Winter Wine & Ale Fest

Good time /​arrive on time everyone was happy lots of drink and food choices.
Great service and friendly people!

As Roxanne sums it, its overpriced and underwhelming. My experience was no different. My friends came to their first event and had a blast. However this year was a huge let down.
First off, the venue was not as elaborate as I’ve thought. The Huntington building’s lobby during the event was no different than any ordinary day (during the holiday season). The holiday decorations in the lobby is something they do every year. The only thing I noticed was that there were several banners showing the name of the event. Upon arriving, we were given 15 tickets for wine and beer samples. I was expecting at least 20 tickets since there are over 20 wine/​beer vendors. So having only 15, we knew we won’t be able to try all the vendors. The vendors and food stands are all scattered throughout the lobby and in vacant stores on the first floor. Most of the beers were served in chilled coolers and came out either not cold enough or too flat. Although there were a few good brews like the Christmas ale from Buckeye Brewery. What was most disappointing was the wine vendors. Almost all of the vendors had volunteers pouring their wine and had no knowledge on what it was they were pouring or what to recommended with the food tasting. The food was a bigger letdown. There were only 6 or 7 food vendors at the event and their features do not pair well with wine or beer… AT ALL… I mean who wants hummus with wine or beer? Other food items included soup (it was gross), wings (was ok), and cheeses & crackers (from Heinens — actually my favorite stand). Towards the end of the event I found myself with 6 tickets left, I just didn’t have the motivation to use the rest. It was disappointing. Whats more is that I paid $ 50 for this event… and this was the early bird! It’s $ 60 regularly! So unless they change the way they serve the alcohol and the type of foods being served at a much cheaper price, I don’t recommend or see myself coming back ever again.

Overpriced and underwhelming.
I like my wine and ale fests. I go to lots of them around town. This one is by far the smallest event I’ve ever been to. For $ 50, I expected a lot more.
There were 25 tables at the event. Some had beer. Some had wine. Some had food. There were a lot of local breweries on hand and there were a couple tables with local wine. But… overall, the selection of beer and wine was pretty poor. I went with my boyfriend and we didn’t even use up all of our tickets because there wasn’t anything we really wanted to drink. We were at the event for about an hour and then we split.
The food lines were long. Too long, in fact. I wasn’t about to wait in line with 50 people for a sample sized portion of soup or a mini falafel ball. I appreciated the fact that there was vegan food on hand… but I didn’t really get to try any.
At a lower price point, this would be a good event. Maybe $ 25? But for $ 50, I expect a lot more. (the Grapes and Ale festival at Progressive Field in the summer is $ 50 and there’s a much better variety)
Save your money and go to another beer/​wine festival around town. This one just isn’t worth it.

This was my first year being a part of Winter Wine and Ale fest. I was actually there as a volunteer and was able to participate after my shift. The fest was very well organized and in my eyes went off very well. I was able to be a pourer for one of the local breweries and I had so much fun! I think I should do a little bartending in my next life :)
There were over 30 vendors at this event, and every place I sampled was fantastic! You could tell this was a local event because everyone was so nice. I can’t wait to participate again next year!

I enoyed myself with my spouse and friends but expected a little more. Food portions were small. Beer varieties were good and most were very enjoyable but I felt it was worth more like $ 25-​$ 30 per person, not $ 50. I cannot review the wine, as I did not partake.