8 wineries set for Sip of Slope
Katie and Pete Beaumont, of Beaumont Cellars in Quincy, plan to pour tastes of their wines at the Sip of the Slope wine festival at the Royal City Community Center on Saturday, Sept. 22. Their wines won two silver medals and three bronzes at the recently concluded North Central Wine Competition.
ROYAL CITY – Sip of the Slope, which was designed to showcase area wines, will have eight wineries, including some which have produced award-winning wines and one that is brand new.
Sip of the Slope will be held from 4-8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 22, at the Royal City Community Center on Dodson Road, near Highway 26. It will be sponsored by and be a fund raiser for Strengthening the Heart of the Community (SHOC).
Any funds raised – first year events are tough – will go back to the community in improvement or enhancement projects. The purpose of the SHOC organization is to aid in anyway the continued growth and development of the Royal Slope area.
“SHOC decided it needed to sponsor an event to at least call attention to some of our varied industries,” SHOC's Linda Murphy said. “Though the slope is noted for all kinds of crops, we decided to begin with our viticulture. I've heard there are 14 wineries in Grant County. I hope we can get all 14 next year.”
Sip of the Slope will be an indoor-outdoor event, with all wineries setting up in the community center. There will be food vendors outside the building. There will also be live entertainment by Slag Callahan and Ben Charron.
“We hope that people will attend, have a great time, and leave with a feeling that they know more about the area's rapidly growing grape production and wine industry,” Murphy said.
Tickets went on sale in mid-August. They are available for purchase at Royal City Harvest Foods, Mack’s Mocha and at the door the day of the event. The price of admission — $25 — will cover eight wine tastings and food offerings from the vendors.
Corked wine for home consumption will be available for sale the day of the tasting. Credit cards will be accepted.
“We are delighted that eight wineries have expressed an interest to attend,” Murphy said. “We also have six of our local food venders who have agreed to prepare tasty edibles to complement the various wine selections.”
The food venders will be Royal City Harvest Foods Deli, La Cabaña Restaurant, Deli-sh Cafe, Mardon Cafe, Mack's Mocha and Hugo Ledezma's Tacos.
The wineries committed to participate are Jones of Washington from Quincy, Beaumont Cellars of Quincy, White Heron Cellars of Trinidad, Gingko Forest Winery of Mattawa, Gard Vintners of Royal City, Frenchman Hills Winery of Royal City, Foxy Roxy Wine Co. of Royal City and newcomer Camas Cove Cellars of Moses Lake.
“We not only want to encourage the addition of new business and industry but to acknowledge the industry that currently exists in our area,” Murphy said. “That is no more evident than in the viticulture industry that has grown tremendously since the early 1990s.”
“It was that thinking that spurred us to attempt to gather several of the wineries together to display their many wonderful wines,” she added. “The Royal Slope area is grateful for contributions of the wine industry, but we don't always associate the product they put on the store shelf with people involved its production. This is a chance for them to come together and show off, so to say.”