Atlanta beer and wine lovers have much to rejoice over, as the first two weeks of October bring one whale of a wine celebration at the Georgia Aquarium, two hopped up beer celebrations in Decatur and Glenwood Park, AND one intimate event pitting wine vs. beer for pairing prowess. Yes, there are many other events happening in Atlanta in October, but these four will be shining a very bright spotlight on some stellar beers and wines.
Firmly on the wine side of things, AQUA VINO on October 14 is one of the city’s major wine events, benefitting the Georgia Aquarium’s Correll Center for Aquatic Animal Health. Your ticket will indeed save the whales. Guaranteed. Well, maybe we shouldn’t go that far, but this is a great cause, and a great excuse to sample hundreds of wines from around the world, with more than 30 of Atlanta’s best restaurants providing the food, in one of Atlanta’s most amazing settings – next to the swimming seas of the aquarium itself. More info and tickets here.
Moving over to the beer side of life, things are getting crazy, with HOTOBERFEST on October 2 (this weekend folks!) and the Decatur Craft Beer Festival just two weeks later on October 16. Both of these events are best described as “beyond awesome” – the quality and variety of beer available will be astounding, the music will be rockin, hopefully the weather will be as stunning as it has been the past few days as the cool, crisp air of Fall finally settles over Atlanta. HOTOBERFEST offers three ways of partaking in the fun, from free entry to the main festival area and a la carte beer purchases to the (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) “Firkin VIP Ticket” that gets you tastes of an incredible lineup of crazy casks, seasonal beers, and more from the likes of Allagash, Sweetwater, Terrapin and Atlanta Brewing (with a special 15 year anniversary vintage brown ale aged in Pappy Van Winkle bourbon barrels!!). Meanwhile, the Decatur Craft Beer Festival again sold out in something like seventeen seconds or so, so you’ll have to pray for a ticket to fall from the heavens or peruse Craigslist for unsavory characters scalping their way to profit.
And, finally, a showdown between our two featured beverages, BEER vs. WINE at 5 Seasons Westside on October 6. The wine hails from heralded Lioco Winery of California, who is pairing two of their stellar chardonnays, two of their pinot noirs, and their truly unique “Indica” blend with five courses prepared by 5 Seasons Chef David Larkworthy. And the beer, of course, comes from 5 Seasons themselves, with a killer lineup of unique aged brews (the “Burgundian” for example is a saison aged in a pinot noir barrel). Does 5 Seasons have the home field advantage? Maybe so, but being able to taste this lineup of Lioco wines will surely have the crowd cheering for the visiting team as well. All this for $55 per person, reservations required – call 5 Seasons at 404-875-3232.
What are you waiting for? Get out there and support these great Atlanta events! No matter who the victor, beer or wine, it will surely be a good game.