Forks & Corks 2017 tasting tickets go on sale

Wine festivals are to Sarasota what Justin Bieber concerts are to infatuated teenage girls.

Never has this been more true than when applied to the annual Forks & Corks Food and Wine Festival. Over the last several years the main event, The Grand Tasting, has sold out in just a few minutes. Tonight, wine aficionados will get their chance to vie for the opportunity to experience the beloved event in January.

At 7 p.m. tonight, anyone interested in buying a ticket to the event will be able to log onto the Sarasota-Manatee Originals’ website and cross their fingers that they’ll be one of the lucky 1,500 who get to the purchase screen. Because so many people are expected to be on the site at the same time, some will be put in a custom queue that will tell them their place in line. When in the queue, organizers note that it’s important to not refresh the page. If any interested ticket buyers hit refresh, they will lose their spot in the queue.

Being in the queue doesn’t guarantee that tickets are being held for the potential buyer, and it’s very possible that the event will sell out during the time spent in the queue, according to the Sarasota-Manatee Originals’ website. Last year there were four times as many people trying to buy tickets as there were tickets available for sale.

The 10th-annual Forks & Corks Food and Wine Festival aims to showcase a diverse array of both visiting winemakers and local restaurateurs who will partake in a series of events from Jan. 27-30, 2017. The festival is hosted by Sarasota-Manatee Originals, which is a group of local restaurant owners committed to dining excellence.

The Grand Tasting will take place in the courtyard of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art on Sunday, Jan. 29 from noon-4 p.m. Those lucky enough to attend will be able to taste fine wine and food from more than 50 members of The Sarasota-Manatee Originals group of restaurants as well as visiting wine connoisseurs. Those who aren’t able to get tickets are encouraged to attend the winemaker and Forks & Corks University events throughout the weekend.