The loud pop of uncorking a wine bottle is powerful, causing palates to tingle, hearts to race, and nearby cheese to shudder. Experience wine’s power firsthand with today's Groupon: for $20, you get a one-day, all-access pass to the Southern Food & Wine Festival, presented by El Dorado Festival & Events in El Dorado on Saturday, October 29 (a $45 value).
Aficionados of the culinary, visual, and musical arts come out of the woodwork to partake in the Southern Food & Wine Festival, which allows visitors to brush elbows with national viticulturists and renowned tunesmiths. The outdoor festivities begin at noon with an art walk showcasing local, handmade masterpieces including life-size soap sculptures of the mayor’s family. Comestible stands and five wine-tasting tables open at 2 p.m. at The Granite Club, where guests can sip free samples of adult grape juices such as a California flipflop moscato or Napa Valley Bell claret. Globetrotting taste buds indulge in France’s Moet Imperial champagne, ideal for toasting the good life or pouring over an expensive bowl of cereal.
An all-access pass also earns attendees a seat at the El Dorado Conference Center from 7–10 p.m. to hear the musical stylings of 2011 Grammy nominee Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue. Fronted by a brass brandisher talented enough to make a shoehorn sing, the band’s signature mix of R&B, funk, jazz, and New Orleans–based hip-hop has garnered praise from The New York Times and appearances on several late-night talk shows.
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