Jim Tumbls.

What a busy weekend… yesterday’s wine drinkers were a tough crowd. There for the quick buzz, not interested in what I consider the fun side of wine. I heard barely a thank-you the entire day and worked my ass off non-stop. Add a 20-minute thunderstorm with the sun never coming back out to dry up what would become a swamp, and it was a tough day.

Today was more laid back, more people were actually interested in the wines we served and struck up great conversation. Fewer drunks and not a thunderstorm the entire day. I got out to sample some great wines and chat it up with fellow wine enthusiasts and peddlers. Good times!

Vendor parking… a swamp after some heavy-duty trucks go through. A word to the wise… a light Mazda 3 with fat, wide tires get stuck in the mud on the left, but make it through on the right:

The vendors across the swamp from us had some great sky chairs… if only I had a place to put one:

Another vendor liked it even better than I did!

Next, we ran into a great example of how the trip to the PA Wine and Food Festival should be done. While we lowly vendors had to work all day and barely had a chance to chat it up with other wineries and taste the goods, this group did it right. They knew they’d have a bit to drink, and would fill up a car for the ride home. Better to have someone else drive you than risk a DUI or accident:

Thumbs up indeed!!

Here’s my stash from the weekend… oh it’s good to get an industry discount for the weekend!

That’s 25 more bottles to my collection… which was already around 120 bottles. Wow… it’s good to have a hobby!

A great weekend helping out my friends at Vynecrest, with an honorable mention to the absolutely wonderful crew at Shade Mountain. Many of the wineries are good, but few are great. I am fortunate to consider these two, with a few others to be great, and more importantly, great friends!