My wife and I used to go every year until two years ago when my daughter reached 2nd grade. Since the event takes place before school ends, we can't go, as the end of the school year means lots of fun stuff for the kids (not to mention sad "good-byes", and we can't take her out of school to miss out on all that. It is a terrific event, but more "Food" than "Wine" if that matters to you. Yes, there are huge tasting tents and lots of wine to try. But very little of it are the kind of wines that would interest the people who post here. The tasting tables are dominated by huge conglomerates (think Wolf Blass, Constellation, Korbrand etc.). Too many $9.00 bottles of supermarket wine and not enough "undiscovered" wines. But you can't beat the weather, the cooking demonstrations and the wine seminars. If you go and want to have a good "wine" experience, sign up for as many wine seminars and Special Tastings (which cost extra) as possible. That is where the good stuff can be found. We have always said that the Aspen F&W Classic is "Spring Break For Adults". We love it. Just don't expect to find Wine Spectator Grand Tour, or Pinot on the River, or Pinot Days, or World of Pinot Noir level of wines. |