Sun. Feb. 11

It's the largest consumer wine event in the whole country and it's in its 16th year here in Boston at the Seaport World Trade Center and Hotel. If you're a wine-head - we're not sure that's the proper term, but it'll do - you'll be right there. and the Boston Wine Expo. If you're curious, but not a devotee, you might just be intimidated. Don't be says Gloria Maroti Frazee, director of education and video for the co-sponsoring Wine Spectator. "It's a little placating to say, but wine is fun," she says. "It's just a choice, appreciate it at whatever level you're at." Her comparison: She had knowledgable friends who go to the symphony and understand the intricacies of the compositions. She doesn't. But she still enjoys it. Fair enough. "I haven't wasted my money on a ticket," she says. Example two: "My husband likes mustard. I love my husband. I love catsup. That's ok." The two-day wine festival wraps up Sunday Feb. 11. The New York-based Frazee will be speaking at two hour-90-minute seminars. (Cost: $50). "It will be wine and food pairings," she says. "The idea is to get different combinations in different people's mouths and talk about what they like and how to make pairings they'll like in the future." Frazee has spend twenty years as a wine lover - she started collecting in 1987 - and has spent the last ten in the professional end of that world. She's worked in wineries, "gotten my nose stuck in a lot of good bottles." Of the seminars, "I always learn from the audience. There's that 'a-ha' moment."
You can expect 20,000 people to pass through the Trade Center and Hotel this weekend sampling wines from 440 domestic and international wineries. They'll be sampling the wares of those ubiquitous "celebrity chefs" - 14 of them during a Grand Tasting in the Exhibition Hall.  It runs from 1-5 p.m. each day. Note: Over $700,000 has been contributed to 27 charities over the years. Each day's admission is $70.

200 Seaport Blvd., 877-496-3976 wine-expos.com