Spooky Sipping in the Spring at Downtown Wine and Cheese

It was a dark and stormy night… But actually, it was a bright Spring day in March. Tucked away on North Main Street is a quaint boutique style winery owned by Maude Wilson called Downtown Wine and Cheese.

With wine tastings every Thursday, the winery throws events frequently.

On Saturday, March 18 ,Downtown Wine and Cheese transformed into a haunted Halloween hotspot to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

This event honored Jen Queen, a lover of all things Halloween, who died in August of 2012 from cystic fibrosis. Amanda Adkins, a very close friends of Queen, approached Wilson to coordinate this spooky and playful wine tasting fundraiser.

“Jen was just Jen. She was awesome, funny. She was beautiful,” said Adkins. “Her humor was perfect. She was just a great human being,” she said.

Previously, Adkins and Jen’s mother hosted a bake sale to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. When Adkins learned that Downtown Wine and Cheese had hosted breast cancer fundraisers before, she immediately thought that a Halloween wine tasting would be a perfect way to honor Queen while raising money for an important cause.

Walking into Downtown Wine and Cheese, a black and white cat named Eight Ball might greets customers at the door.

Once inside, customers can choose from a wide selection of miscellaneous trinkets, food and drink. The entire store was adorned with festive Halloween decorations.

Walking further in, guests entered a room where they could taste the wines. A large assortment of wines lined the back wall and festive snacks were served on the opposite side.

Wilson chose the selection of wines, which included everything from a port wine to a soft rosé, by the artwork on the label or a clever, bone-chilling name.

Guests could sit and enjoy the wine and food on a quaint patio with live music playing in the background.

“We don’t normally do Halloween tastings in March,” Wilson said. “We’re doing it because [Queen], who we’re honoring today, loved Halloween.”

The event ran from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wilson noted that there were more people stopping by than there would be on an average Saturday afternoon. With an entry fee of $30, half of the proceeds went to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, as did 20% of retail sales and 10% food sales.

 

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