Wine and brew fest raises spirits

A cocktail of sunshine and showers never dampened spirits at the inaugural Sisters Wine & Brew Festival held at the Village Green on Saturday.

Thirsty crowds shook off the grey skies and cool temperatures to sample and savor liquid refreshments from more than 23 wineries and breweries throughout Oregon.

Amanda Gow and Kim Thompson, of Specialized Events in Bend, were the organizers of the fest and were delighted at the response.

"We do the July wine festival in Sunriver every year and thought this would be a great addition to the Sisters summer event schedule," said Gow. "There's no other festivals around the weekend after rodeo and we wanted to bring the Sisters community something special. It's been a fun first experience and we're already looking forward to next year."

With its Jolly Roger-themed micro-brews and black pirate T-shirts, the Boneyard Beer tent was a tempting spot for the more daring suds-lovers. Melodee Storey, one of three owners, passed out tastes and topped off pints with a bright smile.

"Our reception has been amazing. We just opened in Bend last month and already have quite a following," she said.

Live music in the gazebo entertained all imbibers and a number of gourmet food booths provided mouthwatering snacks and full meals. Roberto Riquelme, of Barcelona Sauces in Bend, topped warm tortilla crackers with his authentic homemade red, green and mole sauces.

"Our whole concept is to make balanced sauces that can be used for cooking as well as topping, and enhance the flavors of any dish," said Riquelme.

"I love wine events and this is a nice surprise," said Yvette Perez of Bend. "It was raining at home and I came out with my dog Chanel and ran into some friends, and it's been a good time."

Twist Cocktail Catering was mixing up libations of a different persuasion with tastes of cold Moonstone Sake in raspberry, Asian pear and coconut lemongrass. Or for five dollars, you could sip a frosty Sake martini, blended with fresh blood orange, cranberry, or lime juice and melon syrup.

Owner Stephanie Anderson-Stroup loves to see people's reactions to her elegant rice wines.

"This is a real experiment for us to bring out the sake. We wanted to be the only orange at the apple festival," she joked. "Sake is the new spirit on the scene and it's becoming really popular. You're starting to see Sake bars and tasting rooms popping up in big cities. It has a light clean taste that pairs beautifully with any food."

A highlight of the afternoon was the Fanny Pack Iron Chef Competition where well-known Bend sidewalk chefs Steven Draheim and Joel Cordes battled to create a salmon dish out of unknown ingredients loaded into a fanny pack by each other. Among the bizarre items revealed in their packs were beef jerky, almonds, German dumplings and a green apple. The two chefs had 20 minutes on the clock and when the steam cleared, a panel of volunteer judges from the audience deemed the match a draw.

Linda Klaastad and Greg Kauppi were just passing through Sisters on their way to go camping when they saw the festival and stopped.

"We like good micro-brews, and there's so many new faces out there. This is great," said Kauppi. "There are lots of the more non-traditional brews, and that's nice to see."

Volcano Vineyards in Bend offered generous tastes of its award-winning line. Owner Scott Ratcliff kept his pouring arm in fine condition with a steady flow of eager customers.

"I have my new blend, called Lava Red, which is a marriage of syrah, merlot, tempranillo and viognier," he said. "This is the second version of it and people are loving it. This is the first time we've done an event like this, and everybody's liking the wines and the peach sangria when the sun pops out for a bit."

Event co-founder, Kim Thompson, was happy for all the people who came out and gave the festival a try.

"What an excellent day. We hope to make it a two-day affair next year based on the enthusiasm," she said. "The City of Sisters has really embraced it and the whole experience has been wonderful. People got to discover some great wine and beer and food, and that's not a bad way to spend a Saturday."