Paso Robles Wine Festival presents The Wine Country Auction—a new component to the popular Friday evening RESERVE event. The Wine Country Auction is quickly creating excitement for the 27th Annual Wine Festival slated for May 15–17, 2009. RESERVE takes place from 4–6 p.m. on Friday, May 15, in the beautiful Downtown City Park. Kicking off the evening is more than 70 Paso Robles library, barrel and reserve sample wines along with complementary wine country cuisine. Following is the Auction taking place at the newly renovated, historical Carnegie Library conveniently located in the park. The Wine Country Auction, showcasing packages unavailable through retail means, is a natural enhancement to RESERVE, the exclusive party before the party. Large format bottles, golf and wine getaways and wine country dinners are just a few of the lifestyle packages available on the auction block.
“RESERVE is the perfect preview to the Festival weekend, showcasing some of the most rare and difficult to find wines from the Paso Robles AVA,” said Stacie Jacob, executive director of the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance. “We felt a small auction component featuring unique wine and lifestyle packages would be the perfect addition to enrich this event.”
A limited number of RESERVE tickets are available for this exclusive wine country experience. The opportunity to bid on these rare auction lots happens only at the Friday evening RESERVE event. RESERVE admission offers wine enthusiasts more one-on-one time with winemakers, sommeliers and other members of the Paso Robles wine community scheduled to attend. Wines showcased are unique to RESERVE and are different than wines featured at the Saturday event. Tasty bites will be provided by local chefs throughout the area. RESERVE’s early start and end time is designed to complement the Friday evening line-up of various winemaker dinners and individual events at the area wineries and local restaurants. Visit www.pasowine.com for detailed information on winery events throughout the weekend.
On Saturday, May 16, more than 90 wineries will be sampling wines in the park from their diverse portfolios. RESERVE and Premium ticket holders are invited to begin the tasting at 1 p.m. (one hour earlier than Festival admission). RESERVE ticket holders are encouraged to relax in the comfort of the VIP Lounge located within Hotel Cheval’s Pony Club, where non-alcoholic refreshments will be served and chefs from the Demonstration Kitchen will come to chat with guests following their stage appearances. RESERVE tickets are $125 per person and available by advance purchase only on www.pasowine.com or by calling 800-549-WINE (9463).
In addition to the more than 400 wines, Saturday’s Grand Tasting offers a Demonstration Kitchen, courtesy of Idler’s Appliances and an Artisan Alley, featuring local epicurean delights. Samples of Hearst Ranch Beef and California Lamb will be prepared at the outdoor grilling station, and local food vendors will sell specially created wine country cuisine guaranteed to send mouth-watering aromas throughout the park.
Tickets to RESERVE as well as the Premium and Festival ticket levels are currently available on www.pasowine.com or by calling 800-549-WINE (9463). RESERVE ($125) and Premium ($75) admission is available by advance purchase only and will not be available for purchase the day of the event. Festival ($55) and Designated Driver/Child tickets ($15) will be available for purchase on the day of the event provided they are not sold out. Sunday, May 17, completes the festival weekend with individual events at more than 100 of the area wineries. Visit www.pasowine.com for more information and to plan a day of case collecting from those favorite wineries discovered during the festivals in the Paso Robles Downtown City Park.
The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance represents wineries, growers and businesses in Paso Robles Wine Country. Centrally located between San Francisco and Los Angeles, along California’s Central Coast, Paso Robles Wine Country is California’s fastest-growing wine region. It encompasses more than 26,000 vineyard acres and more than 180 wineries.
For more information, visit www.pasowine.com