Perhaps the only vine-related event not happening at the fourth annual Kelleys Island Wine Company’s Winefest is grape mashing. You know, Lucille Ball style. Other than that, there’s plenty of fun and events to take in all day Sept. 17 at Kelleys Island’s only winery.
Want to go?
• WHAT: Kelleys Island Winefest
• WHEN: 12-8 p.m. Sept. 17
• WHERE: Kelleys Island Wine Company, 420 Woodford Road, Kelleys Island
• COST: Free
• INFO: 419-746-2678
Perhaps the only vine-related event not happening at the fourth annual Kelleys Island Wine Company’s Winefest is grape mashing. You know, Lucille Ball style. Other than that, there’s plenty of fun and events to take in all day Sept. 17 at Kelleys Island’s only winery.
“We started Winefest four years ago to celebrate our 25th anniversary,” said Kelleys Island Wine Company’s General Manager Christina Maust. “It took off so well, we just keep doing it. It’s such a real big celebration. We have live music from the [cover band] 7:30 Club playing this year. We’ll do raffles and we have food out on the lawn for a festival environment.”
Also taking place on the expansive Kelleys Island Wine Company’s grounds will be local crafts booths, kids games, cornhole, horseshoes, a bake sale, raffles, prizes and more. There will also be various foods available for purchase, including the venue’s full menu and special Winefest offerings. Nevertheless, that’s quite the list of activities for what is an admission-free event.
“We totally make this our own thing,” Maust said. “There’s nothing really like it going on. Of course it started because grapes are harvested in the fall and that’s when the winery first started. It’s unique because no one else on the island does it for sure. It’s sort of celebrating our business and 29 years of making wine.”
Maust said the attendance for the event is in the 1,000 range, which is actually around the same number the Kelleys Island Wine Company experiences for Islandfest. So what is it about Winefest that attracts such a large crowd of locals, as well as people coming over on the ferry?
“It’s the thing to do now, for the last four years, and it’s the place to be the third week of September,” Maust said. “There’s a lot of happiness. It’s one of the last events of the season up here, everything is winding down, and everybody is kind of soaking it in for the last time before the snow falls. They’re stocking up on wine before we close down for the season in November. So really it’s just kind of getting the last summer fun in.”
For more information, call 419-746-2678.
