Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce
  • Benton Co. Business Resource Initiative
  • MEMBERSHIP
    • Membership Directory
    • Member Login
    • Join the Chamber
    • Membership Features
    • Sponsorship Opportunities
    • Stakeholder, Leader, & Growth Level Members
  • EVENTS
    • Chamber Calendar
    • Annual Events >
      • Annual Meeting & Awards Luncheon >
        • Business on a Roll Nomination Form
      • Women in Business Conference
      • State of the Cities
      • Tri-Cities Diversity Summit
      • Elected Leaders Reception
      • Tri-Cities Day with the Seahawks
      • Tri-Cities Day at the Capitol
      • Bridging Partnerships Small Business Symposium
    • Monthly Membership Luncheon
    • Business After Hours
    • Meet the Chamber
    • Speaking Opportunities
  • PROGRAMS & SERVICES
    • BUSINESS PROGRAMS >
      • Ask the Experts
      • Economic Gardening
      • Office Depot Savings Program
      • Small Business Incentive Program
    • Workforce & Education >
      • Tri-Cities Regional Career Signing Day
      • Washington Workforce Portal
    • myTRI 2030
    • Business Advocacy >
      • Public Policy Guiding Principles
      • Business Advocacy Letters
      • Session Spotlight
      • Vote for Business
      • TRI-CITIES LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 2022 LEGISLATIVE PLATFORM
    • Ambassador Club
    • LEARN Groups
    • Washington PTAC >
      • Meet the Buyer
      • Procurement Power Hour
  • NEWS
    • Press Releases
    • Blog
    • Member News
    • Annual Report
    • eBlast Advertising
    • Email Updates
  • ABOUT US
    • Contact
    • Our Leadership
    • Our Team
    • Committees
    • Policies
    • Our Partners >
      • TRIDEC
      • Visit Tri-Cities

MEMBER NEWS

Tri-Cities Wine Society: 40-Year Event Ends – Tri-Cities Wine Festival

8/30/2021

0 Comments

 
The annual Tri-Cities Wine Festival, a Pacific Northwest event for more than 40 years, has been permanently discontinued, according to Ted Davis, president, Tri-Cities Wine Society, which hosted the event for more than 30 of its 40-year run. Davis made the announcement recently at the society’s annual membership meeting. The festival has annually attracted more than 1,000 attendees, including wineries and their representatives from Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Montana, and years ago, also from British Columbia. What would have been the 42nd festival had to be cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions on large gatherings.

“Closing this chapter of the wine society’s history was a difficult decision for its board of directors,” Davis explained, “but we do so with a sense of pride and feelings of accomplish-ment as we reflect on the growth of the Northwest wine industry over the past 40-plus years and the part the festival has played by showcasing Northwest wineries and their wines. The Tri-Cities Wine Society is looking forward to continuing to do so with other events.” In reflecting on the wine industry, Davis shared that early in the festival’s history, it was the only way many attendees could sample Northwest wines as there were few tasting rooms or wine events. Much has changed over the years.

The festival was the longest, continuously judged wine festival in the Northwest. It was started in 1979 by Coke Roth, a Tri-Cities attorney and past president, Tri-Cities Visitor and Convention Bureau – now Visit Tri-Cities – and his friend, Maury Balcom, as a fundraiser for a copier for the bureau, and as a way to promote Northwest wines and the Tri-Cities as a tourist destina-tion . After 10 years and wanting to move in a different direction, the bureau offered the Tri-Cities Wine Society the opportunity to host the event. While the festival has been in different locations and at different times of the year, for many years it was a November event at the Pasco Red Lion, and then, for more than 10 years, at the Three Rivers Convention Center and in partnership with VenuWorks.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank all the wineries and businesses that have supported the festival, including our silent auction, over its long history,” Davis went on to say. “For several years, proceeds from the auction have been targeted for scholarships to students focusing on viticulture and enology in area schools,” Davis added.
​
“I also want to extend a sincere thank you to the hundreds of volunteers over the years who worked to ensure the festival’s success,” Davis added. Regarding the volunteers, he said, “As the wine industry grew, so did the ​festival. It became a year-round effort for a small core of volunteers to ensure its success.”
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Have News?

    Email your press release and a photo to Austin Regimbal, Marketing & Communications Director. Press releases are posted in their entirety. This is a free benefit for members of the Tri-City Regional Chamber.

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017

    RSS Feed

Copyright © Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce. All rights reserved.
7130 W Grandridge Blvd., Suite C, Kennewick, WA 99336 USA
Phone: (509) 736-0510 |  Fax: (509) 783-1733 
info@tricityregionalchamber.com
Hours
Monday - Thursday: 8 am - 5 pm
​Friday: 8 am - 12 pm
​Closed Weekends

Photos used under Creative Commons from The National Guard, Gamma Man, US Department of Education, U.S. Secretary of Defense, Tony Webster, jalexartis, Blue Mountains Library, denisbin, Baker County Tourism
  • Benton Co. Business Resource Initiative
  • MEMBERSHIP
    • Membership Directory
    • Member Login
    • Join the Chamber
    • Membership Features
    • Sponsorship Opportunities
    • Stakeholder, Leader, & Growth Level Members
  • EVENTS
    • Chamber Calendar
    • Annual Events >
      • Annual Meeting & Awards Luncheon >
        • Business on a Roll Nomination Form
      • Women in Business Conference
      • State of the Cities
      • Tri-Cities Diversity Summit
      • Elected Leaders Reception
      • Tri-Cities Day with the Seahawks
      • Tri-Cities Day at the Capitol
      • Bridging Partnerships Small Business Symposium
    • Monthly Membership Luncheon
    • Business After Hours
    • Meet the Chamber
    • Speaking Opportunities
  • PROGRAMS & SERVICES
    • BUSINESS PROGRAMS >
      • Ask the Experts
      • Economic Gardening
      • Office Depot Savings Program
      • Small Business Incentive Program
    • Workforce & Education >
      • Tri-Cities Regional Career Signing Day
      • Washington Workforce Portal
    • myTRI 2030
    • Business Advocacy >
      • Public Policy Guiding Principles
      • Business Advocacy Letters
      • Session Spotlight
      • Vote for Business
      • TRI-CITIES LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 2022 LEGISLATIVE PLATFORM
    • Ambassador Club
    • LEARN Groups
    • Washington PTAC >
      • Meet the Buyer
      • Procurement Power Hour
  • NEWS
    • Press Releases
    • Blog
    • Member News
    • Annual Report
    • eBlast Advertising
    • Email Updates
  • ABOUT US
    • Contact
    • Our Leadership
    • Our Team
    • Committees
    • Policies
    • Our Partners >
      • TRIDEC
      • Visit Tri-Cities