Twin Cities Food & Wine Experience

Sooooo – I purchased tickets to this as a present they were a little on the steep side 75.00 and for this you get a wine glass and in the door. getting to the wine and food is your own problem and it is crowded… I would recommend getting one of those hanging things for your glass so it can hang around your neck for ease and also as you start to sample it prevents you from spilling. There was not much «food» to be had for the price… and I thought some of the vendors where a little on the stingy side with the wine pours… I can understand because I am positive they pay top dollar to be in this event and then they have the cost of giving out freebies all day long… but still — –if you pay 75.00 for an event you expect to really get your monies worth. the only «extra» i got was one beer sampling was giving away really cool glasses for their german beer… they had four varieties and were watching like a hawk that you only got one… They had some cool products on display but not as many as you would expect for this to be in the heart of Minneapolis. To be honest I can get just as much sampling on a Saturday afternoon just by visiting World Market, Trader Joes, a couple liquor stores, and a few bars… and it would be free — but hey sometimes you just need something to do and somewhere to go but whoever puts this together needs to probably make sure they have more food vendors and encourage the vendors that do sign up to put their best most friendly employees at it to staff and perhaps they need to drink a few drinks before hand to get in the mood…

Long lines, the space was tiny, the tickets were extremely expensive, and didn’t even see the full size room until the very end as I was leaving (poor signage). I hope they get the message and can fix this for 2012.

I have been going to the expo for 5 years now, and I will tell you this was the worst one. I was worried about having it the Twins stadium but my friends and I go every year and we said we would try again. My fears came true.
It was a mess from the start. The whole line up here, then go back from where you came, then go here, then go over there, just to get in was huge waste of time and showed you had no clue what you were doing. The poor little girls and their families that had wok their way around our huge line just to get to their cars was horrible, (the Disney on Ice Princess’s).
We paid more for less time, less wine vendors, less space and longer lines. It was so crowded and hot in there. Way more food then wine. Last year I loved the fact that I could talk to the vendors and ask where I could get their wine and talk about it, but this year I was lucky to get a taste.
We were herded like cattle through the tight hallways it was very hard to stop to see what the booths had. The only fun part was the Gold n Plump bean bag toss for the food shelf.
We didn’t even know there was another room till we had gotten out coats and were leaving! No signs, no one telling us about that room when we first got there.
I did get to talk to a lot of different people, while waiting in line after line, and not one person liked the new venue.
So if they have it there next year, my friends and I will not be going. Plus several people that I talked to said the same thing.

I used to attend this event religiously, my friends and I driving from Chicago, Milwaukee, and Green Bay to spend the weekend in Minneapolis to enjoy the show on Saturday. Having all lived in the Twin Cities, the exhibitors were a trip down foodie nostalgia lane for us. We’d encourage our family and friends to join us every year, and we’d arrive at 9 AM to be the first in line.
Obsessive? Probably.
But all other food and wine/​beer tasting events seemed to pale in comparison to the scale and value of this one. $ 50 (when we first started our annual pilgrimage) for 7 and a half hours of all the tastings you can handle? Yes, please! A 2-​night hotel stay with the cost of gas and incidentals seemed a small price to pay for such a fun event — the «experience» of the Food & Wine Experience being so much more than the day.
The show was (and still is) a nice mix of 5-​star wine and food with more approachable-​for-​the-​masses cuisine and tastings. Cooking demonstrations, more elite tastings in The Reserve, and workshops throughout the day kept you busy, educated, and satisfied.
But I won’t be going this year.
No, not because the venue changed from the Minneapolis Convention Center to Target Field. In fact, Target Field looks absolutely stunning as a backdrop for this event.
I won’t be going because by increasing the ticket price by 15% and decreasing the show time by more than 50% no longer makes this «experience» worth it for those out-​of-​state. The scale of tastings alone may still make it worth it for those in the immediate Twin Cities area, but I can’t recommend it anymore to folks out of Minnesota or who would have a long enough drive to constitute a hotel stay.
This is the first year I’ve been bombarded with ticket solicitations so close to the event date and I’m rather shocked they haven’t sold out yet as they do every year. Though perhaps I’m not so shocked. Hopefully something will change for the better and I can once again make my annual mid-​winter pilgrimage to Minneapolis.