With weather of abundant sunshine and blue skies, the April 29 Morgan Hill Wine Stroll was sold out at 1,000 tickets. Organized by the Morgan Hill Downtown Association and its Wine Stroll committee, it was another great success for the downtown merchants and restaurants, the local wineries and the hundreds of wine lovers who came out to sip and shop.
The Wine Stroll, an annual event held the last week of April, has been steadily gaining in popularity as over two dozen wineries in as many shops, poured a one-ounce taste of their wines.
Maria De Leon, who attended the Saturday event with her husband, Eddie, and a group of friends, said, “I am so glad to take part in this event because it exposed me to great tasting local wines and restaurants in Morgan Hill.”
The new downtown parking garage on Fourth Street accommodated plenty of cars and the Wine Stroll check-in station was conveniently located on Third Street. People checking in received a logo’d wine glass, a wine carrier and a ticket book which mapped out the downtown shops and wines.
A kid- and dog-friendly event, the streets were full of the young and the old alike, with families pushing babies in strollers and well-behaved dogs cruising behind. Street musicians sang and played guitars for tips. First-time sidewalk decals of the Wine Stroll logo caused a buzz, helping to advertise the event.
Kicking off the Wine Stroll was Wine Week: a week-long lead-up of wine events. On Monday, Reina Carrillo of Grinds, Vines and Automobiles (GVA) Café hosted a “Meet the Winemaker’s Mixer.”
“The event was intended to be a ‘thank you’ to the winemakers for their efforts throughout the year,” explained Reina. This included several wineries pouring their wines along with a buffet of finger foods.
Tuesday through Thursday, price fix winemaker dinners were held at seven different restaurants in downtown Morgan Hill. Many restaurants waived their corkage fee on local wines during Wine Week.
Another first-time addition to the event was the art poster contest for next year’s Wine Stroll. Posters were displayed at GVA and voted on by attendees of the Wine Stroll. Patty Curtis, a Morgan Hill artist, and her picture of two wine bottles and grapes was the winner.
