SOBE WFF: Wine Spectator’s Trade Day

So I’m not in the «trade» and I’m not in the «biz»… but I did score some tickets to this «invitation only» event.
I know that may sound bad but as I met other guests visiting Wine Spectator’s Trade Day it became very apparent that a shockingly large number of attendees are not in the business either.
Knowing the extreme popularity of the South Beach Wine and Food Festival, we expected a huge line to enter and we were not let down… it extended from the beach, out to Ocean Drive and down the street a bit but it did move along quite fast.
Once we made it to the Trade Tasting Tents things got started crowded very quickly… as all the guests enter the only entrance into the first tent everyone goes straight to the first vendor tables; it got overwhelmingly congested and it can get a bit frustrating to have to be stuck in those hot lines.
Things got a lot better once we realized it’s better to just forgo the first half of that first tent, thus passing all the overcrowding. Of course the other areas were crowded but considerably less congested and light years easier to enjoy the samples and displays.
A bit halfway thru the day, we searched for specific wineries… and shockingly, many of those bottles we wanted to sample had run dry or already packed it in for the day. It was only half way through the day and they ran dry? !? !? !? ! Absolute buzz-​kill.
The best thing I could say about the day was the Goya food truck, the «drink» truck preparing caipirinhas and hanging with my pops for the day.