Posted on 7/10/2019 by Alyssa Schnarsky
Keystone Wine and Jazz Festival is Almost Here!
Calling all oenophiles and music lovers. It's time for the Keystone Wine and Jazz Festival! Filled with wine tastings, educational seminars and live music from such great artists as Pg6ix, Kirby Velarde quartet, Harold Rapp, Jackiem Joyner, Stanley Jordan, and Selena Albright. All these greats are headlined by crowd favorite Dotsero. The River Run Village Grand Tasting brings it all together. With our epic summer time days here for this fabulous festival, the mountains are calling. The festival kicks off with a reserve wine tasting this Friday, July 12th at 7:00pm and continues through the weekend.
The wine seminars are an engaging and fun way to increase your wine knowledge. Starting Saturday, July 13th at 12:00pm at Warren Station we have "Let's talk DIRT-Y" with viticulturist Rudy Marchesi. He was Oregon's person of the year and is the owner of Montinore Estate in Oregon's Willamette Valley. He is a leader in certified organic farming and the biodynamic community. Don't miss his story and wine tastings. Included is a 2017 Pinot Fris, NV Borealis, 2018 almost dry Riesling, 2017 Red Cap Pinot Noir, and a 2014 Grahams Block 7 Pinot Noir.
Next up at 2:00PM at Warren Station is Master Sommelier Roland Mico leading the "More than Pinot Noir" seminar. Alternatives to Pinot Noir being served will include a Nerello Mascalese and a Beaujolais.
Ending the day nicely we have "Let's Talk Tequila - Shaken, Stirred, and Straight". This takes place at Warren Station at 4:00PM. We all have our favorite Margarita places. Presented by Tyler Wang, you will learn history, production, and an insider's guide to Tequila. You will also learn about pairing ingredients and try a Paloma Cocktail. Included are samplings of El Tesoro Tequilas. Concluding this fascinating seminar will be a cocktail creation demonstration. Take your newfound seminar knowledge and browse the wine tents in River Run Village while listening to some fantastic jazz and enjoying the wonderful summertime weather in the mountains.
Make sure you stick around for Sunday's festivities. The day opens with the annual favorite seminar, 'Prosecco and Pancakes', running from 10:30am - 12:30pm at Warren Station. Enjoy scrumptious Ruffino Prosecco Cocktails with an interesting mix of pancakes, toppings and classic breakfast sides, a great way to start the day!
Finish off two days of education, memories, fun, wine, spirits and bubbles with "Name! That! Wine!" at 2:00pm at Warren Station. The presenter is Ben Braley. You will try blind tastings and learn more about approach and flavor characteristics for many different varietals. This will all take place in an exciting game show style format. Blind tastings are an excellent way to learn about our own palate and what you are smelling and tasting.
We hope you can join us for this amazing weekend of Wine and Jazz. Stay the weekend and book one of our ticket and lodging festival packages, where you can save up to 15% on your weekend. But hurry, package sales end Friday at 4 pm. If there is a certain seminar you are interested in attending, be sure to also purchase your seminar tickets in advance, as they typically sell out! Book a River Run Condo with a festival view and you can watch the music from the balcony and you won't have to worry about driving anywhere after wine tasting. We hope to see you this weekend!
About The Author
Alyssa Schnarsky
Alyssa Schnarsky is the Marketing Director at SummitCove Vacation Lodging in Keystone and has worked in the vacation lodging industry for over 15 years. When she's not delivering exceptional content on all-things Keystone, you can find her hiking in the mountains, skiing the trees, enjoying a live concert, spending time with her tuxedo cat or planning her next adventure.