Brownfield Chamber finalizing plans for upcoming wine festival August 5-6

Wine lovers near and far can get a Taste of Terry County soon as the Brownfield Chamber of Commerce is busy finalizing plans for its fourth annual vineyard festival to pay tribute to one of our community’s fastest growing industries.

The event is slated for Friday and Saturday, August 5th and 6th.

This year’s festival follows Terry County’s designation last summer as the official Grape Capitol of Texas by the state legislature.

That honor is drawing even more well deserved attention to the festival and the Terry County grape growers it celebrates.

Terry County grows more than 80 percent of the wine grapes in Texas and many of the local vineyards have earned prestigious awards for the wines produced from their grapes.

Organizers are putting final touches on the growing event and once again challenged Lubbock sportscaster Pete Christy to one of his well-known “I Beat Pete”  face-offs to promote the event.

Chamber board members and this year’s slate of Harvest Festival Queen candidates will compete with a team from Lubbock’s News Channel 11 in several fun events prior to the festival, with the segment set to air in the days leading up to the event.

The weekend celebration will pay tribute to the county’s most rapidly-growing industry, but with its coordinators anticipating more than a few out-of-town visitors, will be far from limited to local promotions.

The festival will contain no shortage of local wines or reminders that Terry County produces more grapes than the rest of the Lone Star State combined.

More and more acres are being planted to wine grape vines every year in Terry County with more than 1,000 new acres this year alone.

Chamber director Lorena Valencia stresses that while visitors are welcome from all over, Terry County citizens are what makes the Taste of Terry County such a wonderful event.

“We would like to invite our local residents to come to both events and learn more about the vineyard industry,” she said. “You can purchase tickets through paypal on our website. Word is getting out about what we have to offer. We have already sold 16 tickets in Austin, and more to wine lovers from as far away as West Columbia and Sweeny.”

Tickets are available at the Chamber office.

Festivities will begin Friday night with a 7 p.m. Food and Wine event in the Senior Center auditorium.

The mix and mingle event will include a variety of eats and a number of local wines, with music by guitarist Fausto Vasquez.

Cost is $35 per person. Organizers are proud to share the news that several ceiling fans have been installed in the auditorium to keep guests comfortable while they enjoy their evening.

On Saturday, a tour of five local vineyards will see bus loads of people around the county, concluding with food and wine at Lahey Vineyards with entertainment by the Local Nobodys.

The tour buses will leave the American Legion Hall at 3 p.m.

Admission for the tours is $35 and includes the meal at the end of the evening.

The Taste of Terry County is becoming one of the Chamber of Commerce’s most popular happenings as people around the area are becoming more aware of our significance in the Texas wine industry.

There currently are more than 50 vineyards inside the county, which is growing a reputation as the “Napa Valley” of Lone Star State.