Wine Time at the Colony gathers winemakers, artisans
SAXONBURG -- Wine aficionados gathered at the Penn’s Colony grounds Saturday afternoon for Wine Time at the Colony.
Beth Rush, vice president and promotions with Penn’s Colony, said visitors travel to the festival, held on one Saturday in June and one in August, to sample and buy wines, crafts and food products from across the region.
“Our job is for us to create a destination for wineries to sell,” Rush said. “There are a lot of people that support them, and they can’t always drive to all the places that they are.”
For wineries such as La Vigneta Winery in Sarver, the event is a chance to introduce customers to the different types of wine they offer.
“People look for different things, depending on their tastes,” said Michael Rosensteel of La Vigneta. “We have everything. We have sweets, drys, reds and whites, so we just try to find something that people like and whatever their taste is.”
Attendees at the festival are a mixture of people who know a lot about wine, and people who are just starting out, he said.
“Normally, for me, I try to find out whether people prefer sweet or dry, because we have a variety of everything,” he said. “If they aren’t sure, we’ll start in the middle with semisweet, and work our way sweet or dry depending on their choice.”
Many of the craftspeople and artisans at the event brought food or items that go well with wine. Stands sold wine-themed decorations, and flavors that mix well with certain varieties.
“That’s why we do the gourmet mac and cheeses with the loaded bowls, so it has a flavor palette to go with any wine,” said Tandi Stivason, of Willow Creek Farm in Cabot. “Especially with the mac and cheese, I use four cheeses in my mac and cheese that go well with wine. Especially for this show, that’s what we do.”
