SLO County News BlogGolf, Wine, Real Estate, Business & Travel NewsSLO Wine & Food FestivalSaturday, April 16, 2005Wine in all its guises will be on tap May 4-8 during the San Luis Obispo Vintners' Wine & Food Festival.The five-day event expands the vintners' annual Roll Out the Barrels weekend, which remains part of the festival. The added venues are part of stepped-up promotional efforts and activities engineered by the association's first full-time director, Grant Raeside, hired in July. "I was brought in 10 months ago to promote wineries in a bigger way and bring in other partners -- restaurants and retailers," he said. "We expanded Harvest Festival in the fall and found many more people came from out of town. That's exciting to the hotels and tourism crowd." The association has budgeted more than $30,000 for the festival, with almost the entire amount provided by local sponsors, such as hotels, banks, title companies and media, Raeside said. "When our first guest comes in and has a great time, they will put us on the profit side of the equation." And those guests will have a lot to choose from. Downtown's Cookin' kicks off the festivities -- a sip-and-shop event in downtown San Luis Obispo, where for $40, ticket holders can visit more than 35 participating restaurants and retailers offering wine or culinary treats. The following night takes on a Latin flavor during Barrels in the Plaza. Food demonstration, wine sampling and live music by Louie Ortega will fill Mission Plaza in celebration of Cinco de Mayo. Cost is $10 for a wine glass and three tastings. Friday night, the vintners association will toast its stars in a Hollywood-style awards ceremony honoring local wineries, wines, sponsors and volunteers. Roll Out the Barrels caps the festival with two days of wine tasting and appetizers available at open houses hosted by at least 20 San Luis Obispo and South County wineries. Cost for a two-day pass is $45 if purchased in advance. Additional information and tickets are available online at www.slowine.com or by calling 541-5868. SLO Beefs up May wine festival The Tribune, Leslie E. Stevens To see more of The Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to www.sanluisobispo.com. (c) 2005, The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, Calif. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. Read More
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