The 24th Annual Glorious Garlic Festival at Fox Run Vineyards will be held the weekend of August 6-7. The winery’s cool-climate garlic festival is one of the Finger Lakes hallmark summer happenings. The event takes place on the grounds of Fox Run Vineyards from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm both Saturday and Sunday. Admission and parking are free of charge.
Fox Run’s garlic festival is the premier festival of the year for local growers selling the summer crop of hardneck varieties. Hardneck varieties-known for their flavorful cloves-thrive in the Finger Lakes region. These cool-climate varieties are usually harvested in late July, followed by an average of two weeks for drying. Numerous varieties of hardneck garlic will be available for purchase at the peak of freshness.
Over 30 vendors will participate in this year’s festival. Family farms from all over the Finger Lakes will be selling cool-climate garlic varieties each with unique flavor profiles and characteristics. Growers like Mele Garlic Farm, Gambino Garlic Growers and Mark Bowman have been attending this festival since the beginning. Many specialty food producers will showcase their garlic-infused products – from homestead cheeses to artisan oils. A variety of artworks will also be for sale from local artists including Ironvine Studios, Stu Gallagher Photography, Angel Art Pottery and Ennion Glass. A small number of new vendors have been added this year expanding the festival to offer an even greater selection of local businesses.
A full menu of garlic-infused food will be available for purchase at the festival, created by chef/restaurateur Tony Gullace, owner of four critically-acclaimed eateries in Rochester. Chef Tony Gullace has created a diverse menu including 40-clove BBQ pulled pork, tabbouleh with roasted garlic and garden vegetables, roasted garlic white pizza and garlic-spiked fries with roasted garlic aioli. The Fox Run Café continues with an additional menu customized for garlic lovers throughout the weekend. Cheeseboards, garlic macaroni and cheese, house-made quiche, salads, soup and naan pizzas are just a few of the garlic-infused items available inside the Tasting Room. Each selection has been paired with one of Fox Run’s signature estate wines, selected by Fox Run owner, Scott Osborn.
The cooking demonstration tent, sponsored by Finger Lakes Public Radio WEOS, will highlight garlic- infused dishes throughout both days of the festival. Finger Lakes chefs, Samantha Buyskes, Kindred Fare, Ben Dailey, cebo and Max Bonacci of Linden Social Club, all Geneva restaurants, are on the schedule as well as Chef Dan Eaton from Rochester who often appears on Time Warner Cable News. Other lectures include garlic braiding demonstrations by Gambino Garlic Growers. The chefs’ audio equipment will be powered by a solar powered energy portable tower provided by QwikSolar.
Visitors are invited to attend a pre-festival concert featuring the Town Pants on Thursday, August 4th, from 6 to 8 pm. The Town Pants, one of Vancouver's leading Celtic bands, has entertained audiences worldwide. Their music is upbeat folk, rock, and Celtic inspired. There is no charge for admission. Fox Run wines, Climbing Bines beer and a garlic-infused menu will be available from 5 pm on. Visitors are advised to bring chairs or blankets for seating on Fox Run’s grounds. Coolers are not allowed.
Fox Run Vineyards overlooks Seneca Lake in the heart of New York’s Finger Lakes, America’s premier cool-climate wine region. With fifty acres of vineyards, the winery is a leading wine producer, creating a remarkable range of limited-production, site-expressive estate wines for the past 25 years. Regularly recognized in national wine publications, in 2015 Fox Run Vineyards was chosen by its industry peers as ‘Winery of The Year’ by the New York Wine & Grape Foundation, one of the top 100 wineries in the world by Wine & Spirits Magazine in 2008, and has been a multiple gold medal winner at the Riesling du Monde competition in Strasbourg, France. Visit us online at foxrunvineyards.com.
