With five successful years under its belt, the Finger Lakes Riesling Festival is partnering with the New York Wine & Culinary Center and the Canandaigua Rotary to make 2014 the best Riesling Festival yet. Presented by LNB (Lyons National Bank), the festival is set for August 9-10, 2014, along the Canandaigua City Pier and at the New York Wine & Culinary Center. This year’s festival is expected to be the largest fundraising weekend in the entire Finger Lakes region, drawing more than 30,000 attendees. 

The weekend-long celebration features the best of what the Finger Lakes region has to offer. Festival goers will enjoy the wine garden, complete with wine education seminars, tastings, cheese pairings, and New York state craft beer and samplings, along with expanded local food, eclectic live music, kids’ activities, fireworks and much more. New this year, guests can enjoy grape stomping in large wooden barrels and cooking demonstrations outside and inside the New York Wine & Culinary Center to learn how to use wine in everyday cooking. 

“As the Riesling Festival continues to grow and expand, our hope is to make the New York Wine & Culinary Center and the Canandaigua City Pier its permanent home,” said Lauren Dixon, chief executive officer of Dixon Schwabl and festival co-founder. “The beautiful backdrop of the lake and the renowned culinary center are the perfect location to grow the festival and region, bringing guests from all over the country to a centralized place. We are thrilled to have the festival here.”

Again this year, the Riesling Festival has teamed up with the Canandaigua Rotary to bring the Canandaigua Rotary Pier Festival, with extended hours for live music, dancing and fireworks until 10 p.m. Saturday. Proceeds from Saturday night will benefit the Canandaigua Rotary’s charities.

“After a successful festival in 2013, we are ecstatic to be a part of the Riesling Festival again this year,” said Bob Schick, president and CEO of LNB. “The festival helps support local businesses and brings locals and visitors from all over to the Finger Lakes region. We love seeing so many of our local businesses, customers and friends come out to the Riesling Festival in support of the Canandaigua YMCA.”

Over the past five years, more than 100,000 people have gathered over the annual two-day period to celebrate at this charitable event. To date, the Riesling Festival has donated more than $150,000 to the Canandaigua YMCA.

This year’s presenting sponsor is LNB. Other sponsors include Wegmans, New York Wine & Culinary Center, Dixon Schwabl, Wegman Companies Inc., Broccolo Tree & Lawn Care, Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack, Finger Lakes Community College, The Canandaigua Eye Care Center, Casella Waste and ADMAR.

To learn more about sponsorship, vendor and volunteer opportunities for the Finger Lakes Riesling Festival, visit www.rieslingfestival.com or email info@rieslingfestival.com. Follow @RieslingFest or Finger Lakes Riesling Festival-Facebook.

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Hosted in one of the top-performing viniculture regions of the world, the sixth annual Finger Lakes Riesling Festival was founded to celebrate the grape harvest and enjoy the food, people and fun that make the Finger Lakes region a one-of-a-kind place to visit and live. For more information, visit www.RieslingFestival.com. 



 

Hayley Pingree, Dixon Schwabl 585-899-3226 hayley_pingree@dixonschwabl.com www.RieslingFestival.com