May 19th10th Annual Wine and Vine Festival

Being a vendor is quite a bit different from being a visitor at a wine festival. Instead of visiting the booths and tasting the wine, I spent Saturday greeting guests and chatting with those who wanted to talk about my book, A Wine Lover’s Odyssey Across Kentucky. I met some very interesting people and learned some lessons about festivals, such as what I needed to provide.

One of the interesting people I spoke with was Tom Beall, the owner of First Vineyard, just outside of Nicholasville. This winery is located on the site of the first commercial vineyard in the United States, established by Jean Jacques Dufour in the late 1700’s. The label on the First Vineyard wines uses Dufour’s name. I am looking forward to visiting First Vineyard this summer and will share my news with you.

My husband and I also had the pleasure of spending some time talking to the owners of the Rose Hill Winery, located in Pendleton County. They are actually fairly close neighbors, but they are in a dry part of the county and don’t have a tasting room. Their wine is available at the Farmer’s Market in Falmouth, and they will be pouring at Maysville Uncorked on June 8. I have a special thanks for Jenny, for the use of her extra tablecloth.

We met a creative lady at the neighboring booth. Kathy York uses natural and artificial corks to make items such as key rings, magnets, and coasters. There was a steady stream of visitors to view her creations. You will find a link to her website on my link page.

After interviewing Patty Livinski on the phone for my book, it was pleasant to get to meet and talk with her.  Patty is one of the owners of Lovers Leap Vineyard and Winery. I was able to thank her for her support of the book.

Needless to say, this wine lover did get to enjoy some wine. Visitors were able to taste wines from many of the state wineries. A few of those attending were Prodigy Vineyard and Winery, Lovers Leap Vineyard and Winery, Rose Hill Winery, and First Vineyard.

Hundreds took a chance on the sporadic weather, and enjoyed the event. I enjoyed the day, the festival, and all of the many interesting people I was able to visit with.