P’ville Rotary Gears Up for Westchester Wine Experience This Saturday
By Janine Bowen
If you’re looking for a relaxing way to spend an afternoon and get a taste of some of the best wines and local restaurants, the 14th annual Westchester Wine Experience may be the right place.
“It’s always a good event. I don’t think that people have really gone away from it and not had a good time,” said event Chairwoman Susan Fasnacht.
The March 22 gathering will be held at Pace University’s Kessel Campus Center from 1 to 4 p.m. and will feature samples from more than 20 wineries around the globe, including Europe, Australia, California and right here in New York State. Each winery generally provides samples of three or four of their wines, and guests have the opportunity to order bottles or cases of their favorite samples at a discount.
“Hopefully they’ll be able to taste a variety of wines and hopefully find something that [they] never knew existed,” Fasnacht said.
All of the proceeds from the Westchester Wine Experience go to the Pleasantville Rotary Club, which hosts the event. Funds will be distributed among several charities. Past recipients have included the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, the Food Bank of Westchester and local public access station PCTV. Since its inception, the event has raised more than $180,000 for local and international charities.
In addition to wine, samples of food from more than a dozen local restaurants will be featured. Popular Pleasantville establishments such as the Iron Horse Grill, Bhog Indian and Sinapi’s Bakery will provide samples of their best products, along with other Westchester eateries. Fasnacht said the event, which has consistently drawn over 250 patrons each of the last few years, is a great way to introduce residents to restaurants they may not have visited otherwise.
Tickets to the event are $55 in advance or $60 at the door. Fasnacht explained that having a wine tasting to benefit charity is a unique element that is not found at similar events.
“A lot of these wine experiences you go to are really there to help promote a particular vineyard of liquor store…whereas ours is 100 percent to go out to charities and help other people,” she said.
For more information or to buy tickets, visit www.westchesterwineexperience.org. Tickets may also be bought at Guion Insurance, Flower Basket and Mahopac Bank in Pleasantville. No one under the age of 21 will be admitted.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
