Hy-Vee’s annual Wine and Food Experience is Saturday Feb 5th from 1pm to 6pm at the DC Center, 11830 Stonegate Circle, just south and east of Mulhall’s at 120th & maple.

There are a lot of Wine tasting events now being held annually but this one and Vin Nebraska’s are the best value. $35 in advance and $40 at the door, there are a number of distributors and brands at the event. A large enough selection to get your money’s worth and enough options so that you can just focus on one or two varietals vs trying to drink everything.

When I first started attending wine tastings I tried to taste everything and I found myself imbibing too much resulting in an inability to really remember what I liked and what I didn’t. This confusion preventing me from learning what I set out to do at a tasting; learn about the differences in varietals and the characteristics within these varietals.

I didn’t start drinking Pinot Noir regularly. It was the eighties and most stores primarily stocked Cabs and Merlot so this is where I started, not counting Annie Green Springs and Strawberry Hill in High School.

But through visits to wineries, time spent tasting and sharing with wine aficionados and attending Wine events I decided for everyday drinking, Pinot was for me.

So, my point is Hy-Vee’s event (and Vin Nebraska’s in April) are a terrific opportunity to try a number of Merlots, or Chardonnays, or Pinots, to identify favorites so when you do buy wine you know what your getting and getting your money’s worth.

Plus, the event is a fundraiser for Help Children’s Respite Care in Nebraska and Iowa so your ticket is probably somewhat tax deductible.

Let’s say you’re like me and mainly drink one type of wine. Use this event to take a crash course in something your don’t usually drink, like Chardonnay. You’ll walk away knowing the difference between buttery, oak-y and lemony and what brands and regions produce these.

Once you get there, I would recommend upgrading your ticket for another $25. This gets you into the room with higher priced wines. It’s worth every penny to get a feel for the difference between under $10 bottles and the more expensive stuff.

Make sure to eat something BEFORE you go and then snack on food at the tasting and pace yourself. Drink a few and then talk about it with the friends. Ask the wine reps for a little background about the wine and if they are pouring two different Merlot ask them about the differences. Do they taste the way they described?

Make sure to hit both rooms, though, because the purpose of this event is to zero in on the best values under $10. Tasting inexpensive Merlot and then hitting the the better stuff will really help you define the characteristics in a Merlot that you desire. Mellow or robust? Fruity or smoky? How about the tannins on the finish? Too mineral? Too long?

I can’t believe I couldn’t find any info online and had to stop at Hy Vee where they took a flyer off the wall to give me as they had no brochures. Someone needs to talk to their marketing staff. Nothing on the web? Don’t you think it likely that wine fans are online people? Not even a Facebook page.

See you there