Wine tasting party in Orrville

ORRVILLE -- What might well be the first wine tasting party in the city's history will be held Saturday from 7-10 p.m. at the historic Smith Orr Homestead at 365 W. Market St.

The event is being presented by the Orrville Area Young Professionals Network, in conjunction with Main Street Orrville and Shisler's Cheese House.

Darrin Wasniewski, executive director of Main Street Orrville, said it is not far-fetched to think this might be the city's first-ever wine tasting party. The last time that wine by the glass was legal in the city was in the 1930s, prior to the era of Prohibition. When Prohibition ended, an error in re-writing the law occurred locally that continued to prevent residents from being able to purchase wine by the glass, even though it was perfectly legal to purchase mixed drinks with hard liquor.

That however, came to an end in November when Main Street Orrville conducted an educational door-to-door campaign in precincts 1A and 2A, which encompassed all of Orrville's restaurants with the exception of Buehler's Supermarket. That effort resulted in voters approving the sale of wine by the glass in the business district.

Wasniewski said the issue was a lot less about alcohol in the community than it was about economic development. He said the city wants to both attract and keep restaurants in downtown Orrville, a task that was becoming increasingly difficult because of their inability to serve wine.

In addition, surveys done by the Orrville Area Chamber of Commerce asking citizens what they would like to see come into town invariably brought a response saying residents wanted an Italian restaurant. Wasniewski noted, however, that no Italian restaurant would locate in Orrville if it could not sell wine.

Wasniewski said before Prohibition there would not have been any reason to have even had a wine-tasking party in the city, but now that voters have revised the law the way is paved for the holding of those now-fashionable events.

Saturday's wine tasting will feature nine wines that run the gamut from white to red, including sweet white. Wine connoisseurs will be present to share their expertise with those sampling the wines.

In addition to having wine, cheese, crackers and other snacks will be provided by Shisler's Cheese House.

Entertainment will be provided by local acoustic guitarist Gretchen Pleuss.

Reservations are required and the cost is $25 per person or $40 per couple. Proceeds will benefit Main Street Orrville. Wasniewski said only a limited number of tickets is available because of space considerations at the Smith Orr Homestead.

Tickets can be purchased online with PayPal at www.oaypn.com, and questions can be directed to lori@orrvillechamber.com.

The Orrville Area Young Professionals Network was organized last year under the auspices of the Orrville Area Chamber of Commerce to provide networking opportunities for young professionals in the city. Since then the group has been involved in several community projects.