Wine lovers may have had to wait an additional year to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Wine Spectator’s New York Wine Experience, with the event canceled last year due to the pandemic, but if ticket sales for this fall’s Wine Experience are any indication, they’re intent on making up for lost time.
Tickets for the 40th Annual New York Wine Experience went on sale June 2, and full weekend packages have already sold out. The wine world’s signature event will be held at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square from Oct. 21–23. Attendance will be limited this year to ensure maximum safety for all attendees. Vaccination or negative PCR test within 72 hours of the event is required.
“I am both pleased and very surprised that the 40th Anniversary edition of the New York Wine Experience has sold out in the first two weeks of ticket sales,” said Marvin R. Shanken, editor and publisher of Wine Spectator. “We are limiting attendance due to the pandemic, but we have established a waitlist in the event that we’re able to increase occupancy for the Wine Experience in the weeks and months ahead.”
The blockbuster program for this year’s Wine Experience features a host of wine world superstars who have graced the event’s stage over its four-decade history. Among those presenting their wines and telling their stories are:
• Piero Antinori, Marchesi Antinori, Italy
• Jon Bon Jovi and Jesse Bongiovi, Hampton Water, France
• Angelo Gaja and his children, Gaja, Italy
• Bill Harlan and Will Harlan, Harlan Estate, California
• Cristie Kerr, Kerr Cellars, California
• Prince Robert of Luxembourg, Château Haut-Brion, France
• Trudie Styler and Sting, Il Palagio, Italy
• Chuck Wagner, Caymus, California
The program for the Wine Experience’s Friday and Saturday seminars also includes the world premiere of Shanken’s interview with wine legend Ernest Gallo on the occasion of his 90th birthday; a vertical tasting of Château Margaux led by owner Corinne Mentzelopoulos; the ever-popular Chefs’ Challenge featuring José Andrés, Emeril Lagasse, Danny Meyer and Eric Ripert; as well as a celebration of California Cabernet Sauvignon; and of course a tasting of Wine Spectator‘s Top 10 Wines of 2020 and Top 3 of 2019, led by the magazine’s editors.
While there will be no Grand Award Banquet this year, Wine Spectator will present its Distinguished Service Award to chef, entrepreneur and humanitarian José Andrés, as well as its annual Grand Awards for the restaurant industry.
Those interested in joining the festivities can visit www.nywineexperience.com to join the waiting list for full weekend packages, for which more tickets may become available. Limited tickets for the Critics’ Choice Grand Tastings the evenings of Oct. 21 and Oct. 22 will go on sale later this summer.
The event is hosted by the Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation, which has funded over $20 million in scholarships to a number of leading institutions in the wine and hospitality industries, such as University of California, Davis, with over 800 scholarships funded, and Sonoma State University with its Wine Spectator Learning Center. The Foundation also recently donated $250,000 to World Central Kitchen, the charitable organization led by chef José Andrés. An additional announcement regarding upcoming donations and scholarships is scheduled for this fall.