Scissortail Wine Festival

The first-year event on July 19, 2014 will feature delicious local wine and food, Route 66 Car Club Show, art and more.

By: Lorrie Ward | Category: In Our Communities | Issue: July 2014

The Scissortail Wine Festival committee includes (L to R): (kneeling) Ron Burrows, Claremore Expo; Ashley Orf, moreClaremore.com; Clyde Mickle, Diamondhead Wine; (standing) Dwayne and Sharon Caldwell, Route 66 Cruisers; Nicole Scalf, Claremore Expo; Earl Knipe, Oak Hills Winery; Trey Mickle, Diamondhead Wine; Amy Gordon, moreClaremore.com; and Lisa Towery, Claremore Expo.

As Oklahoma’s state bird, the scissortail flycatcher is a symbol of grace and elegance. That’s what makes it the perfect namesake for Claremore Expo’s inaugural Scissortail Wine Festival, being held at the Claremore Expo Center on July 19, 2014 from 1 to 6 p.m. That afternoon, guests will embark on a mini-tour of Rogers County and its surrounding areas from inside the Expo as they sample wine from local vineyards, food from area restaurants, and view art created by Green Country artists.

With the purchase of a $20 ticket, guests will receive a monogrammed glass and ten wine tasting tokens (additional tasting tokens will be available for purchase). As they wander the Expo’s air conditioned 30,000-square-foot facility, they will be able to visit with representatives from ten local wineries and taste their products. Claremore’s finest restaurants and coffee establishments will also be in attendance with plenty of samples on hand for attendees to enjoy.
“You may think only the best wine grows in Napa Valley,” says Nicole Scalf of Claremore Expo. “But we are out to prove you wrong!” She notes that many people don’t know that fine wineries have sprung up all over the state, and that is why she has invited representatives from Oklahoma Agritourism to set up a booth and visit with wine lovers about the Oklahoma Wine Tour, which features a map of state wineries to help them plan a road trip to discover Oklahoma’s best wine. But she hopes the Scissortail Wine Festival will prove that you do not have to go far to plan a fun tour, as Rogers County has so much to offer. “Guests discovering new destinations can plot out day trips to our unique restaurants, wineries and coffee establishments,” she says. “The locations are an experience to have, just as much as the items they serve.”

The Scissortail Wine Festival has been designed to please the eye as well as the palette. The Route 66 Car Club will have several classic cars on display around the room, lending a vintage touch to the festival. Many artists from northeast Oklahoma, including the locally famous Three Rivers Artists and student artists from Rogers State University, will display their creations for attendees. Three Rivers Artists have spent the last four decades building a wonderful reputation in the area and have established scholarship endowments for RSU’s art students, so it is fitting that these two groups should come together for this event. Some of the RSU art students recently returned from a university sponsored trip to Italy and will be displaying the works they created there.

To Nicole, this event is about more than just wine tasting. It will provide a chance for Claremore and Rogers County to showcase all it has to offer. “We would like to foster the connectivity of the community with the different elements of this wine fest,” she says. “Claremore is becoming such a progressive town, and this will help us embrace the fact that we are a college town. The event has wide appeal.”

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