Geneva Chamber to offer new Sip & Sample event through September

GENEVA – This year’s Festival of the Vine was canceled due to the pandemic, but replaced by a month-long restaurant event in September, according to a news release.

The three-day festival in September usually brings about 75,000 people to Geneva’s downtown, officials said.

Geneva Chamber President Paula Schmidt stated in the release that Sip & Sample highlights participating restaurants that offer a sip and a sample of a popular or new item.

“It is our hope that patrons will then stay for breakfast, lunch or dinner in that eatery and help support the Geneva Chamber as well,” Schmidt said.

Tickets for Sip & Sample cost $20, which will cover beer or wine paired with an appetizer or dessert of the restaurant’s choice, spokeswoman Laura Rush said.

It's a way of promoting local restaurants without creating crowds or encouraging people to congregate, she said.

Tickets are available through the chamber's website at genevachamber.com.

“They give their ticket to the server and it’s for whatever the restaurant decided,” Rush said. “It might be white wine with a bruschetta or red wine with a chocolate tart. Because it’s only a sample, we hope they stay and have a dinner or lunch or whatever the situation might be.”

Both the restaurant and the chamber will benefit from the ticket sales, she said, adding that restaurants may have more than one pairing.

The chamber posts the full list of participants.

“We have a nice mix of different restaurants. … We’re very pleased with the mix,” Rush said. “It gets people downtown, frequenting the restaurants – and trying something new.”