Grenache lovers, grab your glasses. A festival dedicated to the beloved wine variety returns the first weekend of November.
After a year’s break, Grenache Fest is back — this time in Waitsburg, where the event is a love letter not only to the bold, fruity red wine famously rooted in the Rhône region but also to a community cherished by festival organizers.
“Here, we can kind of use the whole town for different parts of the event,” says Carrie Alexander, who produces the event with her husband, winemaker Todd Alexander.
The duo opened Atelier Waitsburg on Main Street last spring. Their boutique tasting room and event space showcases his wines and immerses them in a creative Waitsburg community perfect for exploring a grape as versatile and expressive as a farm town with an arts culture.
“Having it in a small town that’s full of artisans — people with their little shops, making art and poetry — I’m really excited about that,” she says.
As with the first two years, the Nov. 7 festival connects winemakers, wine professionals and wine appreciators as they gather around grenache through seminars, tastings and live music in a relaxed atmosphere.
This time, though, it’s scaled back from two days into one, kicked off by a dinner and selection of grenache wines Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. with the Alexanders and chef David Nichols.
The next day’s main event stretches from 1-10 p.m. throughout the town’s historic two-block district.
It opens with a blind tasting session. Ten wines, organized from leanest to boldest and representing several regions, will be poured at Town Hall. Not even Carrie Alexander’s fellow moderators know who made what.
“You already know these are going to be grenache-based,” she says. “But you work through what you’re smelling, tasting — finding out where it’s from and having no preconceived notion about it.
“It’s about making it more approachable and finding out what you like. I’ve tried to really make sure that people understand that they don’t need to be wine knowledgeable about this to have a good time.”
Guests can drop in at Bar Bacetto any time from 1-4 p.m. Chef Mike Easton will offer oysters and pinchos before strapping on his guitar as the opening musical act in the evening.
From 3-4:30, guests will depart to one of three breakout sessions in three locations. The seminars will range from the lighter side of grenache to the middle range and into the boldest of the wines. At least half a dozen wines will be served, and two or three winemakers will attend in person to discuss their wines at each session.
“Grenaches have been my favorite for the last 20 years. It always seems to connect me to people,” Alexander says. “So many people say, ‘Oh, it’s my favorite, too.
“Whether it is a light, medium or fuller bodied wine, it’s always delicious and, at times, mind blowing.”
A Grenache Fest grand tasting at 5 p.m. at Town Hall includes nearly 30 wineries, including Cimento Wines, where Alexander is general manager. Participating wineries are largely from Oregon and Washington, with one from Australia, and music will be provided by DJ Twin Mercury.
A pair of food trucks will be stationed at The Slab, just a few doors down, until about 8 p.m.
That’s when the Plaza Theater opens for live performances from Easton’s Low Plains Drifters, followed by folk and blues-inspired singer-songwriter and Grammy nominated producer and guitarist M. Ward.
The event’s wine star power also includes wine critic/journalist and sommelier Owen Bargreen; MJ Towler, host, executive producer and creator of The Black Wine Guy Experience and Beats Vines & Life podcasts; winemaker Will Marengo, in-house sommelier at Drayman House; Michael Alberty, wine writer for The Oregonian and Wine Enthusiast; and wine writer and Waitsburg resident Paul Gregutt.
Guests at Grenache Fest can buy full-day admission or tickets to individual events. Tickets are also available for shuttle service by NW Touring & Concierge.
Alexander has sights on extending Grenache Fest to Paso Robles in the future. But she also sees Waitsburg as a place to anchor the annual celebration.
“If everything goes well, it will definitely be in Waitsburg again,” she says. “I just really love the town and the people in it.”
TICKET INFO: https://events.humanitix.com/grenache