300 wines available at Naperville festival
Don't let the inability to distinguish between a cabernet sauvignon and a merlot influence your plans to attend the 13th annual Naperville Wine Festival.
"There is no intimidation factor in terms of wine knowledge," said Scott Janess, event organizer.
The two-evening festival, set for 4:30 to 10 p.m. Friday and 4 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 14 and 15, will offer food, music and the chance to sample from a collection of more than 300 wines from all over the world.
"The list changes regularly," said Janess, vice president of events at KemperLesnik. "There are certainly favorites that will be there."
But the point, he said, is to introduce wine drinkers to new wines, and several novel wines will be available.
For $40, ticketholders get 12 wine tastings and a souvenir glass. Winemakers will take orders for delivery after the festival, Janess said.
Designated driver tickets, priced at $15, give the ticket holder a souvenir glass and two nonalcoholic drinks.
"It's a well-rounded event. We always strive to make it a safe environment in a relaxed setting," Janess said.
"There's even beer available if wine's not your thing," said Jennifer McGuffin, vice president and director of corporate communications at Calamos Investments, one of the festival's chief sponsors, along with Northwestern Mutual.
The festival is held just outside Calamos' CityGate Centre location, where it moved several years ago from its original site at Naper Settlement.
"It's very easy for people to get to from surrounding suburbs," said Janess, pointing to the proximity of the tollway exchange at Route 59.
McGuffin said about 10,000 people are expected to visit the festival this year, exceeding last year's attendance by about 1,000 visitors.
McGuffin said the event will go on even if it rains.
"We have a terrific team of security personnel and we monitor the weather closely," she said. "We do it every year and it is lovely and without incident."
The Naperville Area Humane Society sends a corps of volunteers to the festival, which generates a charity donation for the organization.
"The Naperville Area Humane Society has been our partner for a number of years," McGuffin said. "It's a nice partnership with them."
"We've been doing it for quite a few years now," said Anna Payton, the humane society's executive director. "It raises $5,000 for us, which is amazing."
"That helps us be able to do everything we do for animals and the community - medical care, food, pet therapy. It just helps with our general operations," said Payton.
Payton said roughly 90 humane society volunteers were signed up by early August to help check-in guests and hand out maps and glasses.
"It's wonderful to see how many people come out," said Payton.
Janess said live bands will perform both evenings.
And 11 restaurants will offer selections from their menus for sale, he said, including Copper Oven Pizza and Weber Grill from Lombard and Eddie Merlot's of Warrenville. Janess said food will be priced at $5 to $12.
Free parking will be available in the parking garage, he said.
If you go
What: 13th Annual Naperville Wine Festival
Where: CityGate Centre, 2135 CityGate Lane, Naperville
When: 4:30 to 10 p.m. Friday (Aug. 14) and 4 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday (Aug. 15)
Tickets: $32 in advance and $40 at the door; $15 for designated drivers
Info: www.napervillewinefestival.com or call 888-695-0888.