Annual Bratfest improved, scheduled for October 24

MATTAWA — The third annual Gingko Forest Wines Bratfest will be held at the winery on Highway 243, a couple of miles north of Mattawa, on Saturday, Oct. 24.

The afternoon-evening, indoor-outdoor celebration will go from 5-10 p.m. The dinner will feature bratwurst, German potato salad and sauerkraut. And there will be Gingko wines to drink.

For those who don’t favor bratwurst, there will be an alternative meal featuring grilled chicken.

Also featured is a weekend special on wine by the case. Participants in the Bratfest and any other visitors that weekend will be able to purchase a case of wine at regular price and a second case of equal or lesser value for 10 percent of the regular price. A person could by two cases of the same wine priced at $240 a case for $264.

“A family getting ready for a wedding could do well here,” Gingko Forest owner Lois Thiede said.

There were 65 paying visitors last year, 85 people total, counting Gingko staff and other people who helped with the celebration. It turned cool when a strong wind from the west came up.

“The people really enjoyed bonfire we had on the west side of the building,” Thiede said.

Added to the Bratfest this year is professional entertainment. Alberto Moran, a classical guitarist from Mattawa, will perform classical music and modern music made to sound classical during the dinner hour.

For dancing, the music will be provided by a five-person group from Yakima that calls itself Bent on Blues. The Thiedes ran into Bent for Blues at the Prosser Wine & Food Festival and hired the band to play at the second anniversary dinner at Gingko this summer.

“The people who came to the anniversary dinner really liked them,” Thiede said.