Wow.

I've usually gone to ZAP as a taster, and had a lot of fun. It is better to go with a group, so that everyone can fan out and try more wines, and then report back on the good ones.

Going as a "winery" is much different. Lori and I barely had time to taste anything except for the two wineries at our right and left (Wente and Wellington).

I assumed that Lori and I would start off behind the booth, and then take some time to taste. There was an elaborate schedule of helpers that almost immediately went out the window, and we stayed behind the booth almost all day, save for a few hours where our friends Eric and Erin helped out.

How did we do?

Great I think. A lot of people really liked the wine. People took a lot of cards. Some signed up for our mailing list. One guy poured out his wine into our postcard collection bowl. Another guy almost spit in it but I stuck my hand out.

The coolest thing for me was watching the delayed reaction. Because we were unknowns, we didn't have a line, so people would come up to try the wine because it was an easy "get." They would get their taste, smile, and walk away. Now, I wanted to watch everyone who tried it to see their reaction, and almost everyone who walked away swirled, took a sip, and then turned around and came back like "Wait a minute. Who the hell are you again?"

A lot of people doubted the 17% alcohol.

I also had another winery employee call us his favorite, which really makes me proud. And by the end of the trade tasting, he was bringing up great retailers and restaurants to try us. I owe him.

And by the time the public was let in with a great collective "MOO!" I wouldn't have left from the booth if someone paid me.

So thanks to those who stopped by! This was a fun enough event for us to go to in the future, and I'll keep you posted of any other upcoming events.

I didn't take a ton of pictures, but did pick up a new digital camera and had to use it a bit.