Pleasant Living Magazine

Stratford Hall's popular fall festival
has been expanded to a two-day event this year! September 25 & 26, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days, and will feature the wine and wineries of the Chesapeake Bay Wine Trail.

Taking part in the festival will be Athena Vineyards & Winery, Belle Mount Vineyards, The Hague Winery, Ingleside Vineyards, Oak Crest Winery, Potomac Point Vineyard and Winery, Vault Field Vineyards and White Fences Vineyard and Winery. The wineries will be showcasing a broad selection of wine styles including those suitable for fine dining, casual occasions, as well as offering a few novelty styles. Tasters will be sure to find something that goes great with the wide selection of food specialties being offered at the event.

"The Chesapeake Bay Wine and Harvest Festival provides visitors the perfect opportunity to experience the natural beauty and history of Stratford Hall while enjoying the fruit of the labor of the area's many wineries," said
Paul Reber, Executive Director of Stratford Hall.

One of the many activities this year will be wine tasting tips by Tom Iezzi, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., and again from 1:50 p.m. to 2:50 p.m. on both days. Iezzi will discuss parings with some of the wines being offered at the festival by the wine trail. He is a certified wine judge and has participated in numerous state and national competitions. He has served as President of the American Wine Society for two years, receiving the "Outstanding Member Award" at a recent national conference.

Along with the wines and wineries there will be a variety of distinctive arts and crafts, plenty of specialty foods, live music provided by Sons of
Solomon on Saturday and by San Kocho on Sunday, educational exhibits, and, of course, hay rides and the petting zoo.

This year's event will also feature a book signing by Johnnie Perry Pearson in the Stratford Gift Shop from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. each day. Pearson is author of the newly released book, /Lee and Jackson's Bloody Twelfth, The Letters of Irby Goodwin Scott, First Lieutenant, Company G,
Putnam Light Infantry, Twelfth Georgia Volunteer Infantry.

Ticket prices for the event are as follows: Adult wine-tasting tickets purchased online in advance are $15, and at the gate $20. Adult wine-tasting
tickets include a commemorative wine tasting glass and free tasting at each wine booth. Non-drinker tickets, in advance and at gate, are $10. All tickets for children 12 years & under are $5.
Ticket prices will include admission to the Great House.

The Shriners Club of the Northern Neck and the Heritage Shrine Club of Fredericksburg will provide onsite ticketing and parking for a suggested donation. The Chesapeake Bay Wine & Harvest Festival is being sponsored by Peoples
Community Bank.