Reprinted with permission from Lake Gaston Today

Artists, art lovers and wine aficionados from all around the lake area gathered at the Rosemont winery Saturday for the second annual Rosemont Wine and Art Festival and even though the temperatures hovered around 100 degrees, most spent hours perusing the artist booths and tasting wines.

Whenever things got too warm, visitors simply entered the winery itself, which stayed packed for most of the day, where the cool air conditioned air brought them instant relief for another round of perusing the artwork outside. Of course there was also plenty of serious artwork inside too.

The winery itself seemed to glow in the bright afternoon sun, while the vineyards in the distance made a beautiful backdrop visible from most of the vendor canopies. All the while, Jeff and Bryan, two very talented young men, entertained the crowd from the large front patio with music that often had people wondering how only two guitar players could create such a full, rich sound.

Most of the patrons who came into the winery eventually took a guided tour of the winery itself, which was another wonderful respite from the heat outside. The tour left many first-time visitors scratching their heads, wondering how such a fantastic operation, which uses no pumps to get the raw materials into the wine-making equipment, could have sprung up right here beside Lake Gaston. And, how such a beautiful building could house and hide such a unique operation.

The winery was completely engineered from the beginning to use every square inch of the designed in elevation, to let the process flow naturally, from top to the very bottom, where the aging barrels reside in a cool, cave-like basement. There is no HVAC in the wine-making area, but because of the engineering, it simply isn’t needed. Walking back inside the welcoming main area was like entering another world and made most really appreciate the wine they purchased to share with friends later.

But the real reason for the festival was to show what a rich wealth of artists we have in the area around Lake Gaston. Even many of the artists, who came from as far away as New York and New Jersey, have vacation homes here at the lake, so most consider themselves southerners, or at least Lake Gaston southerners.

There were 37 artists scattered around the front of the winery in a well thought out pattern that encouraged folks to flow easily from one vender to the next. There was a main entrance area outside, where visitors checked in and had the chance to purchase a Rosemont signature wine glass to use for tasting all of the wines at three separate locations. Admission to the event was free though.

A food court was part of the outside area, which consisted of several local businesses, as well as Rosemont’s own Chef David. Most everyone took advantage of the cool ice cream from the Pea Hill Country Store too.

As mentioned above, the winery’s elevation changes easily became a major part of the festival as people moved from one level to the next, enjoying beautiful views from all of the different porches on the many different levels. If those elevations weren’t enough, the Lake Gaston Volunteer Fire Department was on hand with their huge ladder/bucket truck to give the more adventurous true aerial views of the entire grounds.

Those that partook of that opportunity probably will never forget it, but everyone who showed up, and many times the gravel road entrance had cars backed up waiting to enter the grounds, left knowing the area has much to offer in the way of art. That was what this festival was all about; one welcoming host showing friends from all around the lake some wonderful artwork. Many lake homes are now decorated with works of art created right here around the lake and they’re much richer places because of it. Be sure to check out the 2010 Rosemont Wine and Arts Festival photo gallery here in LGT.