Wine Week Comes to Pennsylvania

Liquor Control Board presents festivals in Pittsburgh, Hershey, Philadelphia

HARRISBURG, Pa., April 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ – Wine Week 2009 comes to Pennsylvania with three tasting festivals showcasing the world’s most renowned wines and exciting new varieties for wine enthusiasts to discover.

The week comprises the seventh annual Pittsburgh Wine Festival on Thursday, April 30; the second annual Wine Festival in Hershey, Friday, May 1; and the eighth annual Philadelphia Wine Festival, Saturday, May 2. Proceeds from the privately organized festivals will benefit health-care institutions in each city and no taxpayer funds are involved.

“More than 150 winemakers, pouring 400 different wines, will attend the festivals this year,” said Patrick “P.J.” Stapleton III, chairman of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. “Their presence is a testimonial to the savvy consumers of Pennsylvania, who want the world’s best and most interesting wines to be available to them.”

Each festival will include VIP and Grand Tasting segments, during which attendees can sample wines, meet winemakers and enjoy a variety of foods from hot and cold buffets.

Celebrity guests will join winemakers at the festivals. In Pittsburgh, chef, author and restaurateur Lidia Bastianich will sign copies of her latest cookbook, “Lidia’s Italy,” and will preside over tastings of Bastianich wines. In Hershey, hockey legend Dave “The Hammer” Schultz, of Philadelphia Flyers fame, will autograph bottles of his NHL Alumni Signature Chardonnay. Sales of Schultz’s wine help benefit Katie’s Krusaders, which supports young people fighting cancer and childhood diseases.

Highlights of the 2009 VIP tastings will include a sampling of first-growth Bordeaux from the best-known chateaux of France; an exclusive preview of the eagerly anticipated Penfold’s Grange 2004 Shiraz from Australia; and tastes of such acclaimed California wines as Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet and Joseph Phelps Insignia.

Each venue will have an on-site PLCB Premium Collection store featuring showcase wines from the tasting, including many available only at the festivals. This year, a limited supply of California “cult” wines — limited-production, hand-made, hard-to-find vintages — will be available for purchase. These include collectors’ sought-after red wines such as Screaming Eagle, Colgin, Grace Family and Kosta Browne wines.

On Thursday, at Heinz Field, the Pittsburgh Wine Festival VIP Tasting runs from 5 to 7 p.m. The Grand Tasting is 7 to 9 p.m. For ticket information, visit www.pittsburghwinefestival.com. Proceeds benefit Innovation and Discovery at UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh.

Friday, at the Giant Center, The Wine Festival in Hershey’s VIP Tasting is 4-6 p.m. and the Grand Tasting 6-9 p.m. Ticket information: www.winefestivalinhershey.com. Proceeds benefit the Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital.

Saturday, at the Marriott Downtown, 1201 Market St., the Philadelphia Wine Festival VIP Tasting is 5-6:30 p.m.; Grand Tasting is 6:30-9 p.m. Ticket information: www.philadelphiawinefestival.com. Proceeds benefit the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Media coverage of the wine festivals is invited. Contact the PLCB Press Office for credentialing information.

    CONTACT: Nick Hays or Francesca Chapman
    (717) 783-8864

SOURCE Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board