Despite the warm weather, it’s time to raise a glass to fall and the end of harvest as the Butte County Wine Trail returns for its second year Friday through Sunday.
Instead of a month-long event with the trail wineries open every weekend, this year’s event has “returned to its roots” of featuring Butte County wineries and vineyards over the Columbus Day weekend,” said Alyse Hickman, owner of Hickman Family Vineyards.
“It’s such a fun event,” said Hickman. “By adding Friday night we are still sticking to the one-weekend schedule, which is what our customers told us they liked better than every weekend during October, but giving people the opportunity to spread it out over the three days alleviates any stress about trying to get to all the wineries in just two days.”
The Butte County Wine Trail starts Friday when eight of the nine participating wineries will be open from 5 to 9 p.m. for pre-trail festivities and tastings. On Saturday and Sunday the trail runs from noon to 5 p.m. at Almendra Winery and Bertagna Son Kissed Vineyards, Bangor Ranch Winery, Gale Vineyards, Hickman Family Vineyards, LaRocca Vineyards Tasting Room, Live Vine Vineyard and Winery, Long Creek Winery, Nascere Vineyards and Grey Fox Vineyards. Grey Fox will not be open Friday.
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Tickets for the three-day trail are $35 each or $60 per couple and available along with more information about the event at https://www.buttecounty.wine. All tickets provide full access and tastings as well as a souvenir glass. The ticket sale proceeds benefit the Butte County Fire Safe Council.
“The wine trail is just a nice celebration for the end of harvest season,” said Susan Smith, trail coordinator and co-owner of Live Vine Vineyard and Winery. “We really look forward to welcoming the public into our wineries to talk to the owners, see the equipment we use and learn about the process.”
Each of the wineries will be serving three tastings of select varietals as well as special food pairing to go with each wine. Some wineries will include barrel tastings for ticket holders as well as additional food like acai bowls and fresh pizza for purchase. Several of the wineries will also have live music, vendors and Long Creek Winery will have a photo booth throughout the weekend.
The nine Northern Foothill Appellation Butte County wineries produce a variety of wines from bold reds to crisp whites including favorites such as Zinfandel, Syrah, Barbera, Dolcetto and Sangiovese as well as the more traditional Cabernet Sauvignon, Cab Franc, Merlot and Chardonnay.
At Hickman Family Vineyards new releases of Durif, a robust red, and Petit Verdot, a complex red, will be included in the tastings. At Grey Fox Vineyards owner Jeanne Cecchi said she has three wines and pairings selected but should a customer wish to substitute one of the selected wines for a Grey Fox port tasting they may do so. Grey Fox is also where the Butte County Fire Safe Council will have an informational booth to educate people on the council’s many programs and services.
“We also have great views and will have coffee for the designated drivers,” added Cecchi.
Butte County Wine Trail offers ticket holders the chance to taste a total of 27 different wines which comes out to about 77-cents a taste.
“It’s a fabulous deal really,” said Smith “It’s pretty cheap for a weekend of fine, good wine, education and the chance to explore our local wineries. And, it supports a great cause. (Butte County) Fire Safe Council really does a lot for our communities.”
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