Dwight Weidenhamer (right) was one of the capable wine consultants at VinoFest 2015.

VinoFest is a devilishly simple concept — set up a stage for some bands and curate a range of alluring wines for festival visitors to sample in an accessible place with good elbow room.

And so VinoFest 2015 welcomed a lot of wine and music lovers to Storey Park (1005 First St. NE, DC), essentially a parking lot waiting for mixed use development to occur in NoMa, in its second annual edition on Saturday, May 9. The lot proved spacious, the bands proved entertaining and the wines proved delicious to the hundreds and hundreds of revelers who dropped by.

The festival opened at 3pm for VIP ticketholders and then at 5pm to regular ticketholders. The VIP ticketholders certainly got the better deal. During the first two hours of access, they were able to hit the wine-sampling tent for unlimited small pours of the offerings. After 5pm, guests cashed in an allotted ticket to get a sample of wines from Spain, Australia, California and elsewhere around the world. By 630pm, the lines for wine samples were quite long, proving the popularity of the festival for wine-starved party hoppers.

Wine

With the assistance of wine consultant Dwight Weidenhamer, my party sampled several rather nice wines perfect for the hot summer-like weather. We initially enjoyed the Fritz de Katz Riesling, from Mosel, Germany, which had a wonderfully crisp texture and a medium body.

We also welcomed SeaGlass sauvignon blanc from Santa Barbara, Calif., a slightly acidic, tart wine that nonetheless offered some delightful refuge from the hot day.

Ultimately, however, we were completely won over by the sparkling wines. The Fleuraison Blanc de Blancs sparkling wine, made from white Arien grapes from the La Mancha region of Spain, was refreshing with a taste of flowers and a touch of butter. Our absolute favorite proved to be a big surprise — Summer Breeze, a U.S. bottled sparkling wine of Brazilian grapes billed as a “crackling white.” Deliciously dry and cideresque, this wine drew us back for multiple tastings.

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