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Fine Swine Wine – the wine made especially by Childress Vineyards to complement the famous pork barbecue of Lexington, NC, and featuring a label by world-renowned artist Bob Timberlake – is back by popular demand.
The new release of Fine Swine Wine will be available only to the general public on October 25 at the city’s 25th annual Barbecue Festival beginning at 8 a.m. and until supplies last. Individual bottles are $15 each and can be purchased at the Childress Vineyards tent on the square in Uptown Lexington or at the Childress Vineyards winery that is located at the crossroads of Highways 52 and 64 in Lexington. Phone orders will also be accepted at the winery on Saturday, October 25 by calling 336-236-9463.
A limited quantity of Fine Swine Wine will be available for Fast Track Wine Club members to pre-order beginning September 24 and all pre-orders will be shipped. The price for members of the wine club is $12 a bottle.
This is the fourth release of Fine Swine Wine. The first bottling sold out at the Barbecue Festival within one hour in the first year and the wine has continued to sell out in each subsequent years. All featured labels designed from a Timberlake painting sporting a pig.
This year’s wine label features a black and white spotted pig perched above a green weathervane. A special signed giclée print of the painting that was the basis for the label will also be offered by the Timberlake Gallery this year up to October 25. It will retail for $125 and can be purchased at the gallery.
“We never dreamed that Fine Swine Wine would be the success that it has been over the last three years,” said Richard Childress, owner of Childress Vineyards and RCR Racing. “But we’re proud that it has made us a partner in Lexington’s annual Barbecue Festival with our friend and great artist, Bob Timberlake on this annual project.”
Childress Vineyards Winemaker Mark Friszolowski made 500 cases of Fine Swine Wine this year from a blend of predominantly Merlot grapes with a hint of residual sugar and a light touch of oak.
“We are delighted to make a wine that matches the favorite local cuisine and creates such excitement at this time of year,” Friszolowksi said.
“The release of Fine Swine Wine is becoming an annual fall tradition just like the release of Noveau Beaujolais is in France,” Friszolowski continued.
“The wine can be served slightly chilled like the sweet tea served in many barbecue restaurants. The difference is that this is like sweet tea with a kick,” said Kathleen Watson, director of marketing and public relations at Childress Vineyards.
“We are delighted to once again be working with Childress Vineyards and Bob Timberlake on the fourth edition of Fine Swine Wine. It is an unique opportunity to celebrate three of Lexington’s finest assets…art, wine and barbecue!” said Stephanie Saintsing, executive director of The Barbecue Festival.
In addition, Childress Vineyards will host the first event in a month of activities leading up to the 25th annual Barbecue Festival on October 4 and 5. It is called the Childress Idol contest and it provides an opportunity for the winner to perform the National Anthem and a 10-minute set on the Grandstand Stage at the Barbecue Festival.
Also, Childress Vineyards has been selected as one of the park and ride spots for the 25th annual Barbecue Festival. Shuttles will provide transportation from Childress Vineyards to the Festival throughout the day at a cost of $2 for a round trip. The Bistro will serve lunch from 11 – 3 p.m., including antipasto platters, for those who have had their fill of barbecue uptown, and the Davis Tucker Band will perform bluegrass in the final weekend of the Music in the Vineyards series at the winery from 11 to 3 p.m. Blankets and lawn chairs are encouraged.
A portion of the profits from the sales of the Fine Swine Wine will go the Mental Health Association of Davidson County but the first bottle, to be signed by Timberlake, Childress and Friszolowski, was auctioned at the Barbecue Festival media lunch September 23 with the proceeds going to the newly launched Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC.
For more information about the Festival, log onto www.barbecuefestival.com or call 336-956-1880. To learn more about Fine Swine Wine or the Childress Idol contest, contact Childress Vineyards at 336-236-9463. To learn more about the special giclée print, go to www.bobtimberlake.com.
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