The Hudson Valley Wine Festival at the Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck New York brings hundreds of food and wine purveyors together in one place for a memorable weekend.
We have been to many wine tastings for our personal pleasure, and for advicesisters.com.
One of the very first wine tasting events we ever attended was the first Hudson Valley Wine & Food Festival.
The 17th annual event was huge compared to the first one, and brought together more than 200 vendors.
Food & Wine, Just Fine!
The Hudson Valley Wine & Food Festival in Rhinebeck New York offers wines, spirits & gourmet food items from all over New York State to consumer.
Add music, food stalls & trucks, and you’ve got a great reason to visit this beautiful area and spend the weekend.
This 2018 event featured almost 200 vendors including wineries, distilleries, cider mills, fromageries, butchers, bakers and (we saw) even the proverbial two candlestick makers.
Situated on the Rhinebeck fairgrounds (the site of our favorite fair to visit in August, the Dutchess County Fair) the Hudson Valley Wine & Food Festival offers consumers a chance to sample a range of food and beverage products, and to purchase them directly from the producers.
Tasting and Learning:
From a tasting perspective, consumer events like this offer a quick way to try a lot of wines, spirits, ciders and beers.
This is a popular (and well attended) event. The exhibitors can chat, they’re busy selling too and hoping to raise visibility for their products.
If you take the time to chat as well as sample, you’ll learn more about the companies and their products. You will also probably bring home some new favorites.
Festival Standouts:
We saw so many interesting products worth seeking out at home. However, these are some of the standouts::
Millbrook Vineyards Tocai Friulano, a great summer wine for pairing with seafood, pasta, and light salads (our photo is showing their also delicious Cabernet Franc);
Lucas Vineyards Nautie series of wines. These table wines have amazing artwork featuring pin-up girls and tugboats.
We also were intrigued with Fjord Vineyards Albarino, made with Hudson Valley grapes; and Union Grove Distilleries vodkas made from Hudson Valley apples; Springbrook Farm Distilleries pumpkin-infused vodka;
For foodies, we sampled and took home healthy & delicious Cacao Vita chocolate nibs (great in yogurt) and Filippo Berio pesto sauces.
There was so much more to taste, see and sample at the Hudson Valley Wine & Food Festival. If you go next year wear comfortable shoes, carry a tote for your purchases, and prepare to have a memorable, fun, weekend.
Festival Know-How:
We did see some strollers at the festival, but this is an event for adults where alcohol is served and you must be of age to taste it. Designated drivers will find water and sodas and there are plenty of non-alcohol exhibitors to keep the DDs busy.
The Hudson Valley Wine & Food Festival is a great place to discover items you didn’t know existed, and take them home as “finds” to enjoy later and to share with your friends.
For more information, or to find out about next year’s event visit: https://www.hudsonvalleywinefest.com/
Thanks to John Dunham, our Wine & Spirits editor, for reporting on this story. Photos by Alison Blackman
social links: @HVWineFest, #Rhinebeck, # food, #wine,# spirits, #alcohol, #millbrookwine, @FilippoBerioUS, #LucasVineyards, @NavitasOrganics, @sbhfdistillery, @FjordVineyards , @UnionGroveDistillery
