Adventures in Wining

So, this past Saturday, the Wharton downtown merchants held their annual Wine and Art Fair.  It takes place on the square, starts around 4pm and ends by 9pm. 

For a number of years, I managed a local antique store downtown and we participated in the planning, the fun and joy, and general madness of this major undertaking.  From experience, I will tell you – at one time or another every single person involved was ready to (1) run away and not tell where they’re going, (2) stand in the middle of the street and scream repeatedly, or (3) beat their head against the wall exclaiming – Why Me, Why Me.  OUR DAY would begin early – 8am - and end late – after 10pm.  And except for a brief walk around the square, I never actually “attended” the Wine Fair.

This year my friend Bobby and I attended.  And, I have to say, this past Saturday was a perfect day for it.  Blue sky, cool-ish temps, mild breeze. 

So, the way it works – each store owner serves a particular type of Texas wine.  They can put out finger foods if they like but there are a few food vendors sprinkled around the square.  There is all sorts of entertainment going on. 

Participants would buy a “ticket” which includes some sort of bag filled with general information on the wines, on the downtown stops, and Wharton in general.  They also would get a wine glass and a certain number of tickets for sampling the various wines. 

Then, they go shop to shop and get a sample of each wine being served.

Now, I no longer drink much wine.  I aggravates my allergies and gives me a crippling headache almost immediately.  But I know all the store owners and wanted to see what there was to see.  The nice thing about this fair – if you’re not going to sample wine, there’s no charge to get in.  And, since Bobby isn’t a wine drinker either, we walked the wine trail, looked through the various shops, spoke with people we know, looked at the wares offered by vendors and crafters, and generally enjoyed the day.

This (last) booth was really unique.  One of the local churches was making a memory book of sorts.  If you had a memory you wanted to share, they would write it down for inclusion in the book.

This young man was a very good magician.  Of course, I believe in magic so accepting is easy for me.

It was a very pleasant outing.  We went early so it wasn’t overly crowded although, for the sake of all the merchants, I hope attendance picked up.  The primary purpose is to, not only introduce some Texas vineyards, but to showcase each shop.  I will say, the downtown stores are each different from the other so you don’t see the same thing with each stop.    

14 Oct 2019