The Sedona Winefest has become one of the more popular events in the area over the last several years. And now, in its 11th offering, it’s expected to be the biggest yet.
“Sedona Winefest has grown just about every year in attendance,” event coordinator Paula Woolsey said. “When we were up at the airport we did numbers in the 800 to 1,200 range over those years. Once we moved to the Posse Grounds Park our numbers have climbed to around 1,800 to 2,500. We expect a new record of attendees for this year.”
This year’s event is set for Saturday, Sept. 28 and Sunday, Sept. 29, at Posse Grounds Park from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Tickets are $35 per person in advance or $40 at the door and includes six wine tasting tickets and a commemorative glass. When the event was created, the wine industry in the Verde Valley was in its infancy, Woolsey said. A dedicated group of wine enthusiasts from the area got together on a regular basis to taste and learn about wine and from that came up with the idea.
“The main idea was to give the wineries in the Verde Valley a place to showcase and sell their wines,” she said. “Giving as many people access to the industry in those early days was a real boost to the local market.”
As for its popularity, Woolsey said they’ve done a good job of representing wineries from all three of Arizona’s wine regions, as well as a variety of food and artisan vendors.
“Every year we try and change things up a bit for Sundays, to encourage locals to come then,” she said. “We have had car shows, art shows and music on Sundays. This year we have booked Naughty Bits to play on Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. They are a well-followed local band. We have also added an opening night wine dinner, jazz music at Sound Bites Grill in Uptown [which is a separate price].”
Sedona Fair Inc. is a nonprofit organization that oversees the Winefest and benefits from this event. Also this year some of the proceeds will go to the Verde Valley Wine Consortium and the Verde Valley Wine Trail, both of which are nonprofit wine industry organizations.
Visit sedonawinefest.com or email sedonawinefest2019@gmail.com.
