Wine down and support the library

Fall Wine and Food Festival

Friday, Sept. 26

6-9 p.m.

Birmingham Zoo

$60 in advance

With more than 600 wines open for sampling, Western’s annual Fall Wine and Food Festival at the Birmingham Zoo is the biggest wine-tasting event in Alabama.

Since 2004, the event has raised over $115,000 for the Emmet O’Neal Library. The library has used some of the funds to bring in guest authors such as Khaled Hosseini of The Kite Runner, Carl Hiaasen of Skinny Dip and Hoot, and Alexander McCall Smith of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. 

“It was because of Western that we were able to keep ticket prices reasonable [at these author events],” said Susan DeBrecht, library director. 

This year’s festival, which will take place on Friday, Sept. 26, from 6-9 p.m. at the Birmingham Zoo, will offer a variety of foods with an emphasis on locally grown products such as Fox Valley crabcakes, local beef, Alabama goat cheese, breads and spareribs.

Chefs from the Jefferson State Culinary Institute will prepare and serve dishes featuring local foods, and wine experts will be available to answer guests’ questions about the wine offerings.

Attendees can enjoy the carousel and animal walkabouts, where zoo employees will bring some of the animals out among the crowds.

The festival will also offer raffle prizes and one-night-only wine deals. 

“It’s kind of designed to be a fun and educational event with people getting ready for the fall,” said Darwin Metcalf, president of Western Supermarkets. 

Metcalf said that the event will help people find wines for fall and winter events, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners and corporate parties.

Western has hosted some form of the Fall Wine and Food Festival for 25 years. Previous beneficiaries of the event have included Camp Smile-a-Mile and Magic City Harvest. 

“We chose the library because it’s very Mountain Brook, it’s a library we admire and we think they do a very nice job,” Metcalf said. 

Tickets are $60 in advance at all Western locations, at the Emmet O’Neal Library and on Western’s website, while tickets at the door will cost extra. A group discount for 10 or more tickets is available at $50 each. 

For more information, call 879-1746, email wine07@westernsupermarkets.com, or visit eolib.org or westernsupermarkets.com.