Rotary Club’s Grape & Gourmet a Huge Success

The Bellingham Bay Rotary Club will host its third annual Grape and Gourmet food and wine event on Sunday, November 5 at the Best Western Lakeway Inn in Bellingham.

Over the past 25 years I’ve attended a number of wine festivals and this one certainly has to rate with the best of them. What makes this event special is that it combines wineries from the Pacific Northwest with restaurants from Whatcom County, providing the event with a nice, local flavor.

I had a chance to get a sneak preview of the 36 wineries and 25 restaurants that will be participating and the list is impressive. Featured wineries will includes some of the big players such as Chateau Ste. Michelle and Columbia Crest, local wineries Mount Baker Vineyards, Chuckanut Ridge and Samson Estates, and even some smaller personal favorites such Bergevin Lane, L’Ecole No. 41, Chinook, Terra Blanca and Hightower Cellars.

The two-hour event begins at 6:30 pm and advance tickets can be purchased for $75 each. For an additional $25 you can buy one of the 250 premier tickets and begin your tasting and grazing an hour earlier.

Think the cost is a bit pricey? Then consider this: first, you’d spend countless more time and money trying to travel to all of these places for food and wine samples; second, a portion of the sales provide funding for charitable community projects supported by Bellingham Bay Rotary. Last year’s event raised over $55,000 and this year’s focus will be on rebuilding the facility for the Bellingham Food Bank.

Purchase your tickets by contacting any Bellingham Bay Rotary Club member or by calling Bob Yost at (360) 738-2747. Then mark your calendar, arrange for transportation home and prepare to have a great time for a good cause.