Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed myself at the event. The food and wine matches were good. Many of the wineries had wonderful wines but some held back their better stuff. The restaurants really worked hard to offer quality food and variety under fairly difficult situations. If you are into sampling a lot of wine and food the $85 price of entry was a bargain.

I started out being fairly analytical, tasting the wine and food carefully and taking notes. After a short while the place really got crowded. It became impossible to move in the aisles let alone selecting and going to wineries or restaurants of choice. At times it was difficult to know what winery was pouring wine in my glass or what restaurant was putting food on my plate! I figured that I must have sampled a dozen or more food and wine pairs. It was not practical to move around the facility together with our party of eight. We set up time and location to meet from time to time to compare notes. In the end it just became a big party with total strangers.

This 5th annual event was held on 4/21/2002 between 5 and 9 PM. Unfortunitely, it was on a Sunday. For the working folks with a 2+ hour drive to return home it would have been nicer if the event was on a Friday or Saturday. We would have stayed in Seattle that night. Parking was horrible as there was a Seattle Mariners game across the street at Safeco Field. We arrived nearly an hour early so we were under the tents in queue. Some people had to wait in the drizzle to get into the event.

My thanks go to the participating wineries and restaurants. As for the organizers, I am suggesting a Friday or Saturday event date (avoiding a game day). Make the aisles twice as wide to eliminate congestions. Please furnish more tables and chairs! Standing for three or four hours (counting the waiting outside) was a bit difficult for many.