Grapes & Hops Festival

We have been coming to G and H every year. It's hard to believe it's been ten years! It has eve lived through the years and you have your regulars that you enjoy seeing and tasting their food. The beer and wine can very, but you have the regulars there too. This was the first year, I felt it was a little off. Not the food! We loved mon ami gabi , strip burgers and el Segundo. No it was the over all venue. Hmmm how do I say this, it was a little bit more crowded and I don't think there was a good flow. I think partially because they closed the back garden area down. They said it was because of the wind. They were probably write. Flow and crowd control is essential. Maybe next year it will be different. The clusters of people were because the tastings were moved to several inside spaces. You would think, "isn't that a good idea?!" In part it is because it shelters the individuals who are tasting, but the issue is they were not moving through the spaces fast enough causing huge clusters in the rooms. The rooms had four to six tastings, so that meant more. And more people congregating. In the garden area, they are spread out more, so the distance elevates the clustering. Again, not a show stopper. The music could have been better.

This was my second year going. The lines were a lot shorter compared to last year. But I had lots of fun both years. I just talked and drank with my friends while waiting so it didn't feel that bad. It's a fun experience and they have a pretty good selection!

Fantastic festival with a bunch of wine, beer, and food for a fair price! We got the $80 for a pair of tickets in advance online, and I'm so glad we did, because the event sold out on the day of!It was around 6pm when we got there, so parking inside the Springs Preserve was full. There was a designated overflow parking one block away, but we parked right across by the Meadows Mall.Once we entered, they checked our IDs, scanned our tickets, gave us the tasting glass cup and pink ribbon light-up necklace for Breast Cancer Awareness. Now, we're in and free to drink and eat everything!The great thing about this event is that FOOD IS INCLUDED in addition to the beer and wine! They had 6 food vendors, which at first thought wasn't a lot, but it was definitely enough to get me full! My friends were more than satisfied with the food also! The lines for the food and drinks could get long but they all move pretty fast!For the grapes & hops, they had a plethora of vendors! I drank mostly beer than wine since I'm a super lightweight. They also have dump buckets if you can't finish your drink or don't like it. My favorite was this peach beer and amber ale. I wish I took more pictures of the vendors, but both my hands were always full - beer on one hand and food on the other!I HIGHLY recommend this festival! This was my first year going and plan to attend every year now!

This was my first time going to grapes & hops. But not my first beer and wine fest. The lines were the longest I've ever experienced at an event like this. I like the location but it made it hard to look around to see who had short lines. We ended up getting tired of waiting and left early. We go to strip burger for happy hour at least once a month and their stand did not do it justice. I'd choose a different beer event next time. Or just go to strip burger and skip the crowd.