Last weekend I attended my first-ever wine festival. Since I turned 21, I have been a fan of trying beverages from different creators. I typically am a bigger fan of beer than of wine, but I did not want to turn down an opportunity to try a bunch of local wineries.

The Grape Adventure Food and Wine Festival is a play on Six Flags Great Adventure. This was its 10th annual event. Even though we attended on a Sunday, it was still packed.

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After arriving and picking up our glassware, we went inside with our Wawa hoagies and ate lunch before heading to the tasting tents. It would be impossible for me to recount every single wine and mead we tried, but I can absolutely say there was not a single tasting I was disappointed with. From Valenzano’s specialty meads, including Nightfall, a mead that really brought home a strong coffee scent, to The Vintner’s Wife’s cream collection, everything we tried was incredible.

I was the group’s designated driver, so I called it quits on tasting about an hour into the event. I made sure to get a bottle of Valenzano’s Jersey Devil Nightfall Mead before leaving, though.

While wine flows freely at this festival, food is also a major part of the fun. Before long, I nabbed myself a pickle on a stick, exactly what it sounds like. I got a few funny looks, but it was well worth it. Later on, I got some delicious macaroni and cheese while the rest of the group tasted wines from a nearby winery.

As far as my first wine tasting went, it was successful. It helped me to realize what kinds of wines I do and don’t like and gives me more of an excuse to visit the local wineries that were pouring samples.

— Erich Martin, assistant editor