The Sonoma County Harvest Fair features a cornucopia of local
flavor, with three full days of wine tasting, chef demonstrations,
farm and agricultural activities, art, jazz, and much more.
The annual event (this year Oct. 1- 3) draws wine enthusiasts
and families alike. There are lots of children’s activities that
have to do with harvest and agriculture, such as pumpkin carving
and scarecrow building – and un-building, according to event
spokesperson Anne Marie Przyblyski, who said the children get to
destroy their scarecrows after they build them.
Children and adults can also enjoy a surplus of good food, an
art show, a rabbit show, goat show, free horse drawn wagon rides, a
llama parade, a cow milking contest, a pumpkin toss, a beekeepers
demonstration and honey tasting, and shopping at the vendor’s
market place.
But that’s not all.
There’s also the famous grape stomp, and multiple opportunities
to taste local award-winning wines and microbrews.
That’s still not all.
“If I were taking my child (to the fair) there are so many
things that she would love, the family carnival, the animals to go
visit, the Great Pumpkin Weigh-In on Sunday …
“But, if I was going with a friend to wine taste I would head
straight to the wine tasting pavilion where we have every Sonoma
County appellation represented under one roof,” she said.
“It’s gotta small town feel but it has a lot to offer,”
Przyblyski said of the Harvest Fair. “It’s not just for locals;
it’s for anybody who wants to get the flavor of Sonoma County in
one place.”
There are two ways to go about wine tasting while at the Harvest
Fair.
Inside the Grace Pavilion on Friday (Oct. 1) from noon to 2:30
p.m. and from 4:30 to 7 p.m., people will have the opportunity to
taste by varietal, for example, a flight of strictly zinfandels.
Cost is $35 per flight, or $60 for both. Pricing includes gate
admission, a commemorative wineglass and unlimited wine
tasting.
On Saturday (Oct. 2) and Sunday (Oct. 3), from noon to 5 p.m.,
at the same place, tasters will be offered medal-winning wines by
appellation and winery. The wines will be poured by staff of the
winery that made them. Cost is $12 and includes a commemorative
wine glass and four tastes. Additional taste tickets cost $2
each.
The medal-winning wines were chosen last weekend at the Harvest
Fair Awards Night Gala, which hosts the largest annual regional
wine competition in the nation. This year’s panel of 25
professional judges sampled and scored 1,090 wine entries. “It’s a
huge night for the wineries. It’s like the Oscars for the wineries.
If you win sweepstakes it’s like winning Best Picture,” Przyblyski
said.
The foods entered in the professional food competition by local
restaurants, chefs, caterers, bakers and deli’s, were also featured
at the Awards Night Gala, and chefs will be giving cooking
demonstrations and tastings throughout the fair.
For those wishing to do more than taste fermented fruit from the
vine – say wear it, for instance – there is the World Championship
Grape Stomp, open to all ages. There is a $30 entry fee per team.
Pre-registration is advised, but people can sign up onsite if space
is available. The grape stomp action begins at 5:30 p.m., Friday
with qualifying rounds and continues Saturday at noon, 1 p.m., 3
p.m., 4 p.m., and 5 p.m., and Sunday at noon, 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Those still in the game following qualifying rounds, by now their
feet a faint shade of purple, will step back into the barrels to
compete at 5 p.m., Sunday, in the World Championship Grape Stomp
finals. The champions will win roundtrip tickets to Maui and Las
Vegas.
The beer drinkers in the crowd will not be forgotten. Microbrew
beer tasting will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday. Cost is $15
for a souvenir glass and four taste tickets. Additional tastes are
$3 each.
The fair is open from noon to 7 p.m. on Friday, and 10 a.m. to 7
p.m. Saturday and Sunday. General admission is $8 for adults, $3
for children 7 to 12, and free for children 6 and under.
For more information or to purchase tickets call the Sonoma
County fairgrounds at 545-4203.
