Muskegon Summer Wine Up Festival announces wine seminars
MUSKEGON, MI – Seminars for the “Muskegon Summer Wine Up” festival at Muskegon’s Hackley Park on Saturday, June 8th were announced today.
There will be three different seminars which will be repeated twice over the span of the “Muskegon Summer Wine Up.” All seminars will run approximately 20 minutes to allow time for feedback and questions.
2:30 PM & 4:45 PM
“The History of St. Julian Wine,” presented by Vince Meconi, a fourth generation member of the St. Julian Wine Family. Vince will discuss how this famous winery was started by his great-grandfather Mariano Meconi in Canada during Prohibition. He ultimately moved to Detroit and then to Paw Paw to build the winery that it is today. Samples of St. Julian Wine will be served as part of the presentation.
3:15 PM & 5:30 PM
“The Amazing Story of Ed O’Keefe, Junior,” presented by Statewide Ambassador of Chateau Grand Traverse Rhonda Riebow. Like many mavericks in the wine industry, Ed O’Keefe Jr. did a number of things before starting Chateau Grand Traverse. He was an Olympic Gymnast, Army Green Beret Special Forces Paratrooper, NYC Undercover Narcotics Agent with the U.S. Treasury, and other experiences – including a passion for wine, of course – led him to start a winery in 1974 where none had ever existed. Samples of Chateau Grand Traverse wine will be served as part of the presentation.
4:00 PM & 6:15 PM
“How to Read a Wine Label,” presented by David Belean, Chief Executive Officer of Babich Wines of New Zeeland. Wine labels have a lot of information on them. Some of it is critical to understanding what is in the wine bottle and some of it is just “blowing smoke.” Belean gives a guide to help you know what matters, how to spot a bargain and what to ignore. Samples of Babich Wines will be part of the presentation.
“We think people will enjoy these Wine Symposiums,” said Rich Berry, Director of Sales at Cumulus Radio – Muskegon and organizer of the “Muskegon Summer Wine-Up. “We wanted to come up with some fun topics that people can relate to and have fun with. All of the wineries that will be there have wonderful ‘origin’ stories, and because we’re in Michigan, the origin stories for St. Julian Wine and Chateau Grand Traverse were interesting to us.”
Attendees will have the opportunity to try and sample over 100 different types of wines, according to Berry. Samples will be 1.5 ounces each. The “Muskegon Summer Wine Up” will kick off on Saturday, June 8th, 2019 from 2PM until 8 PM in Downtown Muskegon’s Hackley Park.
You have to be 21 years of age or older to attend the “Muskegon Summer Wine Up.”
Sponsors of the “Muskegon Summer Wine Up” include the Little River Casino, HarborLight Credit Union, the Muskegon Heights Optimist Club and the Parties in the Park.
Admission is $15.00 and includes a stemless souvenir wine glass and four wine sample tickets.
For more information, visit www.muskegonsummerwineup.com.