Albion will host first wine-tasting in downtown on Saturday

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 August 2014 at 12:00 am

Photo by Tom Rivers – Carolyn Ricker, left, and Debbie Grimm have been working hard on Albion’s “Sip and Stroll Through History,” a wine-tasting event on Saturday from 3 to 7 p.m. A VIP reception begins at 2 p.m. at Hoag Library.

ALBION – The Albion Merchants Association hopes wine and heritage will bring people to several Main Street and downtown stops this Saturday for the first “Sip and Stroll Through History.”

There will be about a dozen stops for people to try taste wine from 11 different wineries. The wine-tasting event begins at Hoag Library and includes write-ups on the history of each location and as well as profiles of the current operators.

“We decided to add history because everyone is interested in that,” said Debbie Grimm, coordinator of the event and a vendor at the Hazy Jade Gift Shop. “We want to showcase our businesses.”

Tickets for the wine-tasting are $15 with a VIP pass for $22. The Merchants have been working on more events to promote the business district with help from the village.

That includes a new Thursday evening concert series, as well as a fresh brochure listing the amenities in the downtown as well as on routes 31 and 98.

The poster for the event includes images of historic Albion buildings.

The Merchants Association has seen the success of the wine-tasting events in other communities, including the one in Medina that sells out with 750 tickets in February. (Medina has added a “Sweets in Summer” event this Saturday.)

“You can go at your own pace,” Carolyn Ricker, president of the Merchants Association and owner of Bindings Bookstore, said about the wine tastings. “It’s a nice event to do with a friend.”

The wine-tasting will include a souvenir glass, two farms selling produce, a photo booth and also is a chance to see some of the recent street-scape improvements, including 10 benches painted in heritage themes.

Ricker said the downtown has a cluster of businesses with available storefronts for more entrepreneurs.

“If you want to attract more businesses you have to support the ones that you have,” Ricker said. “That makes more people want to come here.”

For more information about Sip and Stroll, call Bindings Bookstore at 283-4498. The following businesses are selling tickets: Bindings, Hazy Jade, Xpress Fitness and Tanning and Fischer’s News Room. Tickets are also available on-line by clicking here.