Kirkland Uncorked (July 13-15), formerly Kirkland SummerFest, is a weekend "Festival of Style & Taste" held in downtown Kirkland's Marina Park. This two and a half day event, which features various Washington wines, food, art and music, is touted as Kirkland's "signature summer event" with the goal to bring people into Kirkland to enjoy the downtown area shops, restaurants, and of course the marina. Basically it's a way to get people to come and spend money in Kirkland. And if you planned on tasting wine then hopefully you brought enough of it to spare because spending a lot of money is exactly what you did!
The wine tasting took place within the fenced off “Classical King FM Tasting & Lifestyle Garden,” which for $25 provided admittance and included a brown paper sack full of one tasting glass and five tasting "pogs". Each "pog" earned you one taste of food, provided by local restaurants, or a taste of wine offered up by volunteers representing various Washington wineries. So, breaking that down, if you were to take the tasting glass out of the equation (worth approximately $1-2), each wine/food taste comes out to approximately $5 each. That's $5 for 1-2 ounces of wine!!!
Now I understand, that like many wine events, some of this price gouging may be used as a way to detour people from drinking too much. But to charge $25 for what equates to approximately one standard glass of wine is just a little ridiculous! Maybe they also took into account that it was hot outside therefore the value of a refreshing beverage was even that more valuable. Anyway, it was for this reason that I instead paid the $8 entry (reserved for designated drivers), which got you nothing except the opportunity to be there. At least then I could enjoy a couple glasses of finely crafted beer for the same price as one taste, or 1.5oz glass of wine.
Outside of the ridiculous cost of wine (yes I did use the word “ridiculous” more than once), the event itself is a nice opportunity to come and spend some time in the sun enjoying downtown Kirkland and the waterfront. This is especially true for those that live and work in the Westside, who may not make it over the water that often. Unfortunately many of you probably chose to stay on the Westside this weekend due to the fact that the 520 bridge was closed for inspection. Ooops! I guess we’ll have to plan that out a little better for next year.