Wine festival slated for June 28 at Desert Aire
The star of the Taste the Wahluke Slope wine festival is the bountiful crop of several wine grapes harvested on the slope.
MATTAWA – If you are a fan of wine and are looking for a unique taste, you need to sample Wahluke AVA wines.
The Mattawa Area Multi-Cultural Chamber of Commerce is bringing Taste the Wahluke Slope 2014 to the Desert Aire Golf Course clubhouse on Saturday, June 28, from 5-8 p.m.
“Participants last year had a great time and asked that it be an annual event,” Chamber President Lois Thiede said. “We’re hoping everyone enjoys this year’s event even more.”
Designated an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in 2009, the Wahluke Slope produces 15 percent of Washington State’s wine grapes in one of the smaller AVAs. The name “Wahluke”, a Native American term meaning watering place, is fitting for this AVA.
Six wineries (Desert Wind, Gilbert Cellars, Ginkgo Forest, Milbrandt, Palencia and Tagaris) are set to share some of their wines. All are made from grapes grown on the Wahluke Slope.
Tasting tickets are $25 per person or $45 for a couple. Tickets allow holders to taste 10 wines and keep a souvenir glass. Each winery will have either chocolate or cheese to pair with one of their wines.
This year’s event will start an hour earlier, at 5 p.m., so that visitors may have an opportunity to also enjoy a chicken dinner grilled by Jack and Dana Fox. Dinner tickets, at $10 each, will be sold separately from the tasting tickets.
An addition to this year’s event is a raffle of items donated by various businesses.
Taste and dinner tickets are on sale at Columbia Bank in Mattawa, Ginkgo Forest Winery and the John L Scott Real Estate office in Desert Aire.
Columbia Bank is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and on Friday 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Ginkgo Winery is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. John L. Scott is open Wednesday through Saturday 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. and on Sunday from 1-3 p.m.
Every winery will have extra bottles of wine for visitors to purchase and take home.
Taste the Wahluke Slope is the Chamber’s largest fund-raising event. Funds generated will help the Chamber conduct other activities to promote the businesses of the Mattawa area.
For more information, contact Chamber President Lois Thiede at 509-831-6431.
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