Kevin Robinson traveled more than 500 miles from Orange County this week to taste Sonoma County wines, but his friends from Nashville did him one better.

For their sixth consecutive year, the friends flew 2,000 miles to participate in the second and final weekend of this year’s Wine Road Barrel Tasting.

The group of eight was among the thousands of wine aficionados who descended upon tasting rooms in the Dry Creek, Russian River and Alexander valleys over the weekend to sample future vintages of more than 100 wineries.

For many, the event, now in its 32nd year, has become a tradition.

“Without question, we’ll be coming back next year,” said Robinson, 45, who was marking his fourth consecutive year at the tasting.

The festive event, which included food, wine and entertainment at many tasting rooms, drew large crowds for the second weekend, organizers said.

Overall, as many as 24,000 people may have participated this year, estimated Beth Costa, the head organizer. A final count will be available next weekend, she said.

Last year, 21,000 people participated.

As in years past, this year’s $30 ticket price and the event’s widespread advertising continued to attract young wine drinkers to the tasting, winemakers reported.

Those so-called millennials, in age from 21 to 31, tend to buy less wine than the older crowds of years past, said winemaker Clay Mauritson of Mauritson Family Winery in Dry Creek Valley.

But they also represent an encouraging trend for the industry’s future, he said.

“They aren’t sitting in the bar somewhere watching basketball and drinking beer,” he said. “They’re making the conscious decision to go out and go barrel tasting. So the positives outweigh the negatives.”

Whatever their age, for many barrel tasters the event’s appeal lies in the rare glimpse into winemaking and the chance to talk with winemakers.

Laura O’Hanesian of Healdsburg, who was wrapping up her tasting Sunday with her husband, John, at Truett Hurst Winery on Dry Creek Road, said that close-up experience keeps bringing her back every spring.

“I’ve been doing this event since I was able to legally drink,” said O’Hanesian, now 48 and a marketing manager for White Oak Vineyards and Winery in Alexander Valley. “It’s a fun time to go to local wineries and say, ‘Way to go! These taste great!’”

Costa said such exposure pays off, especially for smaller wineries, which often are able to sell out their inventory of future vintages over the course of the event.

The barrel tasting is “so much more than kids and limos,” Costa said. “If you’ve been coming for years, it’s because you appreciate talking to a winemaker about his wine. It’s a personal experience that way. You really get to know who you’re buying from.”