The 21st Morgantown Wine and Jazz Fest

 The 21st

Morgantown

Wine and Jazz Fest

 Word and photos by Dan Locke

Well, I have been in West Virginia for 9 months.  And I have done a lot.  Maybe more than most people living in West Virginia.  Every weekend,  I  go out to discover new places in this part North America.  

This weekend, I went to the Morgantown Wine and Jazz Fest.  It started in 1995.  And continue to this day. It is a nonprofit organization - 501(c)3 status - that seeks to return the proceeds from the annual festival back to the community in various ways. These include endowed scholarships to the WVU School of Music, sponsorship of educational endeavors and classes at WVU, free concerts for area middle/high schools, sponsorship of various student and community organizations that assist with the festival.

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I went there on Saturday and did not know what to expect.  It was off I-79,  lounging in the wild of West Virginia at an 4H campsite   It was going to rain this weekend,  but I did not see any drops.

There was just sun peaking in between the trees, country air and the bright sun in your face.

 On Saturday, September 17 and Sunday, September 18, the 21st annual West Virginia Wine and Jazz Festival was held at Camp Muffly in Morgantown, W.Va. Festival begins at 11a.m. on Saturday and Noon on Sunday. Wine was not served before 1p.m. on Sunday. Buses were provided free of charge, making continuous trips from the Mountainlair to Camp Muffly during festival hours.

Nine West Virginia native wineries, including Forks of Cheat Winery of Morgantown, were featured. For the cost of $20 per guest/ per day, attendees (21+) received a wine glass and the opportunity to participate in wine tasting. All nine local restaurants have delicious samplings available (if you go have a designated driver). They were:
Daniel VineyardsFisher’s Ridge
Forks of Cheat Winery
Heston Farm Winery
Kenco Farms
Lambert's Vintage Wines
Potomac Highland Winery
West-Whitehill Winery

Along with the wine you have a few other restaurants to sample.
Chico's Fat
Cupcakerie
Garcia's Latin Market
Greeks
Heritage Grill
Jersey Subs
Lamberts Catering
Russ' Ribs
Slight Indulgence.

Within this wooden area, people were very relaxed and comfortable with environment- wine tasting, jazz music and country air.  For $20 you got to sample as many wines as you wanted. But the long lines sometime may it easier to just buy a bottle.

What I found out once I got there. Most of the lines took 10 to 15 minutes to get to the front of the line.  And once there,  you could take as much time as you needed to sample the wines.   Most tents
(wine tents) you had anywhere from 4 to 6 different types of wine.  With one tent, having about 12 different types of wine.

Another thing that the fest did, was to allowed you to sample new and different types of food, to add to the taste of your wine.

The biggest thing that surprised me, were the amount of people who were relaxing in the creek behind the fest.

So if you are in Morgantown this weekend check out the Morgantown Wine and Jazz Fest.  Learn about the different wines and how to enjoy them.   And at the same time enjoy your stay.  And don't drink and drive.

- More at UnRatedMagazine.com