Aged to perfection: Festival of the Vine shines in its 29th year

Localvores, rejoice!

Geneva's annual Festival of the Vine, scheduled for Friday through Sunday, Sept. 10-12, will include all the music, food and fun as years past - plus several merchants will be holding wine tastings featuring locally produced wines.

Festival of the Vine will run from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. During those times people can walk around downtown Geneva and experience an event that has been aged to perfection.

Now in its 29th year, Festival of the Vine is only one year younger than the Taste of Chicago.

In addition to the traditional Napa Valley favorites, several local wineries have wines made from locally grown grapes on their tasting flights. Though these local wines tend to fly under the radar, they are still certainly worth a sip - or two or three.

"The grapes (used for local wines) are not that well known because they are grown here (as opposed to California)," said Ellen Schlaman, manager of Galena Cellars Vineyard and Winery.

"Illinois wines are becoming more well known - and the number of wineries here are growing."

Galena Cellars, located at 477 S. Third St., will feature daily wine tastings during Festival of the Vine's normal operating hours. For $5, festival goers can sample six different wines, including many varieties produced in their Galena vineyards made with grapes grown right here in Illinois.

"A lot of Illinois wines tend to be on the sweet side with nuances of plum," Schlaman said. "They go great with a grilled steak or heavily seasoned chicken. Just serve the wine at room temperature."

The Little Traveler, at 404 S. Third St. will be offering free samples of wines produced at wineries in places like Lincolnshire and downstate Utica, near starved rock.

"The Little Traveler is very conscious of local wineries and we do business with them on an ongoing basis. We do local wines as well as American wines and I think it's important to feature all of them," said Jane Bristow, The Little Traveler's wine buyer.

"A lot of people want (locally produced food and wines). They want to be able to go and see how they are produced and grown."

The Little Traveler's selection of locally produced wines spans the spectrum from sweet desert wines to seasonal holiday wines just ripe for fall, with reds, whites and everything in between.

"It's interesting to think that we live in the Midwest where you don't think wine would be produced," said Laura Rush, communications manager for the Geneva chamber of commerce.

"I think it's wonderful that the merchants are reaching out and brining in local wines. People buy wine from the obvious places like California and France, but (buying locally) is another boost to the Illinois economy."

Traditional Festival of the Vine favorites will be back too. A fall harvest market, complete with a beekeeper from the Tri-Cities area selling locally produced honey, will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at the corner of James and Fourth streets. The annual arts and crafts show will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. The fair will feature more than 75 different crafters and will be located at the corner of Third and Campbell Streets. Live music performances will be ongoing throughout the weekend.

The ever popular Flavor Fair will be back in full force between West State and North Fourth streets - with nearly 20 local restaurants scheduled to serve everything from pizza to pad Thai.

"The Festival of the Vine is a festival that people look forward to because they know that their favorites will be there," Rush said. "It's a tradition for a lot of families and a lot of people look forward to it every year."

What's to eat?Here's a sneak peek at what local eateries will be serving in the Flavor Fare tent.bull; Atwater's Restaurant: barbecue brisket sandwichbull; Aurelio's Pizza: pizza slice, spinach Calabrese, mini meatball sandwichbull; Bistro Thai: pad Thai with chicken, pot stickers, spicy basil tacosbull; Chianti's: Garlic crab pasta, Cajun chicken tortellini, breadsticks with garlic dipbull; Egg Harbor Caf#233;: Door County melts, sloppy joes, orchard rollupsbull; Gen-Hoe Restaurant: Szechwan beef and fried rice, lemon chicken and fried rice, egg roll and fried ricebull; Geneva Ale House: mini filet sandwich, mini barbecue pulled pork, sweet potato friesbull; Gratto Italian Tapas: bruschetta crustinis, mini rotolo, pizza slicebull; Graham's Chocolates and Ice Cream: caramel apple, scoop of homemade ice cream, fruit skewers in chocolatebull; 318 Coffehouse: frozen hot chocolate, "chocolate awesomeness" cake, 318 carrot cakebull; Inglenook Pantry, Inc.: Swedish meatballs with limpa bread, apple cobbler with maple ice cream, mini hot dogbull; Josef's Elegante Meats and Deli: Italian sausage with red sauce and peppers, beer and onion brats, eggplant parmigianabull; Kernel Fabyan's Gourmet Popcorn Shoppe: combo popcorn, caramel popcorn, cheesy popcornbull; Preservation Bread and Wine: pork belly BLT, sampler plate, seasonal fruit tartbull; Sergio's Cantina: shrimp and avocado tostada, taco dorad: (hard shell beef or chicken), quesadillas with chorizobull; Stockholm's: seafood diablo, pulled pork sandwich, bruschettabull; The Latest Crave: English toffee, cupcake, frosting shootersbull; Tia Maria's - A Taste of Mexico: Mexican specialtiesbull; Urban Grille: Cuban sandwich, prime rib sandwich, banana cream pieTrue20001412Bob Castner, an employee at The Wine Seller on Third Street in Geneva, hands out samples at last year's Festival of the Vine. Castner had five types of wine available to sample on the sidewalk and many more could be purchased at the store.Laura Stoecker | Staff Photographer, 2009True <p class="factboxheadblack">If you go</p><p class="News"><b>What:</b> 29th annual Festival of the Vine, featuring wine tasting, sample-size bites from area restaurants, music, harvest market and craft show, kids' activities</p><p class="News"><b>When:</b> 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10-12</p><p class="News"><b>Where:</b> West State and North Fourth streets, Geneva</p><p class="News"><b>How much?</b> Admission is free; tickets - $1 apiece - must be purchased to sample food and wine; prices vary from 1-10 tickets</p><p class="News"><b>Details:</b> <a href="http://genevachamber.com" target="new">genevachamber.com</a>; (630) 232-6060</p>