Who says Utah doesn't know how to party?

The Park City Food and Wine Festival is a huge annual event spanning three days, and it was the first big thing we did together after moving to Utah. The three days have everything from large tastings, to group hikes/picnics, to mountain biking. There is also a huge variety of tasting classes on specific types of wine. No one is capable of hitting every event, so we decided to go to the Grand Tasting and a few smaller events after it.

Since it’s summer even the best hotels at the mountain resorts are very inexpensive. We got an all inclusive package at the Waldorf Astoria. The room was more like a suite and was completely amazing - not that we spent much time in the room, but it was still nice to be spoiled for a night.

We spent the afternoon hanging out at the pool and relaxing before getting ready. The Grand Tasting was from 3-6. We had to take a gondola to get there, which felt pretty strange without our equipment. The venue was amazing; it put the Grand Rapids Wine Festival to shame. There were tons of great vineyards and restaurants represented – and they were serving and pouring truly gourmet stuff. There were a ton of people there, but it was so open that we barely noticed.

The folk singer had the smoothest, James-Taylor voice. About halfway through the day he sang a version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by an amazing Hawiian singer named Iz. It’s one of my favorite versions of the song. We started looking around at the mountains and the people, and realizing that we really did what we’ve always wanted to do. The song was about dreams actually coming true, and ours had. We both got all choked up, but we were wearing shades so I don’t think anyone else noticed. It was a great moment to share together after spending so much time apart.

After the Grand Tasting there was a cocktail and food party at the hotel complete with a pig roast and tons of specialty cocktails. We hung out there for a few hours, but were totally spent by about 9pm.

The only downside to this wine taste was that – unlike in Michigan – you couldn’t order discounted wines during the taste. Most were available at the State Liquor stores, but at full price.