Cheers To Supporting Our Wineries, Breweries, Cideries, And Distilleries All Year Long
By: Josh Cross, Interim CEO & President of the Atascadero Chamber of Commerce
How do you support an entire industry of local, family-owned wineries, breweries, cideries, and distilleries? In previous years, our team partnered with the Atascadero Lakeside Wine Festival Committee to host the Atascadero Lakeside Wine Festival, a weekend event full of tastings, music, and good old-fashioned fun. It’s a fantastic event, but our team wanted to explore a way to support these remarkable businesses all year round rather than over the course of one weekend. By coordinating with the Atascadero Lakeside Festival Committee, we discovered an opportunity to do something more.
That’s why, this year, we rolled out a pilot program, The Atascadero Lakeside Wine Passport. Participants can now enjoy complimentary tastings, one per location, at eighteen wineries, four breweries, two distilleries, and one cidery for the rest of the year! Our goal is to encourage people to visit the businesses behind the drinks they enjoy and perhaps discover a few new ones. We want to see people visiting businesses with their friends and family and learning about the incredible team of people behind our region’s important beverage industry.
However, we didn’t stop there. After all, restaurants seemed like a natural fit after an afternoon of wine tasting; who doesn’t want a delicious meal? So, we added a few of them to the passport (some offer complimentary corkage, appetizers, and discounts). Then, we partnered with local hotels for deals to provide an accessible way for visitors to participate when they come to town.
Thanks to this new passport program, residents and visitors can visit and support local businesses for the remainder of 2021. Passports are $75 and can be purchased at https://www.atascaderolakesidewinefestival.com. Participants can then pick up their passport from the Atascadero Chamber of Commerce (located at 6907 El Camino Real, Ste. A Atascadero) or have it mailed. If you complete your passport, you can submit it to the Atascadero Chamber of Commerce for a 25% discount coupon for 2022’s in-person 25th anniversary of the Atascadero Lakeside Wine Festival to be held on June 25, 2022!
-Josh Cross, Atascadero Chamber CEO
President & CEO of the Atascadero Chamber | Josh Cross
