Wine festival to feature over 300 wines

Wine will be swirled, sniffed and tasted by hundreds this Friday when the 14th annual \nBig Red Liquors Wine Fest takes place.\nLike its fall counterpart, Beer Fest, the event will be held at the Bloomington Convention Center, 302 S. College Ave.\n“It’s a perfect opportunity to sample wines that you might not otherwise,” said Rob Williamson, director of marketing and promotions for Big Red Liquors. “Why not just sample it? Then you can really find out what you like in a wine.”\nExperts from both Big Red Liquors and each individual vendor will be on-hand to assist tasters as they search for their favorite blends.\n“With so many experts on hand, Wine Fest is a great opportunity for anyone interested to learn more about wine, whether you consider yourself to be a connoisseur or are just learning about wine,” Williamson said.\nDifferent ticket packages are available depending on the level of experience and amount of money one wishes to invest in the evening.\nA general admission room will provide over 300 wines, gleaned from grapes grown throughout Indiana, the United States and world. These wines all retail for under $30 a bottle, Williamson said.\n“Wherever you can find wine we’ve got a representative of that wine,” Williamson said.\nFor those who either have a more developed wine palette, or those who simply want to sample more expensive wines, a ticket upgrade is available to a connoisseur room. This room will feature wines priced at $30 or more a bottle. Admission to this room starts at 5:30 p.m., at a price of $50 per person. General admission is $30 and begins at 6 p.m., Williamson said.\nFor the fifth year in a row, all money from ticket sales will be donated to the Boys and Girls Club, specifically SMART Moves, a drug and alcohol education program.\nSMART Moves is an extensive program used year round by Boys and Girls Club to teach, “anything and everything that you can think of in relation to drug and alcohol education,” said Jeff Baldwin, executive director of Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington.\n“We’re trying to do our part and be responsible in the community,” Williamson said in relation to the substance program.\nBetween the spring Wine Festival and fall Beer Fest an estimated $100,000 is earmarked for the nonprofit organization, Williamson said in a press release.\nBoys and Girls Club has been serving Bloomington since 1955, seeing an average of 200 people a day, Baldwin said.\nAside from wine tasting and eating hors d’oeuvres, Big Red Liquors will also provide a raffle, display of Riedel specialty glassware and information on the new wine club, Williamson said. Membership in the club provides free wine, discounts and general information about the spirit.