Holiday Valley gears up for a beer and wine fesitaval

by Scott Slade

 Holy Moses, what a summer! I don’t know about you but I’ve been busy trying to take in just a smattering of the activities and events that have been happening all over our little piece of the world this summer. The weather has been exceptionally cooperative too, except of course for the little twister experience, which wreaked a lot of havoc but fortunately, spared the lives of our friends and family. Myself personally, I have been to concerts, baseball games, car races, nature centers, picnics with friends, and I’m not done yet. But what happens when the summer starts to wind down? After the leaves have changed (another reason we should appreciate this region) and fallen? The parades and festivals and outdoor concerts have all pretty much wrapped up and been put away for the year. So what now? You still want to have some fun don’t you? I know I do. Let’s think about this, what would be a fun thing to do once the weather gets a little cooler? Maybe something that involves the greatest of all beverages known to mankind, that sustaining liquid that has been being imbibed by humans for more than 6,000 years now. I hope you’re thinking the same thing I am, and if you’re thinking BEER, than we are indeed on the same page. I guess I should allow the wine crowd to feel like a part of this too, so if you dig either of these two beverages, your autumn season is about to get just a little bit brighter.

Unless you just crawled out from under a Budweiser truck, you have probably noticed that beer is no longer just beer. In fact the big dogs in the game have been scrambling for a few years now to figure out why people are buying and drinking beers that actually have flavor to them, instead of the pale yellow skunk water that has being sold as “beer” in this country for way too long. Bottom line, they taste great, and if you for whatever reason have not taken your first steps into the world of craft and micro brews, here is your chance. This autumn, not one, but two venues in the Chautauqua / Cattaraugus area, will be bringing together some of the most superb breweries and wineries in the world. These breweries and wineries will be bringing with them gobs of the best tasting beers and wines on the planet. And they are doing it just so you and I can take a break from life, and spend a day elating our palates and refreshing our souls. So when and where are these two phenomenal festivals of fermented goodness going to take place? Well let me tell you.

This time we are going to Holiday Valley Resort in Ellicottville NY to take part in their 7th Annual Beer and Wine Festival. Holiday Valley is located at 6557 Holiday Valley Road, Ellicottville NY 14731. Holiday Valley has decided to give us two days to take advantage of the festivities. November 12 & 13 2010 will see over thirty breweries converging on the little town of Ellicottville. The kick off on Friday is a Beer Tasting Dinner. This will have an Oktoberfest flair and will include a German Brew House meal and beer pairings with each course. Tickets for the dinner are $50 and you can reserve your seat at the table by calling 716-699-2345. Saturday’s tasting session will run from 7:30 to 10:30 at the Yodeler Lodge, with tickets for this costing $40 pre-sale. They can be purchased at the Inn at Holiday Valley, Ellicottville Brewing Co, Consumers Beverage and Wegmans. Tickets may be available at the door but be forewarned; they may very well sell out prior to then. So if you want to go, get your ticket now. A little different than the Peek ‘n Peak session, the tickets here get you a tasting glass and unlimited tastings. Not that there are very many of us who could do much more than thirty anyway. The $40 ticket also includes a $5 food voucher which can be used to purchase any of the German style foods that will be available at the Yodeler Lodge. Although most of the breweries present will be the same as at the Peek ‘n Peak festival, Holiday Valley has invited quite a few more of them. Jane Eshbaugh from Holiday Valley informed me that there will be approximately thirty breweries there, including; Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Smuttynose Brewing Co., Ithaca Beer Co., and Otter Creek Brewing. Besides, you just never know if a particular brewery may have a different variety or two on tap at each venue. I spoke to Paul Cain, Head Brewer at Southern Tier Brewing Co. and he made the point that with thirty different styles of beer that they brew, the odds that they will have something different at each of these events are pretty good. Just one more piece of the puzzle to make this a “must do” event, the musical entertainment on Saturday will be the exceptionally talented and fun band Big Leg Emma!! That by itself is worth the price of admission. And finally, Holiday Valley also offers lodging with a one night stay for a couple starting at $220. If you want any more information you can go the website www.holidayvalley.com.

I can not tell you, scream at you, or hammer into your head enough, one last detail in regards to these festivals. Do NOT!!!!! get behind the wheel of a vehicle after you have been partaking of the glorious amounts of beer and wine that will be available. Get a room, have a designated driver, sleep it off, walk it off, I don’t care. Just please, please, please do not jeopardize the welfare or lives of our friends and families. But certainly do get out to one or both of these events. Whether you are beginning your journey into craft brews and wines, or have been on the road now for sometime. Either one of these Beer and Wine Festivals are sure to be a treat for yourself and your friends.