NW Winefest at Schweitzer: a good time for reds, whites and brews

By Ben Olson
Reader Staff

For the third year in a row, wine is king at Schweitzer Mountain Resort. Northwest Winefest kicks off July 15 and 16, with 80 different wines from 20 regional wineries, live music, village activities and more.

Wine lovers rejoice at last year’s NW Winefest at Schweitzer Mountain Resort. Photo courtesy SMR.

Saturday’s festivities start at 11 a.m. and go to 6 p.m., with free live music from Kevin Dorin, Brown Salmon Truck and Scarlet Parke. Sunday’s hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and feature free live music from The Hawthorne Roots and Adrian Xavier.

“There is so much excitement around the talented wine makers in the Pacific Northwest,” said Mary Weber-Quinn, activities and events director for Schweitzer. “Being able to host an event that brings them and their wineries together so we can enjoy their creativity makes this my favorite event of the summer.”

It’s free to attend, but if you’d like to partake in some of the great wines, souvenir glassware and tickets for wine tastings are available for purchase at the main sales tent.

In addition to the music and impressive drinks, the chairlift will be open to the summit, and all of Schweitzer’s daily summer activities will be open to the public, including the zip line, the Monkey Motion Air Jumper, climbing wall and lift-served downhill mountain biking. On Sunday, there will also be a cross-country mountain bike race before the afternoon festivities.

“It’s a great weekend for the whole family,” said Weber-Quinn.

For more details, please visit www.schweitzer.com or call 877-487-4643.