Wine Festival will be bigger, better than ever, organizers say

Wine Festival will be bigger, better than ever, organizers say

By Bob Ratterman
Contributing Writer

OXFORD — Growing every year, the Oxford Wine Festival has become a popular draw that brings many visitors to the city and gives residents a day of socializing, while enjoying art and music and toasting what the community has to offer.
The sixth annual event will be held Saturday, May 18, from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., and the Oxford Chamber of Commerce is promising it will be the best one yet.
Billed as “Ohio’s Premier Wine, Art and Music Event,” the wine festival is growing even more in 2013. There will be more artists, a celebrity guest chef and a VIP Premier Pour Lounge to celebrate Oxford.
“The Oxford Wine Festival is getting bigger and better every year,” Chamber of Commerce President Carol Dockum said. “This is our sixth annual and we’re excited about the VIP Premier Pour Lounge, too, so we can feature our local establishments that carry fine wines.”
The Wine Festival aims to have residents and visitors enjoy Uptown Oxford during a full day of International Wine Tastings, VIP Premium Pour Wine Lounge, Artisans, Beer Garden sponsored by MillerCoors and Tenth & Blake Domestic, Craft and Import Beers, Live Music and Culinary Demos for a Taste of Oxford Cuisine.
An expanded food program will also be part of this year’s festival as several chefs will be on hand for demonstrations, including Amy Tobin, as celebrity chef. Tobin has a cooking show on Q-102 and will offer a late-afternoon demonstration.


Alan Kyger, a member of the steering committee for the Wine Festival, reminded city council at its meeting Tuesday about the plans for this year’s event.
He said there are 16 artists showing their work along with six food vendors and merchants with booths. He said beer was added last year and it went over well, leading to plans for more craft beers this year.
“It’s free to come in. Lisa Biales has lined up a great music program,” Kyger said. “So, people can just come in and enjoy the music.”
There will be something for most musical tastes, including Biales herself playing in a popular local trio with Doug Hamilton and Michael G. Ronstadt. Their time slot will be in the early evening.
The Oxford Wine Festival is a chance for residents and visitors to enjoy the day and evening in Uptown Oxford, but Dockum reminds everyone that there is also a serious purpose behind all the fun.
“Keep in mind that the purpose of the Oxford Wine Festival is to celebrate the great assets we have in our community as we toast our town,” Dockum said. “We raise funds to support our scholarship, which is awarded to a Talawanda High School student to attend a non-traditional school to further their education. The funds are handled through the Oxford Community Foundation.”
To find out more about this year’s festival and to purchase tickets at the advance discount rate, visit www.oxfordchamber.org. Cost is $20 online or $25 on the day of the event. Cost includes five tasting tickets and a souvenir glass. Additional tasting tickets are $2.


MUSIC AT THE OXFORD WINE FESTIVAL
2-3:15 p.m.: Wild Carrot
Pam Temple and Spencer funk are a Cincinnati-based, award-winning group to please folk music fans. Rooted in traditional American music, their repertoire branches in diverse directions from original tunes to swing, blues and traditional songs, using guitar, mandolin, dulcimer, concertina and vocals.
3:30-4:45 p.m.: Bad Men on a Mission
2010 Cincy Blues challenge winners feature Jimmie D. Rogers on piano, guitar and vocals and Jim Jackson on harmonica and vocals.
5-6:15 p.m.: The Bill Littleford Trio
The trio is a combo that specializes in jazz from the 1940s, 50s and 60s playing jazz standards and classics from Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington and other greats. The current lineup is Littleford on guitar, Dave Mackey on drums and Josh Moore on bass.
6:30-8 p.m.: The Lisa Biales Trio
Lias Biales sings with Doug Hamilton on violin and Michael G. Ronstadt on cello. Soul stirring vocals mingle with rich sounds of violin and cello coupled with finger-style guitar to give this Oxford-based group their signature sound.
8:30-10 p.m.: Hickory Robot
An acoustic quartet from Cincinnati offers rich and varied catalogue of original music drawn from traditional roots music, but infuses it with their own experiences. They were recently nominated for a 2013 Cincinnati Entertainment Award for Best Bluegrass Band and their album, Sawyer, was nominated for Album of the Year.

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