Swirl, Sniff, Sip, Repeat-A Wine Festival Experience
- Amy Leggett
- 13 hours ago
- 5 min read
Last weekend my friends and I went to Park City, Utah to attend the Park City Wine Festival. The Festival was put on by Team Player Productions, where my daughter works as Marketing Manager promoting and hosting their events. I have never been to a wine festival before and I wanted to see what Madison does at her job. It was a three day immersion into Park City and wine...what a great combination!
Day One-The Cellar Experience Paired Dinner:
Each day of the Wine Festival there are lunch and dinner pairing experiences at local restaurants. You have the opportunity to choose to attend a lunch or dinner based on the restaurant, the vineyard, and the menu to be served. These pairing experiences are separate from the Grand Tasting event and are an additional charge. I really enjoyed the dinner and lunch we attended and highly recommend adding on these experiences. You get a specially prepared menu, amazing food and a deep dive into the featured vineyard and the wines they are serving. These pairing experiences were probably my favorite part of the weekend!
On our first day, we attended The Cellar Experience Wine Dinner, a wine pairing dinner at the Riverhorse on Main featuring wines from Russian River Vineyards. Riverhorse on Main is one of Park City's oldest and most distinguished restaurants and a 16 year recipient of the Forbes Travel Gold Star Award. Russian River Vineyards is a small-production vitner from Sonomo Valley, California. The Cellar Exerience Wine Dinner included seven (yes, seven!) courses all specifically curated to pair with select wines from Russian River Vineyards. As a notoriously picky eater, I was a bit nervous about the menu but I committed to try everything I was served. I was pleasantly surprised to like most of what I had (but have to admit I did not try the bone marrow). My friends who are foodies and have a much broader palate raved about all of the dishes. The pairings were on point and the wine really did enhance the flavor of the food.
Day Two-The Oregon Uncorked Wine Lunch
On Day 2 we spent the morning exploring Park City (a separate blog on things to do in Park City is coming shortly!) and then headed to the Hyatt Centric for our paired lunch featuring wines from the Adelsheim Vineyard in the Willamette Valley. Adelsheim Vineyard is unique in that it is a pioneer in sustainable winemaking. The host was very energetic and informative about Adelsheim wines and the growth of wine production out of Oregon. The food was (again) amazing making for an incredible pairing experience.
Day Three-The Grand Tasting
The Grand Tasting is the main event at the Wine Festival and was held at the scenic Pendry Plaza overlooking the slopes of Park City. Over 100 wineries were represented so we had the chance to sample a diverse array of wines from a variety of locations. In addition to wine, we also had the chance to sample other types of drinks such as canned cocktails, aperol spritzes and some hot toddys (which was nice because it can still be a bit chilly in Park City in April).
In addition to wine tasting, there are food tables offering a variety of choices. And these are no ordinary snacks, you get gourmet bites at the Park City Wine Festival! There were oysters shipped in from Washington state, lemon gelato with caviar, beef tartare, deli sandwiches and freshly cooked empanadas. There was also a charcuterie table featuring Beehive Cheeses, which are locally made rubbed-rind cheddar cheeses with exotic flavors. I was blown away by these cheeses and enjoyed flavors such as Red Butter Hatch Chili (which had a slight kick to it), Apple Walnut Smoked, Teahive (rubbed with Earl Grey tea) and Barely Buzzed (rubbed with lavendar and espresso). You can order some of these amazing cheeses for your next party at their website here.
Team Player Productions also makes sure you have plenty to do in between your tastings. They arrange for local artisans to display their crafts at booths around the Festival. Additionally, there is live music playing to enhance the lively atmosphere. The blues band playing at our Festival was great and was the perfect vibe for the setting.
Future Wine Festivals and Team Player Production Events:
If you are interested in going to an event like this, you are in luck! Not only does Team Player Productions have another Park City Wine Festival scheduled for October, but they also hold similar events in Vail and Breckenridge (I'm looking at you, my Colorado friends and followers). Not a wine enthusiast? That's ok...they also hold a Craft Beer Festival in Vail as well! Here is the Team Player Production website for more information on all their signature events (which also includes the Boulder Creek Festival and the Tennyson Street Fair in Colorado).
For quick reference, here are the dates of upcoming wine and beer events so you can start planning! Click on the link for each event for more specific details and ticket prices.
Vail Craft Beer Classic-June 13-14, 2025
Vail Wine Classic-August 7-10, 2025
Breckenridge Wine Classic-August 21-23, 2025
Park City Wine Festival-October 2-4, 2025
Insider Tips:
We had an early access ticket which means we got to enter the Wine Festival a bit before the main crowd. I highly recommend paying the extra price for this benefit. We were able to secure a table and there were no lines for food and tastings when we first got there. It gave us a chance to have a more in depth discussion with some of the wine experts and allowed for a more relaxed start to the event. By the time the crowds came we were slowing down and didn't mind the wait.
Definitely include a paired lunch and/or dinner. These events were more intimate and informative as the vitners had time to really talk to us about their different wines and the production processes. The food at the restaurants TPP works with is incredible (even for a picky eater like myself!). As I mentioned above, the paired meals were actually my favorite part of the weekend.
Pace yourself as you will be drinking a lot of wine over the weekend. Eat all the delicious food offered, take advantage of the Hydration Stations they have around to drink plenty of water, and don't be afraid to sip and spit! There are spitoons at every station to empty and clean your glass before the next taste.
The Team Player Production events are held in fantastic locations, so make sure to give yourself time to explore the area which ever festival you decide to attend!
The Park City Wine Festival was an amazing experience! The team at Team Player Productions put on such a well-organized festival and everything flowed smoothly from one event to the other. We had amazing food, drank delicious wine and got to explore Park City, Utah. I'd say that's a pretty great getaway!
