This weekend I went to my local winery for their annual “Grape Day” open house. While I was there, I realized that local wineries offer a community an extremely interesting forum for interaction.
While I am lucky enough to live in a region of the country for good grape growth, not everyone has this luxury, and therefore are unlikely to have a local winery. However, for those lucky few of us, paying your local winery a visit can be a great experience.
Open house events such as “Grape Day” bring together a wide array of people from the community. Most people who attended this event all had a similar interest, and therefore created a buzz and excitement that serves to benefit a community through entertainment and commerce.
While the winery was giving out free samples of their wine (along with a commemorative wine glass with $5 admission), they were doing some great business through the sale of both their own products and products of local artisans. Many locals were present for the event, selling their jewelry, clothing, candle, pottery, and other wares, which furthered the community spirit. Additionally, a local grocery store was grilling up some meat and selling food for break-even prices while musicians sang and played under a tent.
Overall it was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon and the event really strengthened the community by giving local artists a way to sell their goods and local wine aficionados an excuse to gather and try out the winery’s new offerings.
Find out if you live near a winery. If you do, take a tour on a weekend afternoon or find out if there is an upcoming event to attend. I think you will be pleasantly surprised even if you aren’t a big wine buff because the process of making wine is extremely interesting and you get to experience a lot of really great wooden barrels (maybe it’s just me who likes that part). Local wineries are great meeting places, so look for the closest one to your home and pay it a visit with a group of your friends, will you?
