On February 19, 2020, I went to KFWE in Los Angeles and really loved it! It was my first time at an event like this but I know it won’t be the last! After my overview below I offer a few (hopefully) helpful tips of making the most of a food & wine event like KFWE.

KFWE stands for Kosher Food and Wine Experience, and it truly is quite an experience! You can sample literally hundreds of wines from across the globe and delicious kosher food from local restaurants, prepared onsite.

As a new mom I have to be extra responsible so I only tasted 5 different wines (but I did have plenty of food and several desserts!). My friend Francine (fellow Oxnard resident whom I met at Herzog Wine Cellars) got a hotel next door to the Palladium (where KFWE took place), which was quite clever as she was able to partake in a lot more beverages than myself and not worry about driving 🙂 Good tip for next year!

Nick stayed at home with Baby V (who’s now 9 months old) and my “date” for the evening was my dear friend (and The Marina V Show producer), Karen Allen. And while both of us are only 25% Jewish, we enjoyed this kosher night 100%! Had to make this joke, sorry! 🙂

HELPFUL TIPS

As it may be a bit overwhelming to attend such an event for the first time (it definitely was for me), here are a few tips that might make your visit more fun:

– as mentioned above, perhaps get a hotel nearby or get a ride to/from so you can REALLY enjoy some wine (I am not a believer in spitting out the wine, but that’s just me)

– get their app and check out the event’s website in advance and see which restaurants and wineries are going to be there to make a note of places you’d like to get to first

– get there early as vendors often run out of the best wine and food after the first hour

– look into getting a VIP pass (in my case, I had a VIP pass which offered access to VIP lounge with plenty of seating, some exclusive food and library wines from Herzog Wine Cellars, including their fab 2002 vintage). The VIP pass also provided a line-free entrance, which was great!

You can learn more about the KFWE at their website https://thekfwe.com They hold this event annually in Los Angeles, New York and London.

Here are a few photos below. Tried to get artsy with some of my wine glass photos, as always 🙂

In the VIP lounge (on a golden couch!!😊) with my “date”, Karen.

My favorite desserts of the night were from Delice Bakery. I won’t divulge how many I ate 🙂

This was the VIP outdoor patio with Whiskey. I couldn’t drink whiskey while driving so I peaked in at the end of the night as we were leaving and snapped the photo above.

Library wines in the VIP lounge

In the end of the night I snapped a photo of this guy who totally represented how most of us felt: happily full and quite exhausted 😊

Some of the food in the VIP lounge

VIP lounge overlooking the main event floor

Generation VIII Cab (the 2002 vintage) was my personal favorite. They had a few bottles in the VIP lounge, from Joseph Herzog’s personal collection.

Above: Champagne room and my reflection 🙂

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I hope you enjoyed this post. While our experience was complimentary, all views and photos are entirely my own. I stand by every word – as always.

Any comments and thoughts? Have you ever been to KFWE or a similar event? Are you quarter Jewish too? 🙂

Also.. if you find any typos, please let me know. I am obsessed with proper grammar and spelling but…. I type too damn fast and sometimes simply space out:)