Category: festival

Denver Food and Wine Fest – Sep 2023

[09-Sep-2023 Denver, CO US]

I again went to Ventopo.com which lists sites that list lists – specifically the Beer/Wine/Food Fest page and searched high and low for some interesting places to go.

This time, it was the Denver Food and Wine Fest held on the 9th of September 2023.

The who thing was one day, three hours (four hours for VIP ticket holders). You’d think that is hardly enough time to go to all the booths and have a taste. Nope, plenty of time as all the tents were right next to each other.

Food and “Wine” Fests now have even more varieties including spirits and beer. This one had Suntory from Japan which is the first time I came across that.

…and Aperol. What the heck is that? Again, it’s one of those that you never heard of before (but you hire marketing and do a worldwide blitz) and all of a sudden, everyone wants one. (The “whatever + Mule” craze died down so gotta have the next thing, right? BBC even did an article on Why Aperol Spritz is the drink of the summer.

Here are a some pictures from the event – click on the picture or link below for more:


Denver Food and Wine Fest 2023

The Denver Food and Wine Fest is every year in September and you can get the information here. The program for each year is posted three to six months before the event each year at Denver Food and Wine Fest official site.

Balboa Bay Resort Wine and Spirits Fest 2023

[2023-26-thru-28-May, Newport Beach, CA US]

I was updating my events site I made at Ventopo.com and actually used the site to see what was happening. I updated the website and then started looking for things to do. I was looking to go somewhere for Memorial Day weekend and found out that the Balboa Bay Resort had a wine and spirit fest. So I booked a flight, got a hotel room, and got event tickets. So here is another weekend jaunt:

Thursday – arrived late. They gave me a bottle of wine which was a good start for the weekend.

Friday – worked during the day (being 100% telework is a good thin) and at night I went to the Macallen tasting. 12 year Sherry Cask, 12 year double barrel, 15 year, and the Rare Cask. The event was presented by US Macallen employees. They had visual as well as other sensory materials to enhance the experience. It was really great.

Saturday – the wine and spirit fest was packed. And there were half a dozen well stocked food stations provided by the hotel. The food wa absolutely smashing. It was visit a booth, get more food, visit a booth, get more food, repeat. That night, went to the Macallen tasting again. A great day and a great night!

Sunday – the wine and spirit fest again. The crowd was way down so it didn’t feel cramped. It was a more relaxing day. But more food, it was great.

See all the pictures by clicking on the picture or link below:


Balboa Bay Resort Wine and Spirits Fest 2023

Key West Food and Wine Fest JAN 2023

[25-JAN-2023 to 29-JAN-2023 Key West, FL US]

Where I am, it was snow all over the ground from weeks ago that has not melted. Iced over one morning and the bare branches of the trees and everything was coated with ice. Looked enchanting so I snapped a few pictures. Then to the airport. The plane was empty going out. Got to Key West on Wednesday night and visited with the wine and food fest group as they were finishing the dinner. Made my rounds quickly and said hello to everyone.

Thursday, went to Sloppy Joes as always. And of course took a pic just because I always do. Then off to the first Key West Food and Wine Fest dinner on Thursday night. Amazing as usual. Food, wine, really great. Chef gave a quick talk on the food and pairings (picture above).

Friday, I took a day off for the festivities and went to the Prime Steakhouse on Caroline Street. I ordered an entire bottle of Malbec so I can take the left over back to the hotel, in theory, of course…

Saturday was lunch at the fest. Each meal paired with wine of course. Great presentation. Great food and music. One of the wines (see pictures below) was approximately $270 per bottle (if you can find any, it actually goes for more). We got a taste of it 🙂 This link was working as of January 2023: Bressia Ultima Hoja Blend.

The last fest event I went to was Saturday afternoon at the wine tasting right by the Key West Light House. The lighthouse was open so I went in of course and took pictures. Then soon as I got out of the lighthouse a Boeing V-22 Osprey was flying overhead so I took a picture of it. I enlarged it and you can see faint detail – not bad for a phone camera…

I missed the Sunday brunch but it’s okay, I went from Key West to Miami and got onboard an American Airlines Boeing 787 in Business class from Miami to Dallas. The flight was too short! While the food was obviously not chef cooked nor on site; however, it was good, especially with drinks, of course.

See all the pictures by clicking on the picture or link below:


Key West Food and Wine Fest 2023

The Key West Food and Wine Fest is every year on the last weekend of January and you can get the information here. The program for each year is posted around October of each year at the Key West Food and Wine Fest official site.

Tiki Oasis 2021

[28-JUL through 91-Aug 2021, San Diego, CA, US]

Back in 2019, my sci-fi con buddy Nathan said I gotta go to Tiki Oasis – it is over the top fun. SO I said okay, I’m game. Registered for Tiki Oasis 2020 and -BOOM- COVID hit. So – I rolled over my tickets to 2021 and here are my pictures in no particular order… Few pictures are from Angela, as marked. Click on the pic or link below to check out all of the Tiki photos:

Tiki Oasis 2021 -Live entertainment day and night!

Key West Food and Wine Fest 2020

[January, 19-26, 2020 Key West, FL, US]

So this is the 11th Annual Key West Food and Wine Fest (2020) and my 11th time here 🙂 Here are the pictures from the fest. Not as many as usual, but there are a few interesting shots. Went to the “Beer and Grilled Cheese” event on Thursday, the aquarium for the Grand Tasting on Friday and even thou the weather was rather horrific (wind and rain), went to the Duval Street Wine Crawl.


Key West Food and Wine Fest 2020