Toast of the Town
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. But when in Highlandtown, grab your friends to celebrate generations of Italian heritage! We will be doing just that, this Sunday, May 1st from 1-6pm. Come see what makes this neighborhood so special and experience the tradition that keeps it alive. Don’t be surprised if you see some of us dancing the tarantella.
Once a year, the Highlandtown Community Association and Dipasquale’s Italian Deli celebrate the tradition of homemade winemaking.
Everyone comes out for this celebration— friends, families and neighbors of this once-Italian cultured neighborhood crowd the streets at 3600 Claremont and Dean St. to sample the fruits of local oenologists’ labor; truly a labor of love.
Weeks before the festival, these amateur winemakers enter their homemade wines into a contest for a private judging. On Friday, April 29th at 7pm, local celebrity judges sample this motley assortment of brown-bagged jugs at Schiavone Art Place at 224 S Highland Ave.
The juice can be made from varietals such as viogner, pinot blanc, chardonnay and concord— no kidding. The surprise is part of the fun! This year, the judging is open to the public. $60 gets you a ticket for the festival on May 1st, food from DiPasquale’s and a chance to see the celebrity judges’ reactions to some of the handcrafted vino.
I will be there pouring from “the jugs” at the festival on Sunday. Tickets are $25 at the door. Get in my line and let me pour you the finest. (And if you would like to pour with us, contact me .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).)
I always look forward to the fun questions I get while pouring.
My favorite and most common question at the festival every year:
“Is this Chianti?” No, I’m sorry. It’s most definitely NOT Chianti, in your glass with these “local” wines, but it makes for a fun day in the sun, to pretend that it is.
We’re in Highlandtown drinking homemade wine in the street; it’s not Rome but it is our little piece of Italy right here in this neighborhood.
pictured: Father Lou and the rest of us regulars at the festival April 2008
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 04/28/11 at 10:29 AM
