Around the same time last year I found myself in the same space with one of my best friends sampling wine from local wineries in Pennsylvania. This year’s Women ‘n Wine LadiesFest was an upgrade from last year’s. That’s not saying much because the event was pretty disorganized last year but it wasn’t as crowded. I didn’t think it was possible but the three rooms reserved in the David L. Convention Center for over fifty vendors including wineries was ridiculously packed. The event was totally oversold which made it quite uncomfortable and getting a decent amount of wine was pretty much impossible. The whole point of attending a Wine event is to after all try the wine and maybe buy some. Looking past the frustrating crowd there were some high points of the event that I hope they keep for next year.

Some of the wines I did try were tasty. Bee Kind Winery is one of my local favorites. Waiting in a ridiculously Kennywood sized line wasn’t work the sip at the end of the line.

The boutiques there were awesome sauce. I got this cool necklace for less than thirty bucks from Anthony’s Accessories.  I can’t wait to find somewhere to flaunt it.

Bella Capelli’s students did awesome jobs giving away free hairstyles and doing nails. I loved sitting and getting my nails done. They were a well oiled machine. My friend even got her hair done and while I was watching I discovered curling wands are not that intimidating and if I ever get around to straightening my natural hair I will definitely buy one and try it.

Wine and painting looked fun. People signed up to sit with friends and paint their wine glasses. It was a cool idea but the slots filled quickly and I didn’t get a chance to do it. They should definitely keep this event for next year. It reminded me of the Painting with a Twist event I attended in November.

If you were selling meals, you would’ve made a killing because there were very few food vendors. On the floor someone was selling parfaits and salads and that’s about as good as it got. There were free samples of bruschetta and tuna salad from Tommy’s Catering and the bruschetta was amazing. It made me want an Italian meal right then and there. Another great vendor was a woman who was selling chocolate covered anything. I had a S’mores pretzel and it tasted like heaven and brought me to the one day I spent as a Girls Scout. I just hope next year they try and get actual food vendors and not oversell the event. I would gladly pay more for my ticket if they would allow less people. It was a little more organized than last year but I feel like next year if they took notes and listened to what attendees said, they could get this event right and it could be big. I’m going to attend again. Hopefully it’s just as awesome. Did you attend the Winefest this year? I’m laughing because I think my New Year’s Resolution is to eat my way through Pittsburgh. 🙂

How was your weekend?