If you want to pay a premium to enter the Lexus of Richmond Walk-Around Grand Tastings an hour earlier than General Admission ticket holders, then a First-Class ticket is the way to go. The vibe during this first hour will be mellower than the three that follow and you’ll get more face time with the wine representatives on the floor. If you go First Class, you’ll be joined by a limited number of VIPs and trade.
Ticket holders are not permitted to bring any food or beverages into the Culinary Village at Historic Tredegar, including the Lexus of Richmond Walk-Around Grand Tastings. At the Grand Tastings, complimentary bread, crackers, and water will be available to cleanse your palate. There will be a few vendors sampling food, but the samples will not be nearly enough for a meal. Small plates of globally inspired cuisine will be available for sale.
The RIWE will take place rain or shine. Events are held under large, temperature controlled tents in the Culinary Village at Historic Tredegar. Thus, weather will not be an issue.
An ATM will be located in the Culinary Village.
The dress code for all events is smart, chic, or comfortable casual. For ladies, this means dresses, nice blouses or tops, slacks, skirts, nice jeans, etc. For men, this means nice button-down shirts, polo shirts, khakis, slacks, jacket (optional), but no ties. Please wear comfortable shoes at the Lexus of Richmond Walk-Around Grand Tastings, since you will be on your feet for much of the time. Also, we heartily recommend wearing black or dark-colored clothing. Red wine shows up much more prominently on white or light-colored clothes.
Coat check and wine check services will not be offered. Since the Pavilions are enclosed, weather will not be an issue. Also, October tends to be a rather temperate month in Richmond. Further, other than a limited number of Virginia wineries, wineries at the RIWE are not legally permitted to sell bottles of wine on-site. Thus, there will not be a need for a wine check service.
Parking at the RIWE is easy and within close proximity to Historic Tredegar. Multiple $5 parking lots are available downtown and there are ample opportunities to park along the streets for free (except Friday afternoon, when you may need to feed a meter).
All Pavilions at the event will be handicap accessible.
Pets are not permitted at the event.
Wines will not be available for sale by the glass.
Please refrain from wearing strong perfume, lotion, hairspray, aftershave or colognes because their scent can interfere with the bouquet of the wine. This detracts from the tasting experience of our guests.
The most popular Lexus of Richmond Walk-Around Grand Tasting sessions will be on Friday and Saturday evenings. Saturday afternoon will be bustling as well, but perhaps a bit mellower than the evening events.