Gwinnett to host Wine South 2002
at Civic Center on Sept. 28
By Faye Edmundson
Special to GwinnettForum.com

AUG. 20, 2002 -- Wine South 2002 will expand its celebration of food, wine, art and music into the Gwinnett Civic and Cultural Center on Saturday and Sunday, September 28 and 29.

The third annual festival will feature leading wineries and wine suppliers pouring samples of their best wines, chefs from top Athens, Atlanta, Birmingham and Charlotte restaurants serving their specialties, celebrity chef cooking demonstrations, wine-related artwork, and continuous live musical entertainment. Wine South was held at Villa Christina in Dunwoody the past two years.

The popular festival drew 3,000 to 4,000 food and wine enthusiasts each of its first two years. The new 50,000-square-foot venue will allow attendance to increase to 6,000 for the weekend.

Festival hours are 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday at the Gwinnett Civic & Cultural Center located at 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway

Admission is $50 per person each day or $95 a person for a weekend pass. Wine South 2002 ticket holders may attend complimentary wine seminars on Saturday and Sunday on a first-come, first-served basis.

Wine South 2002 tickets can be purchased securely on line at www.winesouth.com or charged by phone at 678-985-9494. Tickets are being sold in advance only. Festival attendees must be 21 years old or above.

The regional festival is sponsored by The Wine Report, a bi-monthly wine magazine distributed in Atlanta, Birmingham and Charlotte. Proceeds benefit local children's charities.

* * * * *

The Hudgens Center for the Arts and Wine South 2002 are co-hosting a Vintner's Reception on Friday, September 27. The evening will include wine tasting, a silent auction and art exhibits at the Jacqueline Casey Hudgens Children's Arts Museum.

An array of hors d'oeuvres will be provided by Proof of the Pudding. Featured wines will be from wineries participating in Wine South 2002 Saturday and Sunday, September 28 & 29, at the Gwinnett Civic and Cultural Center.

The Adams Duo, a cellist and guitarist from Lawrenceville, will perform light classical and contemporary Music at the Vintners Reception.

The silent auction on the 27th will offer art, weekend getaways, dinners, wine and wine accessories.

MorandéUSA is donating some of its award-winning wines for the auction. Jim Hoskins of Frame Makers Gallery in Duluth is contributing a framed wine art print. Lynn Baney's Abstrabet will be on display in the Children's Gallery. The Fowler Gallery featuring paintings by Karen Selsor also will be open for viewing. An exhibit of Photogravures of the North American Indian by Edward S. Curtis from the D. Scott Hudgens Collection will be shown in the Kistner Atrium.

Vintners Reception tickets are $95 a person. Proceeds from the reception, which begins at 7:30 p.m., will benefit the Children's Arts Museum.

Themed "Harvest of the Grapes," the Vintners Reception continues a fall wine tasting fund-raising event initiated last year at the museum. Tickets may be ordered by calling 770-623-6002, ext. 110, or visiting www.winesouth.com.

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