Rip Van Winkle Wine and Cheese Festival
Our journeys in upstate New York are turning out to be quit the pleasant experience. After our trip to the Hunter Craft Beer Festival, we figured we’d give the regional wine festival a try. So we headed up to the Village of Catskill for the Rip Van Winkle Wine and Cheese Festival.
At $20 a ticket the Rip Van Winkle Wine and Cheese festival is more affordable than the Craft Beer event. But the two events are completely different. While the Craft Beer fest was on the concrete landing at Hunter Ski Mountain, the Rip Van Winkle gathering was on the grounds of a Victorian mansion on the Hudson River. The Craft Beer crowds arrived in buses organized to discourage DUI’s, lined up for BBQ wings, and showed their general appreciation by doing their best to clear out the kegs. The wine festival was limited by the smaller number of wineries in the area, and couldn’t exactly be called rowdy.
But don’t get me wrong. I’d say the Wine and Cheese Festival might be the better option if you ever need a low-key and affordable daytrip out of NYC. It’s $30 dollars less and has shorter lines. I was able to talk to vendors and learn about making mead, and where to buy local cheese. The grassy lawn above the river is the perfect spot to hang out with a group of your girlfriends and enjoy an afternoon of wine and cheese for just $20.
To top it off, it was perfect destination to bring your parents… in fact, it was scheduled right on Mother’s Day Weekend!
Alexandra Garcia, Editor/Writer
* The editors of So Elsewhere Consulting received complimentary press tickets to attend this event.
This sounds a lovely event. I thought it was very endearing that you suggested this as a good place to take parents. I’ve emailed a link to my son… hope that he’ll remember it next Mother’s Day. In any case, I certainly will… see you there next year.
PS Will you share the tips on making Mead Wine? And any other ‘artisan’ wines… dandilion wine, perhaps?
I’ve heard there are some good wineries on Long Island. What have you heard about them? How about a followup article on a LI wine tour? Im often in NYC over the weekend between business meetings and it seems like a good way to spend the day. But, I don’t have the time to research it myself… so I’m counting on you!
So what have you lined up for Father’s Day? Saki tasting in Little Tokyo is my choice. Please: no champagne cruises on the Hudson. But, give us a head’s up early… so I can circulate your idea to my kids… I have enough ties to last a lifetime (preferably, someone elses’s).