Grand Harvest Wine Festival review + 6 wine tasting tips

I attended the annual Grand Harvest Wine Festival (for the third time) at Fosterfields Living Historical Farm in Morristown, NJ.

I'm adding a new wine tab on this website. So, stay tuned for more wine updates and recommendations from me!

The wine festival always takes place outside in October which is the perfect month - after the summer heat and right before the extremely cold winter weather kicks in. For the wine tasting, it costs $25 for admission, $20 in advance, and this includes a wine glass.

First Look: My review of K. Michelle's new 'Puff &Petals' restaurant in Atlanta

When you walk in a little further, you'll see a bunch of tents set up in a huge circle on grass with different wineries where you can sample hundreds of wines. In the middle, you can find tents for artisans and crafters.

6 Tips To Make Your Wine Tasting Experience Flow Better

- Get there EARLY! The festival starts at noon and ends at 5 p.m. The organizers usually start letting people in at 11:30 a.m. and the tents are often crowded. At least if you're early, you get to hit up a couple of tents before the crowd really kicks in around 12:30 p.m.

- I suggest buying your tickets in advance to save money and to avoid the separate line of people who still have to pay. If you purchase in advance and print out your ticket, it's much quicker to get in.

- You are allowed to bring a cooler and chairs. I definitely suggest bringing your own snacks/food, water, and chairs. This year, us wine festival attendees were blessed to have beautiful warm weather verses the other years I've attended where it was much cooler. A lot of people brought their own chairs to kick back and enjoy the music and nice weather. Every year there is a different band that performs. There are a limited amount of chairs infront of the stage and a limited amount of tables near the food trucks.

- Food truck lines were extremely long! I felt like I was at Six Flags waiting to get on a new roller coaster. I waited at least a half hour in line for The Guac Spot truck. Instead of completely wasting my time, I made sure to drink some wine while waiting in line. If you don't want to wait in long lines, I suggest bringing your own snacks.

- Wine tasters are given a pencil and a couple of sheets of paper which includes the wineries and all of the wines they sell. I highly suggest making notes of all of the wines you absolutely love and perhaps cross off the ones you don't like at all. This makes it easier to remember which ones you like so you know what to purchase.

- You can open bottles of wine that are purchased at the festival (no outside liquor is permitted). If you're doing the wine tasting, I say, don't drink too much of the wine you buy so you have time to walk around all of the tents. The same wineries are pretty much there every year with most of the same wines. So, if you're a vet like me and already know what wines you like, you can attend the festival and skip out on the wine tasting all together so you don't have to pay the admission fee. Just purchase your wine bottles, kick back, drink, listen to good music and relax.

The Yummy Wines I Purchased

- One Nation Blueberry, Pink & Red from Villari Vineyards, $27.50 for the entire box (three bottles come in a box). - Santa's Little Helper from Valenzano Winery, $11. This is one of my personal favorites. A great wine for the holidays! - Red Raspberry Moscato, $12.95, and Artisan Orchard Apple/Cranberry Blend, $7.95, from Tomasello Winery. - Give Peach A Chance from Auburn Road Vineyards, $12.83.
______

Follow me on Twitter: @OooLaLaBlog | @NJLALA 
Read my social media & blog tips: Blog Like A Boss!
Sign up for the LA LA INSIDER, my new, free e-newsletter!
Looking for promo? Read more info here!