Kirkland Uncorked

Hottest day of the year and Kirkland throws one of the hottest parties of the year? Perfect!
If you like food, wine, and fun then you might have a good time at this event. So many activities, booths, vendors, samples, food trucks, photo opp’s, and of course lots of wine and other assorted beverages. The layout pretty much takes up the entirety of Marina Park, the adjoining parking lot, and a couple adjacent side streets and you also get the feeling that all of downtown is participating in this three day weekend extravaganza.
I was happy to see so many food trucks as the fear at these type of events is that they will run out of food before each day ends. While some did, there were more than enough options to keep everyone happy although there could have been a little more variety. If food truck fare isn’t your fancy then there was still all the nearby restaurants and bars surrounding the park to meet your needs.
The wine tasting stations and wine store were definitely the highlights of the event and each had a steady stream of people sampling and purchasing to their heart’s content or capacity, I guess. For wine and beer samples, you had to purchase drink tokens which could then be redeemed anywhere within the fenced in, over 21 area. The security and event staff (mostly volunteers) did a great job of keeping things organized and helped people with whatever they needed over the course of the weekend.

I enjoyed the event but I was attending with «The World is Fun» as a volunteer. So my experience encompasses the work being done, organization, and the experience of the event after my shift as well.
I was surprised as to how big the event could be in that little area of space as well as controlled since the beach is open in all sides. The pours were straight forward since they hall had regulated tops on them so you always had the proper amount at each location. Many of the booths had actual reps and vendors attending and pouring so one could get information on the wine of choice. There was also a beer tent and a place to get a little spiked vodka drink as well. That made the event open to many types of tastes other than just wine.
The food trucks were all a bit so-​so. Many of them fusion and trying too hard to be a gimmick rather than just serve good food! I don’t care if it is fancy, don’t charge me a lot of money for truck food and then make it difficult to eat. I want real food served from a normal truck. I think that truck would have sold the most. I saw many people just wandering deciding to eat something and settled. Since you had to go out of the venue to eat, one might as well have gone to the many restaurants in the area. it’s Kirkland! Anyway, I’m a fan of this event and had a good time overall. It was not a «perfect» experience and it was a bit small with not many attendees this year.

It was my first time here at Kirkland Uncorked and I’m very glad my friends took me here while I was visiting Seattle. It was a warm summer day and the atmosphere was just phenomenal. The wine tasting was the best. Walking around to the different stations and talking to knowledgeable staff who really know their wines was a great experience. The chocolate, jerky, and oil & vinegar stations were really a nice treat as well. And having all this take place right on the water of Lake Washington really topped it off for me. I’m sorry to see that this wonderful event only takes place once a year.

I go every year, and it’s always fun. Sunday tends to be less-​crowded, and that’s when City Dog has their model search, which my dog has participated in (hehe)! Also, Sunday is when there are food trucks.
I usually get my tickets at Fred Meyer’s for the four additional tokens, which is nice. Plus, if you check in with Unilocal,you get an additional token.
There are vendors selling artwork, apparel, accessories. There’s a «beer garden» which is basically Stella Artois Cidre on tap for two tokens. The plus to this is you keep the Stella glass. There’s also a cocktail with a local liquor, which this year was the Strawberry Lemonade with Vodka for two tokens. It’s not really worth it — you can’t taste the vodka.
Most of the wineries are the same that have participated in past years. Few are new. But you will have fun, sipping wines and finding new wineries to visit in Woodinville and in Eastern Washington. Kirkland Uncorked is always a fun way to spend a Sunday.

There was a dog event Sunday with Beatles cover band, Saturday there was a hamburger contest. And picked a nice day. Wish had more tents /​umbrellas maybe more food trucks they had two grilled cheese trucks

Maybe I’ve gotten spoiled with the wine and beer fests in Vegas but Kirkland Uncorked was a disaster in comparison. It would be an injustice to compare this to Vegas events.
You have a park and the event is fenced in, everyone needs to pay to get in. You can either pay as a drinker or as a DD. In my opinion, DD’s should be able to get in free. Especially if an event like this is pay per wine tasting. You either pay one or two tokens, and some two token wines were not worth it at all. Mixed drinks were the only ones worth the tokens.
The cook off was a disaster and unorganized.
Back to the DD (Designated driver). They were given four tokens for water or soda or whatever but there was no DD station at all. When we were done, we told the staff that the DD wasn’t able to get water, soda, or anything and every time we asked for the DD booth we kept being pointed across the park. They refused to refund the $ 20 but said that the chips were good for $ 5 each chip towards Starbucks at a certain location. We stopped by there and they didn’t know what we were talking about.
The extra star point for me was the Foodtruck Feast and Street Fair.

Kirkland Uncorked is the Eastside’s alternative to the Bite of Seattle as both take place on the same weekend each year. This was my first year attending this event. Unlike the Bite, I found that Uncorked does a decent job of representing the local restaurant scene.
To be fair, this event is first about wine and then food. Think of this as an outdoor wine bar festival. It takes place at beautiful Marina Park on the Kirkland Waterfront. The wine festival also offers up hors d’oeuvres from many of the finest restaurants in the area to festival goers. To enter the wine festival area, you do need to purchase tickets before entering.
If you are not into wine, fret not. They have a food truck event on Sunday which is why I attended this event. About 20 or so food trucks were on hand serving great food in the Kirkland sun. The trucks were setup in the Promenade (parking lot), just outside the wine festival entrance.
There was quite a diverse selection of food trucks here. Though I did kind of feel like there was a slant towards hearty fare. There was not much in the way of dessert trucks aside from Street Treats and Waffle Wagon. Fortunately, there are plenty of dessert places in Downtown Kirkland nearby to fill that void. Overall, I have to say this is arguably the best food truck event on the Eastside based on the number of vendors and food options available.
If you are thinking of going next year, know that Uncorked is relatively easy to find parking compared to the Bite. Kirkland is full of free public parking lots in addition to free street parking. The lot closest to Marina Park however is unavailable since it is closed off for the event. Also, you should try to avoid Market St and Lake St as those are the areas closest to event and those roads were slow to move. It is easier to find parking near Kirkland Parkplace.
If not for a Bruno Mars concert I was attending at the Key on the same day, I probably would have skipped the Bite altogether. I think Kirkland Uncorked is a better event for its ability to execute on its mission statement as a regional showcase for arts, food and wine. Though if you don’t like wine or food trucks, then this festival is not for you. Fortunately, I like food trucks so I will return next year as long as it is on par with this year’s truck turnout.