Vino under cover
Albuquerque Harvest Wine Festival to feature offerings from 21 state wineries
The Albuquerque Harvest Wine Festival returns for its second year at Balloon Fiesta Park.
The event, from Saturday, Sept. 1, through Monday, Sept. 3, will feature 21 wineries throughout New Mexico.
“I would say, on average, the wineries will be doing from five to 12 different wines for attendees to sample and buy and take home, with a wide variety from dessert sweet wines to the rich deep reds and, of course, sparkling wine,” said event organizer Dean Strober of Blue River Productions.
Event newcomer Pasando Tiempo Winery and Vineyards of Corrales will have its wines available.
The main attraction at the event is Uptown Funk Dueling Piano Bar.
“We will have dueling pianos for all three days of the festival,” Strober said. “It’s interactive and exciting. You never know what they will play. They like audience interaction. It is a really good fit for the event... And we are excited to bring that feature.”
In addition to the entertainment lineup, eventgoers can peruse about 40 vendor booths featuring silver jewelry, Native American jewelry, chocolate sauces, beef jerky, women’s wear, goat cheeses and French baguettes.
Free painting classes will be offered by Kelly Jo Design by Wine. Guests are encouraged to sign up early at the event since space is limited.
All attendees will receive a commemorative Viva Vino wine glass to sample and taste a number of great New Mexico wines.
The ticket price will include $5 off a bottle of wine of your choice. For eventgoers who purchase several bottles or cases of wine, there will be a wine bottle check available.
“We have introduced a VIP hour on Saturday morning,” Strober said. “With the VIP, they get in an hour earlier. We’ve also provided a VIP parking area and included $10 off a bottle of wine. They get $10 to spend toward the purchase of wine. They will receive 20 percent off festival merchandise.”
The Albuquerque Harvest Festival is helping guests beat the heat with its tented event.
“What makes this one different is it is pretty much fully tented,” Strober said. “We often have people complaining about the heat. This is not an event where we have to worry about heat. Everyone is housed in circus-sized tents where we have wineries, local crafts and then food vendors, so the experience is very different. It has much more of an intimate feel to it.”