New to Canal Days this year is a wine tasting tent that will be open on July 26 and 27 from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. This tent will be located in Firemen’s Field. Four area wineries will be serving their fruits of the vine as well as other products from their wineries like produce, and other specialties. Victorianbourg Wine Estate, Americana Vineyards, Bellangelo Finger Lakes Wines and Mayer’s Lake Ontario Winery are the featured wineries for this year’s wine tasting.
The idea for this new event came about from Canal Days volunteers Denise and Greg Schweers and Pat and Bill Everett.
“The four of us have volunteered for a number of years and served on different committees. At a Canal Days meeting last year, we made this suggestion to have a wine tasting tent and after discussions, the Committee gave us the approval to move forward,” Denise Schweers explained. “We thought a wine tasting would be a great addition to and draw more people to Canal Days.”
This committee of four has high hopes for this event.
“We hope next year this wine tasting will attract more wineries, more vendors and becomes popular with Canal Days visitors,” Denise Schweers said. “This new event at Canal Days is an opportunity for people to educate themselves about wine and learn what wines they like. We encourage people to take advantage of all information that each of the experts from each winery can provide,” added Pat Everett.
Admission to the tent is $5 per person and is only open to those ages 21 and older.
Wine tasting tips
You don’t have to be a wine connoisseur to enjoy wine tasting but it does help to know a few pointers.
There is a definite technique to tasting wine.
•Hold the glass by the stem and swirl the wine in the glass allowing the wine to aerate
•Inhale the aroma before taking a sip, this allows you to pick up scent of the wine
•Swirl the wine in your mouth to pick up the different flavors
•Taste white wines first because they are lighter in taste than most reds, which tend to taste heavier and more robust.
While you are wine tasting, make sure to drink plenty of water to keep yourself hydrated. Pace yourself and drink responsibly. When drinking any alcohol, make sure to have a designated driver.
