2019 White Mountains CRUSH Festival
Highlights and Updates
With the 4th CRUSH Festival now just 2 months away, we thought we’d take a minute to give you some of the highlights and updates for this year’s events. With every passing year, we learn more and more about what works, what doesn’t and what you really want. You speak, we listen. This year will be the best yet.
Wine 101. One thing that we consistently hear is “wow I learned a lot from your winery tour” and “I don’t know a lot about wine, except that I like it.” During our Spring Release Party this past April, we hosted a workshop called “What’s in a name.” Seven Birches winemaker, Mark, led the discussion about wine labels and understanding what they mean. The attendees at the session indicated that they love learning about wine as much as they do drinking it…. or so they said.
So, the first of 2 big changes this year is the addition of 3 wine education workshops on Saturday and Sunday morning. We’ve got 3 talented winemakers lined up to quench your thirst for wine knowledge. Visiting winemakers, Ken Hardcastle and Mike Appolo from Hermit Woods Winery and Appolo Vineyards, respectively, will be leading the Saturday sessions and Patrick from Seven Birches will be leading on Sunday.
White Mountains Weather. For 3 years in a row, mother nature has been on our side for the CRUSH Festival. Most of the events are hosted outside and each year we cringe at the thought of the cold, wet possibility that is New Hampshire weather. Last year, we got a tent just in case. Great idea that we’ll do again. This year, we are tempting fate. Can we get a 4th amazingly beautiful day outside at the end of October? Let’s hope we do. But, just in case, we have decided to move the Wine Dinner indoors, since that would be the hardest event to host in the rain… or snow.
We are excited to be hosting the big celebration at our newly renovated Atrium events venue. This magnificent new-to-us space will be the perfect place to wine and dine for the evening. Located at the Lincoln Village Shops, adjacent to our Atrium Wine Bar and walking distance from RiverWalk Resort and the rest of the weekend’s activities, this new full-service private group space will be perfect.
Weekend-Long. CRUSH is a weekend long affair, but in the past, we have concentrated all of our efforts on Saturday. And, you have told us that you would love to see something take place on Friday night and perhaps on Sunday. So, this year, we are adding a wine cocktail mixer as part of the “Do Everything” ticket on Friday night. And, you know now that we have added the workshop on Sunday morning. Now we are truly a weekend-long event. Best make your reservations now!
So, there you have it. The big changes. As always, there will be small details that change too, like the tickets to each of the events, the color of the t-shirts, that sort of thing. IF you have never been to the White Mountains CRUSH Festival, there’s always this year. For those of you returning…. get ready to stomp!
Cheers!
