2017 Atlanta Food & Wine Festival Recap From A Newbie Foodie

This post was sponsored by Atlanta Food and Wine Festival in exchange for my honest good old time and recap of the event.

The 2017 Atlanta Food & Wine FestivalÂ has been one of the most talked about foodie events every since I have been in Atlanta. I have wanted to be in the place for years and 2017 was the time. This year certainly has been the year of first and attending this event was no different. It took place from June 1st-4th and was hosted at Loews hotel in Midtown.

As media, I dearly wanted to bring my sidekick and best bud, hubby, but I could not, but next year it is on!!! I already told him, we will have to get us some tickets. Due to my work schedule, some events I was asked to attend I could not, but shhhhh, I had to take off to be there Friday and it was worth it.

It started off with a mini parade that stopped right across the street from the Loews hotel. I was taking pictures from the Grilling Terrace and people came over and asked what I was doing and I showed them the parade led by the creators of this great event. They were surprised.

As media, I was allowed to attend just about any learning experience that I can squeeze into and that is just what I did. My first one was Dock to Dish (pictures) which all of the classes seemed to last an hour with 45 minute breaks in between to get you where you needed to go and have enough time for environmental breaks.

Each day, there were different learning experiences, dinners/events as well as connoisseur events. The tasting tents are on all 3 days of the festival and the tents opened at 7:30pm which was cool and it was close to the hotel, so you could walk or even take the shuttle that was provided for guests. You talk about exciting and scared at the same time, that was me. It was such an experience, one that I would recommend everyone if you are a drinker and a foodie, then you would love it.

I do have some suggestions/recommendations if you are attending the event that may help you.

My recommendations for the event:

Stay hydrated â€“ If you are a drinker, then by all means, grab water and keep grabbing it. I did not grab enough and I regretted it in the end. I was a bit happier than I should have been if you catch my drift, but also for the fact that it is outside and you do not know what the weather will bring you need to keep water in you with all of that sun beating down on you.
Sanitation (Toiletries) â€“ Due to the tasting tents being outside, unless you are real cool with the restaurants nearby and use the bathrooms there, you might need some tissue and hand sanitizer. I know I almost needed both for sure.
Dress to impress â€“ Lots of people here if you want to be seen, however make sure to be flexible when it comes to shoes. I am not sure about you, but I do not like to have my heels in grass and with the Tasting Tents at Piedmont Park that is exactly what was going to happen, so I wore flats.
Donâ€™t drink and driveâ€“ Go with a designated driver and/or have someone drive you home (Uber).

What was your best moment of the Atlanta Food and Wine Festival?