Angela & David Carlton Having a Great Time at the Harvest on the Harbor Saturday Afternoon
By Carol McCracken (Post # 1,247)
Angela and David Carlton, left Miami Airport, about mid-afternoon on Friday – that was just after the worst of hurricane Sandy hit the Miami area. The couple’s destination was Portland and the popular Savory Samplings of the Marketplace that took place on Saturday afternoon at the Harvest on the Harbor. “We are beyond enjoying this festival, ” said Angela who is a producer for wsvn television station in Miami. “We actually planned to celebrate our first anniversary up here in Maine and this is the first stop in our week long celebration.,” she added beaming. Their first anniversary is today, Monday, October 29th.
The popular Savory Samplings at the Marketplace was a popular part of the fifth annual Harbest on the Harbor festival that took place at the Oceanside Pavilion near Ocean Gateway on the East End of Portland. The event gives attendees an opportunity to taste wines and sample foods; most of the foods are from the immediate area. That included pizza samples from Leonardo’s Pizza, samples from Local Sprouts Cooperative as well as DiMillo’s on the Waterfront.
It was the fifth time that Shauna Troy, New England Regional Manager for J. Lohr, a California company, presented at Harvest on the Harbor. “This is one of the larger festivals in Maine,” she said. “It’s a good crowd because people are genuinely interested in learning about wine. They want to be educated. They are not just here to drink.” J.Lohr.com J. Lohr wines can be purchased at Hannaford Brothers.
Another popular wine came from the Hess Collection, Napa, CA. It brought with it an interesting founding story. Some years ago, its Swiss founder, Donald Hess, traveled to Argentina looking for a vineyard to purchase. A knowledgable water bottler, he went to Salta that had a 130 acre vineyard – with a problem. Not only was it a very poor community, but there was another problem. No water. None at all. With his water bottling background, Hess dug down into the ground much further than anyone had done before him. Water was found. And a new winery was founded. “Hess was able to build housing, a school and church for this poor community . And he was able to put everyone to work.,” said Michael Morganti, New England Regional Manager for the Hess Collection. The winery was founded around 2000. It’s wine can be purchased through Pine Tree and is moderately priced.
Food left over from the event was donated to the South Portland Food Cupboard.
During this four-day period, it’s estimated that more than 5,000 people from 38 states and five countries attend the annual Harvest on the Harbor