10 stars i would. This years was even BETTER than last years. So many things to do like try over 250 wines. Get crazy with the tattoo station and ofcourse the photo booth with Tommy. Best part this one was around may and they'll be coming back again in November! Def encourage you to try it out. read more

LOVED THIS EVENT! As a twenty-something with ambitions to get into the wine industry in some capacity or another I had an absolute blast at this event. I agree with Steve K. about Wine Riot not featuring the most quality or esteemed wines and that some of the exhibitors could have been more knowledgeable and helpful in educating people about their product. However, I still think there was plenty of good stuff to taste and plenty of great people to shmooze with about the wines. The anti-wine people with the coffee decanter really just added a bit of funky flavor to the event. Their red blend did taste like a bicycle tire though. I digress! I tried over 30 wines in 4 hours and did not spit out the majority of them, so I was shwastey by the time the event was over. Well worth the $60. I have to say that I felt the event space was too large considering the turn out, it seemed empty to me. I also felt that the food offerings could have been better. I know the event is about wine, not food, but a wino's gotta eat for christ's sake! The Wine Riot people did a great job promoting the restaurants in the mall but I didn't want to waste any time going to eat when I could be drinking so I just munched on the free pretzels and other nom nom's. The pretzel vendor chicks were my best friends by the time the night was over. The 'drunken mushrooms' from one of the food vendors were pretty horrible. I was also drunk at that point so I have no more details other than to say they were no bueno. I will definitely be attending Wine Riot again next year and I hope the event expands for its second visit to LA. I think young people in LA really enjoy this kind of event and it should continue to be a success. I also want to suggest that they offer 2-day passes for a discounted rate. There's no way I could have tried all those wines in 4 hours and I would have loved to go back for the second day. See you in 2012 Wine Riot! read more

I learned a ton about wine and even found some that I really, really like. I always tell people that wine is probably the last thing I want to drink, but it's mostly because I can't get past the hoity toity, complex, expensive and dull world that surrounds it to really try and enjoy different flavors. Wine Riot left me with a list of and lust for many-a-wine! A great time, look for their next events! read more

We had such a great time at the Wine Riot 2014! Too many wines to choose from, but we hit as many tables as we could! The folks at Second Glass did a great job organizing this event. I won free tickets, but even for $60 this would have been well worth it! read more

It's really hard to enjoy this all-you-can-drink wine event because wine: 1) makes your stomach sour, and 2) your tongue numb. And although they do provide free water, they don't have crackers to cleanse and neutralize. Plus their 2 food stands were bad, it was held indoors inside an empty office building, and general ambiance wasn't that fun. read more

Wow what a great chance to try so many great wines.. I love the opportunity to sample so many interesting wines. The space was great and the photo booth was so much fun! I got in for free due to yelps generosity but I think the event was slightly over priced at $50.. I think it would have been a good deal if there was a little food included. Over it was a really fun event and I found some new wines that I love! read more

Great event to just have fun, wine and food......definitely doing it again next year!!

If you don't know much about wine then this is the event for you. It has a lot of reasonably priced wine available that are easily found at any Whole Foods and they have wine appreciation classes of some sort. read more