The Killington Wine Festival returns for a 7th year.

The Killington Wine Festival returns for a 7th year.

The 7th annual Killington Wine Festival returns to Killington this summer from Thursday July 17th through Sunday July 20th. Vermont wine distributors have invited over 30 wineries from around the globe to participate in one of the summers signature events produced by the Killington Chamber of Commerce. 300 different wines will be sampled over the course of the event.

The festival begins with an Industry Tasting on Thursday the 17th. Hotels, restaurants and bars from all over Northern New England have been invited by their wine sales reps to participate in this unique multi-distributor wine show.

The weekend kicks off for the general public on Friday evening at the Killington Grand Resort Hotel with a wine tasting of Estate and Reserve wines from some of the world's leading winemakers. This event will take place from 6-8pm on the Terrace Patio. The price is $50/person and reservations are recommended. Food for the event is being sponsored by US Food Service.

Also on Friday evening: The Crush Jazz and Wine Bar unfolds poolside at the Grand Hotel at 6pm. As the sun slowly sets behind the slopes of Killington, a truly spectacular setting, enjoy sipping wine and listening to jazz. Come and meet the vintners behind some of the weekend's wines. Admission is free, wine is being sold via a cash bar. Appetizers for the event are sponsored by Sysco Food Service.

The Grand Tasting at 4241' starts Saturday afternoon at 1pm at the base of K1 gondola. A huge tent filled with wineries from around the world will be set up at the entrance to K1, where about half of the wines for the event will be sampled. After circulating through the tent, take the gondola and rise 4,241 feet to Killington Peak and the Peak Restaurant, where the rest of the wines will be sampled. $45/person, price includes K1 Gondola ride. Reservations recommended as this event has sold out in past years.

Through out the festival, wine tasting dinners will take place at many Killington restaurants. Hemingways is on tap for Friday evening. On Saturday evening, we (The Birch Ridge Inn) will be holding our wine festival dinner. (You can take a look at the menu here.) The Vermont Inn in Mendon will also be hosting a wine dinner on Saturday Evening. Peppino's Italian Restaurant will offer casual wine tasting dinners throughout the week.

Saturday night is not the end, however. Wake up slowly on Sunday morning and make an appearance at the Bubbly Brunch. Chef Frizzie will be serving his amazing brunch at the Birch Ridge Inn, while I will be pouring sampling portions of sparkling wines from around the globe. The Bubbly Brunch will run from 11:00 AM through 1:30 PM. The price is $10 for a "Bubbly Sampler" plus the normal cost of brunch items.

After Brunch, we are all heading out for a leisurely round of golf on a Sunday afternoon at Killington's Green Mountain National Golf Course. The Killington Wine Festival wraps up the weekend with "Nine and Wine", a 9-hole golf outing with specially selected "golf friendly" wines. The price is $35 and it includes wine, dinner, Nine and Wine golf tournament (with cart) and award ceremony. Sign up individually, or better yet bring your foursome.

It should be a nice weekend in the mountains. You can contact the Killington Chamber of Commerce for more information on reservations for each event at 802.773.4181. And of course, you can also contact Mary and I at the Birch Ridge Inn for more details too!