I'm going to hike down from my Foothills perch this week to talk about a new event happening the weekend of July 12-13 at the Old Sugar Mill in Clarksburg (just 15 minutes south of downtown Sacramento). The OSM is home to Solomon's second tasting room (along with that of five other wineries - including Sacramento's own Revolution Cellars). These six wineries will be presenting the first ever Winelympics across the two days, with all proceeds benefiting the Make-a-Wish Foundation. 32 three-person teams will compete each (or both) days in a total of six challenging (and fun!) wine related "olympic" events such as the Barrel Roll (ever try to get a wine barrel to go where you want it to?), The Corking Contest (for those of you with a longing to work on a bottling line), the Uncorking Contest (with an array of different corkscrews, of course), the Waiters' Relay (think it's easy to carry a tray of wines through a "restaurant" without spilling any?), and - on the more intellectual side - the Wine Quiz.
There will be Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards given for each event, along with commemorative wine glasses and t-shirts. So grab a couple of winey friends/relatives and join us (team entry fees are only $35 for one day or $50 for both days) or just come to watch the fun (admission is only $10 and includes a commemorative wine glass and free tastings at all OSM wineries). It's all great fun for a great cause. For more information, visit www.oldsugarmill.com.
Let the games begin!