GrapeFest, which starts tomorrow in historic downtown Grapevine, is one of the largest wine and food events in the country, and some of its events are always popular. There is the four-day GrapeStomp, in which two-person teams try to crush 20 pounds of grapes with their feet in two minutes, as well as the Culinary Pavilion, which brings in some of the best local and national food and wine experts in the business. This year, that means John Tesar of the Mansion on Turtle Creek at 7 p.m. Thursday and expert sommelier Drew Hendricks at 7:45 p.m. Friday. (Ordinary, I’m one of the speakers, discoursing about cheap wine, but I’m out of town this weekend.)
But the highlight this year, the 21st annual edition, will be, as always, the People’s Choice Wine Tasting Classic. Friday through Sunday, 37 Texas wineries and 131 wines will compete in a competition that’s unique in the U.S. — some 8,000 ordinary wine drinkers, with not a cranky wine writer among them, will select the winners in categories that don’t exclude sweet wines.
People’s Choice tickets are an additional $18, but there are two- and three-day discount packages. Admission is free until 5 p.m. Friday; otherwise, it’s $8 (with discounts for seniors, kids and for more than one day). Call 817-410-3185 for information.
