BALTIMORE — Some things just get better with age, and the Highlandtown Wine Festival is one of them.
For sixteen years, the event drew almost a thousand people to southeast Baltimore each year, but was shut down by COVID and hadn't been back since.
This year, the festival returns Sunday to once again celebrate the art of homemade wine.
Domenico DiPasquale explained:
"The festival started about 20 years ago and it was very small and it was meant to celebrate the Italian heritage within Highlandtown and also the wine that was being made in the basements, and it also benefited [Our Lady of] Pompei [Church]. and that's where the first few festivals were actually held, in the courtyard. Since then, it's expanded; now we have live music; we celebrate more of the Highlandtown community, and also the local businesses within Higlandtown. So, it's basically a showcase of what Highlandtown can offer, while still honoring those same traditions."
There'll be live music and games - like cornhole, and a bocce tournament - as well as food from DiPasquale's, Sally O's, Snake Hill, and other local breweries and vendors - plus a competition for amateur winemakers.
The festival is "definitely in a rebuilding phase," said DiPasquale, but he believes people are excited for the festival's return. "It's been a long time coming. We're all excited here."
Mos of the wine is donated from the people who make it. "It's all over now, not just Highlandtown but people who have moved out but they still donate," he noted.
The event will also feature more food vendors and art vendors. Our Lady of Pompei Church will be selling "beautiful homemade furniture from Peru" that will benefit the church, as well as the people of Peru.
Tickets for people 21 and over are $25, or $20 in advance, and include a souvenir wine glass and wine tastings. The event runs from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. May 21.
For more information and tickets, click here.
