Memphis Business Journal: Tourism magnet Vintage901 Wine, Food and Music Spring Festival returns
An upcoming festival will give people a chance to enjoy an evening of food, wine, and music.
The 2023 Vintage901 Wine, Food and Music Spring Festival is scheduled for April 22–23. Stephanie Ferreira, founder of the nonprofit Vintage901, said this would be its first in-person festival since the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was established in 2017.
“We usually do approximately two or three events a year, with the spring event being the largest,” Ferreira said. “I think this is probably one of the best kept little secrets in Memphis, and we’re ready to show our city, region, and state what we have here in Memphis.”
The signature event of the Vintage901 festival is the Grand Tasting on Saturday, April 22, from 6 to 9 p.m. It is slated to be held for the first time at Arrow Creative at 653 Philadelphia St. in Midtown.
Another primary element is the Sparkling Brunch at the FedEx Event Center in Shelby Farms Park. The brunch is scheduled for Sunday, April 23, from noon to 2 p.m. It’s another way for attendees to learn about food and wine pairing.
Visiting and sipping
According to Ferreira, the Grand Tasting usually draws 400 to 500 people, while the Sparkling Brunch has a maximum capacity of 125 attendees. Event organizers said last week that about 40 tickets remained for the brunch. While tickets are still available for the Grand Tasting, Ferreira said she was astounded that 50% of the tickets purchased this year are coming from outside of Memphis.
“Right now, they’re coming from as far as Greensboro, North Carolina, and Indiana,” Ferriera said. “That has been surprising. We always have our regional base, which is people coming from places like Jackson, Tennessee; Nashville; Columbus, Mississippi; DeSoto County; plus Marion and Little Rock, Arkansas.”
Wine coach coming
Grand Tasting attendees will be able to go around and sample a variety of wines from different purveyors. A VIP tasting begins that Saturday at 5 p.m. and includes a meet-and-greet reception with certified sommelier and wine aficionado Laurie Forster, who will hold two education classes.
“My whole approach when I started my wine business was to make it fun and approachable, where everybody should be welcome,” Forster said. “What I love about the festival is that Steph has this wonderful and diverse group of people who are really there to learn about the wines and experience the food and music. Sometimes you go to these large wine festivals, and it's more about drinking. Whereas here, it’s about tasting and learning and people wanting to know where it’s from and how it’s made.”
Inspired by late spouse
Ferreira said the Vintage901 Wine, Food, and Music Spring Festival was formed in memory of her late husband, Chuck. They both would travel and attend food and wine events across the country and internationally.
“My husband and I had opportunities over a numerous of years to go to other cities and countries, to do wine events,” Ferreira said. “We would come back to Memphis looking for this exact thing, where not only we were welcome in the door, but we were taught something. But for whatever reason, we were unable to find it [in Memphis], and, in some cases, did not feel as welcome into events. It became a conversation between my husband and I to do something like this for our community, particularly for those who might look like us. He passed away before this came to fruition, but this is in honor of him. This is something that he loved so much, and it's been great to be able to introduce it to community that we live in.”
Link: https://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/news/2023/03/23/vintage901-wine-food-and-music-spring-festival.html?csrc=6398&utm_campaign=trueAnthemTrendingContent&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR27p2dB8LvUOJ-G1hqYYzBPv_z-8wbQeZAVeK9OTHv1FLyvQE45ZYyIMgk