Adults in Okotoks can put a cork in their complaining - they finally have a summertime celebration to call their own. The first annual Off the Vine Winefest is on Aug. 18 from 4 to 8 p.m. at Ethel Tucker Park for sommeliers and foodies alike. Okotoks community events specialist Mark Doherty thinks it will be a success. “Last year, we had a number of suggestions from our community that most of our events — in fact, all of our events — are family oriented, and so the question was asked, would we consider doing an age of majority event for our adult population?” said Doherty. Doherty said their first adult-only event, Okotoberfest, was a huge hit. Based on its success, someone suggested doing a wine festival, which Doherty thought would be a great way to introduce a tourism event that would draw crowds from outside the community and serve the locals simultaneously. He said they are expecting about 1,000 attendees, although their Facebook page has received a whopping 12,000 hits. “Every event that we’ve done that’s new has been a success right from the beginning,” said Doherty. “I don’t like starting events off super small, I like to jump off with both feet and go big, and then just continue to go bigger.” The event has involved collaborations with Co-op Wine and Spirits along with several local restaurants. The restaurants are offering menu items to provide attendees with a wine pairing experience along with delicious dishes. A few to look forward to are the spinach salad with bacon and blue cheese dressing, bruschetta, gluten-free bread, mushroom caps with artichoke dip, and of course, lots of cheese and crackers. “Wine festivals are really there for individuals who enjoy their wine and take [it] quite seriously and want to expand their knowledge,” Doherty said. “It’s all about trying different types of wine, learning how wines from different regions are made… etc.” Doherty said that the festival is a great opportunity for people to taste more expensive wines than they would normally buy. The average price per bottle of the sample wines is $30 to $35. Tickets to the festival can be purchased online or at the door for $60 or $50 if purchased before August 15. The cost covers 15 one-ounce wine sample tickets and 10 food sample tickets. Additional sample tickets may be purchased at the event. “Individuals who are coming to this event will probably be a little more affluent and have a bit more disposable income to throw around — we’re hoping from an economic perspective that it will put a good spin on our community,” said Doherty. He said the event will provide support and exposure for participating restaurants, but will also draw attention to other downtown businesses. “We’re hoping for a lot of people to come from outside of the community — they may be coming a little bit early… come and get gas, eat at our restaurants do a little shopping — it puts Okotoks on the map and most of the time we get return visits,” Doherty said. For more details or to purchase tickets go to okotoks.ca.
