Not so gala. The gala wine dinner Friday night was a total disaster from start to finish. We were so disappointed with the disorganization, the poor service and the remarkably odd selection and small amounts of food. Some people at our table didn't even get a serving because of the over selling of "limited" tickets. The whole live chef thing was a joke because you couldn't really hear or understand what they were saying. And having only ONE bathroom in a building with almost 200 people had to be a code violation of some kind. The main reason everyone was there was to partake of the wonderful array of award winning wines and ultimately even that was lost in the chaos, there was no presentation, order or access to the wines. We would like a full refund but doubt you will be sending them. Maybe WOW should just stick to the big tent thing, we understand that last nights event went well. Sincerely, Andy & Linda Sandeen

The 2011 World of Wine was quite a success. I attended all of the events and I want to congratulate the committees, the sponsors, and everyone involved with the events.

The Wednesday evening reception was a wonderful opportunity to meet and talk with wine industry members. Dwayne Bershaw expertly led the sensory classes Thursday and Friday, which were entertaining as well as educational.

As with the previously mentioned events, the gala event was also a new addition to the WoW schedule. The table settings were beautifully arranged and live music by Living on Dreams provided very pleasant background music. Each chef was tasked with creating a dish that would be paired with one of the gold medal winning wines assigned to them. The event itself was very innovative. Mobile cooking stations were arranged at the front of the room and each chef demonstrated how they prepared their wine pairing creation. A video camera captured the chefs’ activities via live high-definition video feed that was displayed on two very large projection screens.

I thought each chef did a superb job of matching to their wine assignment. The pairings they created brought forward the finest nuances of the gold medal winning wines. Both diners and judges voted on the chef’s performance with clever little wireless remotes, which provided data that was tabulated and the results were then presented on the large projection screens.

Reading the comment posted above, the poster was quite disappointed with the event. I disagree with some of the comments made. There was more than one restroom available to guests. A large set of women’s and men’s restrooms were available at the front of the room and a pair of single restrooms at the rear of the room appeared to be auxiliary restrooms. One comment stated there was a remarkably odd selection and small amounts of food. In the event description for the gala dinner, it was written no less than 3 times there would be "wine pairings". I never understood the event to be a "winemaker dinner" where full courses are served and wine is selected to match the food. It’s just the opposite; the wine is the focal point and the food is prepared specifically to accompany the wine. I thought the portions were the expected size for a wine pairing event. I can't agree the selection was odd at all because the pairings were specifically matched to the wine, which leads to the other comment that there was no presentation, order, or access to the wines. Labels below each glass on the table specifically provided the name of the winery, name of the wine and varietal. The wines were poured in the order of the glasses and the food presented in the same order. The comment that the live chef thing was a joke isn't fair because the majority of the audience was more interested in talking amongst themselves than listening to the presentations. The first chef seemed to have a problem with his microphone, but the other chefs were quite audible and the audience just talked louder to compensate. For those guests that were interested in the presentations, they left their tables and gathered at the front of the room to separate themselves from the guests at their tables that were more interested in socializing.

I very much liked the Saturday event. Not only was there full access to all of the participating wineries and the wines entered into the event, the food was also excellent. The tent was HUGE with plenty of open space for guests to move around. After tasting many of the wines, the bottled water provided by Ray's Market was very welcome. There were tables set up for guests outside of the tent to relax and enjoy the live music, complete with water misters. The auction wheel became very popular at the end of the event as an opportunity to take home a great bottle of wine was only $10.

Expanding the World of Wine event this year was a great idea and I very much look forward to attending next year's event!

Bruce Nicholson

Just want to congratulate the WOW organization for a successful event that obviously reflected a lot of hard work on everyone's part. The Magnolia Inn was a direct beneficiary of the event, as 2/3 of our rooms were filled by WOW attendees. We even had a couple guests that have already booked rooms for next years event. The local shop owners I spoke with reflected similar sentiments in that they were busy, and the customers seen were people who spent well. We attended the Grand Tasting, and with the exception of being too warm in the tent, it was one of the, if not the best run event we've been to in Jacksonville. There was lots of maneuvering room, rarely a line, lots of great food, good music and an overall atmosphere of fun. This was a great event to showcase Southern Oregon Wines and we can't wait until next years event. It was a terrific way to meet many of the winery owners, and taste some wines we hadn't been exposed to. Again, congratulations WOW for a great event, with few 1st year "whoops".

Robert Roos

Contrary to earlier comments, I thought 2011 WOW was a great success. I attended the Gala on Friday night and the Grand Tasting event on Saturday. This was the first year for the Gala, so a few minor glitches are to be expected. I came with the expectation of enjoying great food paired with fabulous wine, both of which were met. I also enjoyed the great live music and conversation with friends. I hope you plan on a similar event next year.

I very much enjoyed the Grand Tasting on Saturday evening. The new venue allowed for more “breathing” room than in years past. The food was good, especially the salmon from Jacksonville Inn. The wines were great and having an opportunity to talk with so many of the wine makers is what makes this event so special.

Thanks to everyone at WOW for all the hard work that goes into these festivities! My husband and I will be back next year.

Jessica Parker

This was my husband and my first time at World of Wine. We were only able to attend the Saturday night Grand Tasting. Even though we did not have another WOW event year to compare it to, we were nonetheless very impressed! We enjoyed the spaciousness, organization, structure, and wonderful variety of wines and food items to choose from. The venue was perfect we felt. The layout was also very conducive for traffic flow, which was appreciated. We are already looking forward to next year! Thank you sponsors and organizers!