Wine aficionado or casual sipper, the first V.I.N.O Wine Festival in Bowling Green this weekend is a must-go to event for all wine lovers.
The V.I.N.O, which stands for Vintners in Northwest Ohio, Wine Festival, is on Saturday, Oct. 21, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Wood County Fair Grounds, 13800 West Poe Road, in Bowling Green.
The event, put together by VisitBG, is a celebration of good food, great wine and the fall “crush” season. For winemakers, “crush season” is the months between August and November. The grapes have almost reached their final destination. They have grown, ripened, been harvested and now it is time for the fun part, the crushing. Although the crushing is not done with feet anymore, it is still an exciting time of year for vintners.
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Ticket holders can expect much more than just delicious food and wine, the wine festival is expected to be a vibrant marketplace of crafters, artisans and other local vendors, with live music and lots of fun.
Whether you like dry or sweet, you are sure to find your favorite glass of red, white, blush, fruit or dessert wines at the festival, with various Ohio wineries coming to feature their wines.
According to the Ohio Wine Producers Association, “(the wineries) will be offering European-style vinifera, Ohio-grown natives, and French-American hybrid wines to suit every palate.”
At the fest, you can sip and shop for a unique item, go to a wine education session and listen to musical performances from the Findlay String Duo and Mike Williams on Sax.
There will also be a food demonstration from Personal Chef, Lisa Pucci Delgada. Delgado will teach festgoers how to make her Traeger grilled wings-brined and smoked, served with blue cheese whipped celery stick at her 3 p.m. demonstration, and her House bacon Traeger grilled fillet tenderloin, sliced and served with green beans, potato and mini vinaigrette salad, with charred corn at her 4:30 p.m. demonstration.
If the food demonstration makes you hungry, build-your-own charcuterie board with Lulu Fare, or devour one of their sharable dips, soups, pulled pork sandwiches or loaded pulled pork nachos.
General admission to the festival includes 20 wine samples. Tickets can be purchased for $40 in advance online or $45 at the gate. VIP tickets are also available for advance online purchase only, for $50. The VIP area will feature a sampling of the 2023 Ohio Wine Competition Gold Medal Winner and snacks.
Gillig Winery, local to Findlay, is one of the many participating wineries. They will be bringing their Sans Chene Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Syrah, Diablo Rojo, Khaleesi and Vanilla Barrel Bliss for ticket holders to taste.
For more information or to buy tickets for the V.I.N.O. Wine Festival, visit https://www.ohiowines.org/events/2022/10/13/vino-vintners-in-northwest-ohio.
