Woo Girls Need Not Attend

The horrors of the infamous woo girl. You know who I mean. That girl or group of girls you run into at any and all festivals and events who parties like a rock star and expresses their joy through the continuous, high-pitched shouting of, “woo!” They got a new pour of wine, “woo!” They found the line for the bathroom, “woo!” A food truck that sells nothing but grilled cheese sandwiches, “woo!” They have elbows, “woo!” Okay, that last one, though it is a Friend’s reference, is a bit bitchy, but you get my point.

               These ladies and their nails on the chalkboard style shrieking, along with the stumbling and toppling drunks, mile-long lines for both food vendors and bathrooms, and the rude people who feel as if they are the most important person in the world and express this by line cutting or taking up the pourer’s time with endless demands and questions as the number of people waiting behind them grows and grows are the reasons why I can only handle one, maybe two wine festivals a year. I personally attend these events because I want to discover and learn about new wines and wineries, and this has been a difficult task for me in the past with such a boisterous crowd. This all changed during my recent experience at the Wine Spectator Grand Tour in Denver.

               I have been reading Wine Spectator for years, and I can say without a doubt that it is my favorite publication. Never preachy and always knowledgeable, I have learned so much from their articles over the years. During my time as a subscriber, I have always enjoyed looking at the pictures from their Grand Tour tastings and have dreamed of attending one myself. Taking place in three cities throughout the US in the spring, this festival offers wine lovers the opportunity to try over 200 wines rated 90 points or higher. What a magical experience to be a part of!

               The closest it has ever been to me is Las Vegas, and each year I have toyed with the idea of seeing if my best friend wanted to do a girl’s trip out there for the event, but each time something stood in the way. Then, this past February, as I was doing my coffee and magazine reading morning ritual, I spied an extraordinary advertisement. In May, they were bringing the Grand Tour to Denver, just a short drive away. I quickly texted my bestie, and within 30 minutes we had tickets and a hotel room. I was finally going! And, what an event it ended up being.

               From the moment we got in line to the last moment where one of the volunteers took a photo for us near the event sign, it was the most well-ran, enjoyable and educational wine festival I have ever been to. At the entry, not only did we get a souvenir Riedel wine glass, we also got a massive booklet with a page devoted to each wine being offered giving the Wine Spectator score and tasting notes, as well as a place for us to jot down our own notes. This could be done with the Wine Spectator pen we also received. Each booth had someone pouring the wine who was either associated with the winery or was a wine professional knowledgeable and passionate about that particular wine or region. They had tables placed throughout the event so you could take a moment to stop and enjoy your quaff, an area for tasters to sit and snack on a wide variety of tasty looking morsels, and bottles upon bottles of water on hand for all hydrating and rinsing needs. Almost everyone we ran into was polite, friendly and there for their simple love of wine. The only exceptions were the guy whom I am fairly certain thought he was Miles from Sideways with his ugly brown suit and pseudo-intellectual look on his face who literally, and yes, I do mean literally, pushed us aside so he could get his wine glass first, line be damned, and a little French guy going around telling each and every pourer what they were doing wrong.

               Of course, the real star of this show was the wine. About a week prior to the tasting, Wine Spectator had emailed over a list of all the wines that would be on offer, as well as a map of where each would be served. I researched and highlighted particular ones to try based on my “Want to Try List” and general curiosity, but in the end, it was way more fun to choose one at random and see what gems there were to be discovered. And, boy, did we find some serious treasures.

All in all, we tried 18 different wines, as they were so good we opted to sip and savor 17 of them instead of dumping and moving on to the next. Every single wine I tried, even the one I dumped, was just dripping with quality. The two wines that absolutely blew my mind were the Domaine De La Vougeraie Vougeot White Le Closs Blanc De Vougeot 2020, which was so decadent with hazelnut notes I went out and splurged, and I mean splurged, on a bottle the next day, and the Quinta Do Vale Meão Douro 2020 which included my personal tasting notes of, “Holy hell! I love the plum, juniper, chocolate and oregano flavor.” Sadly, I haven’t found a bottle of this one for my personal collection yet. My two favorite pourers I talked to were those serving the Bodega Garzón Tannat Uruguay Single Vineyard 2020 and the Flora Springs Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Holy Smoke 2021. Both of these wines were as incredible as the person repping them. Other noteworthy wines included the Allegrini Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico 2019, Albert Bichot Chablis Les Vaillons Domaine Long-Depaquit 2021, Seghesio Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley Cortina 2021, and the Viña Montes Purple Angel Colchagua Valley 2020. To say my tastebuds loved this experience would be an understatement.

As the ten o’clock hour chimed and it was time for us wine lovers to move on, we headed back to our hotel room for a super classy snack of Cheetos Pretzels, Sour Patch Kids Oreos and Gummy Bears with Tajin. While indulging in these tasty treats, we sat there rehashing the event over and over again, debating and discussing the wines and tasting notes, and talking about just how impressed we were. It was such a splendid time, and we truly didn’t want it to be over.

The Wine Spectator Grand Tour was such a magical wine moment for me that I am already impatiently awaiting them to release the list of cities where it will be held next spring, and already plotting how I will navigate through the booths during my second time at this glorious event. Though everything about this tasting was perfect, what I really loved about this experience is it helped to give me a newfound perspective on wine festivals in general. I got so lost in the wines at this tasting that I was able to shut out the din and bustle of other event goers. I navigated the crowded areas with a calm very uncharacteristic of me because I was simply enjoying the story my current wine was telling. And, thanks to this most amazing wine evening, my focus will be solely on the wine’s story every time I attend a tasting or festival from now on. No matter the level of organization, crowdedness, or general pandemonium my next wine festival adventure may have, I will calmy and happily take my pour and step aside to enjoy my wine. Because in the end, the whole point of these adventures is to make new discoveries and wine loves. Everything else is just meaningless noise that can and should be blocked out, especially those ever obnoxious woo girls. Cheers.