Yes, I made it this weekend to the wine festival again….and back to the North Market along with my trusty teetotaler, DH. The wines were all outside in their little tents and there were people milling about sampling, buying, and discussing wines. It was a giant hive of wine loving humans buzzing about all of the types. I’m not even going to try and list the types of wines there but there were reds and whites and a couple of purples and goldens. There were wines from grapes, peaches, and raspberries. Oh man that peach one! More about it later. There was also meads. You name it and there was probably a representative for it there. I wish they had had some just regular grape juice for DH in there.
Upon paying your money to get in you received the lovely and oh so stylish (smirk) paper wristband saying you could participate along with a souvenir glass that was conveniently marked off at 2 and 4 oz. The reason for that was along with the bracelet and glass your entry fee also got you 10 tickets which you gave to each winery to get your sample of their wares. Some samples were 2 tickets and well…you get the point of the lines on the glasses. So how things worked was this: upon getting your entry goodies and your brochure of all of the wineries present you sallied forth to either poke your head into each booth to see what they had that tickled your fancy or you headed straight for the brands you knew already and liked. I did a bit of both.
Not every wine was a winner but one was mine. The Winery at Versailles’ peach mist carbonated peach wine. Oh yum! It was a perfect respite from the crowds and the heat. I went back twice to their booth and eventually bought a bottle. Oh I forgot to mention, besides samples you could also buy bottles at the festival. Another favorite was the Brothers Drake and their mead, specifically their bergamont blue which is made with local honey, local blueberries, and local scarlet bee balm flowers (no idea what the heck that is). How cool is that?
Peach mist goodness! 
There was also a band playing and a tent where they were having some sort of discussion about wines. If you tired of the sun and heat and went into the market you could still walk around with your glass of wine perusing the wares and possibly even picking up some lunch….or something for dinner later. Like this (seriously??????)
More local growers and farmers had pulled up their trucks and vans so there were people selling plants, flowers, fresh veggies, and my new found favorite honey. And of course there were people to watch or as I like to say – conduct your ethnographic research. Oh how I enjoy festivals. I think the Jazz and Rib one is coming up next.
Support your local growers!
Images by T.Dashfield Photography 
Oh man this looks like too much fun!!! Food, wine, music and ethnographic research…what more could anyone ask for. Super shots of the event Teri!!! Turkey feet??? ewwww
Those are turkey feet? I thought they were big chickens. What do I know, I’m a city girl 🙂
Oh I didn’t even think of chicken feet…in the photo they look really really big so I just assumed…either way I just can’t see eating them. I’ve heard people do though.
Now this sounds like a great way to spend a summer afternoon, Teri. My only problem with tasting the wine at such an event is that my “discerning” palate ain’s so discerning after a while. Worse still, as my palata fails me, my wallet tends to open more frequently. It’s the oddest thing.
But at least as your wallet opened, wine would pour in 🙂