Friends of the festival
Manchester Community LibraryManchester Community Library
OrvisOrvis
Nature's MarketNature's Market
VenchiVenchi
The Crooked RamThe Crooked Ram
The Inn at Ormsby HillThe Inn at Ormsby Hill
Vol. II · Our second yearManchester Center, VermontTickets: reserve ahead

Manchester Wine Festival

Twenty-five tables of wine, food and small producers, poured and served for neighbors

ForecastNovember in Vermont. We’re pouring inside.
The charity ballot

Guests will decide where every dollar of wine profit goes

Anyone can nominate a local cause. The room votes on the day, and the count closes when the festival does.

From the festival volunteers · The vote: Saturday, November 7, 2026 · Manchester Community Library
Guests with glasses at a tasting table as a bottle is poured, at last year's festival
From last year's festival: guests at the tasting tables.

Most festivals choose their charity in a meeting. Manchester’s leaves the choice to the people holding the glasses. Every dollar of profit from wine sold on the day goes to a local cause, and which cause is settled by ballot before the doors close.

Who can be nominated

Nominations are open to anyone: guests, vendors, volunteers and neighbors. A cause reaches the ballot when it meets two conditions and no others. It must be a registered charity, confirmed before it is listed, and it must be local to this corner of Vermont.

How the vote works

Each guest casts one ballot, and the count closes when the festival does.

Tickets

Entry to the festival. Add events to the same booking and pay once.

Admit one · Vol. IIFestival ticketSaturday, November 7, 2026 · Manchester Community Library

Entry to all twenty-five tables of wine, food and small producers, and your ballot for the charity vote.

Our printed materials arrived late, so we are keeping the $20 price for everyone. Anyone who paid $30 has been refunded the difference.

Online
$20Today
At the door
$35 · if any are left
Ages
21+, ID at the door
Event seats can be added in the same checkout.

Events at the festival

Book a seat, or find your own way in.

Limited seats$15

Paper bag blind tasting

Every bottle poured from a brown paper bag. Taste, guess the grape and the country, then see the label.

Seats
30 per session
Sessions
Times to be announced
Rare discoveriesNo booking

The Secret Speakeasy Pour

One ultra-premium or highly unusual bottle, hidden behind a secret door. Solve the wine riddle or find a hidden token to get in.

How to get in
ComingTo be announced

More events

Further tastings and talks are listed here as they are confirmed. Join the list to hear first.

Join the list

Who is pouring

Confirmed so far — more to come

Unusual varieties & rare discoveries

The Secret Speakeasy Pour

Somewhere in the festival, behind a secret door or a curtain, one ultra-premium or highly unusual bottle is waiting. Which bottle stays a secret until you are through.

Way inSolve the wine riddleAnswer it at the curtain and you are in.
Way inFind a hidden tokenTokens are scattered around the festival. Bring one to the door.

No booking and no extra charge. Pours last while the bottle does.

A vendor pouring a white wine for a guest
The tasting

Twenty-five tables of wine, food and small producers

Old World and New wines poured side by side, with local food and makers alongside, for people who know what is in the glass and people who would like to.

Wine poured into a guest's glass
The room

Indoors, at the library, because it is November

No tents and no cold hands. The tasting is inside the Manchester Community Library, and the conversation is the entertainment.

Guests tasting at a busy table
Behind the tables

No staff, only volunteers

Organized by Nature’s Market and run entirely by volunteers from this community, from the door to the glassware.

Who’s pouring

The wineries, distributors, food makers and small producers at the twenty-five tables. Each one is listed here as they confirm.

Table 1Distributor to be announcedPortfolio and region
Table 2Distributor to be announcedPortfolio and region
Table 3Distributor to be announcedPortfolio and region
Table 4Distributor to be announcedPortfolio and region
Table 5Distributor to be announcedPortfolio and region
Table 6Distributor to be announcedPortfolio and region

Classifieds

Three ways to be part of the day

From our first festival

Photographs from last year in Manchester

A winery table at last year's festivalFour guests together at last year's festivalStrawberries and cheese at last year's festivalA vendor with a bottle at last year's festival

Questions

What guests ask us most

Do I need ID?

Yes. The festival is for people aged 21 and over, and photo identification is checked at the door. Anyone who cannot produce it will not be admitted, whatever they confirmed on a form, and there is no refund in that case.

What does a ticket include?

Entry to all twenty-five tables of wine, food and small producers, and your ballot for the charity vote. The Secret Speakeasy Pour is included and needs no booking. Seats at the paper bag blind tasting are booked and paid for separately.

How do I buy wine at the festival?

Taste first, then order. Place your order at the festival, and pay for it and pick it up afterwards at Nature's Market. Cases are discounted: 10% off any 12 bottles, 15% off 24 or more.

Where does the money go?

Ticket sales go to the Manchester Community Library. Every dollar of profit from wine sold on the day goes to a local registered charity, chosen by the guests on the charity ballot before the doors close.

Can I get a refund?

Tickets and event seats are non-refundable. If the festival is cancelled, every booking is refunded in full to the card it was paid with. There is no refund for anyone refused entry for being under 21 or for having no valid ID, and none for a booking that is not used.

Where is it, and when?

Manchester Community Library, 138 Cemetery Avenue, Manchester Center, Vermont, on Saturday 7 November 2026, from 2 to 6 p.m. It is held indoors.

Is there parking?

Yes. The Manchester Community Library has plenty of parking on site, at 138 Cemetery Avenue, Manchester Center.

Friends of the festival

Local businesses we’re glad to call neighbors

The shops, inns and farms that make Manchester worth the drive. Pay them a visit while you’re in town.

Al Ducci'sAl Ducci'sBlack River ProduceBlack River ProduceNina JewelryNina JewelrySilver ForkSilver ForkNorthshire BookstoreNorthshire BookstoreBarnstead InnBarnstead InnSquirrelSquirrelManchester Community LibraryManchester Community LibraryOur hostVermont Kitchen SupplyVermont Kitchen SupplyThe Inn at ManchesterThe Inn at ManchesterOrvisOrvisNature's MarketNature's MarketOrganizerTap Dance
ProductionsTap Dance ProductionsThe Inn at Ormsby HillThe Inn at Ormsby HillJust Kitchen and BathJust Kitchen and BathEarth Sky Time
Community FarmEarth Sky Time Community FarmThe Bank of BenningtonThe Bank of BenningtonYoder FarmYoder FarmGathered & MadeGathered & MadeTaconic MusicTaconic MusicEdible VermontEdible VermontVenchiVenchi
Earth & Sea
Fish MarketEarth & Sea Fish MarketLa Peche LingerieLa Peche LingerieMighty
Food FarmMighty Food FarmChristos' Pizza & PastaChristos' Pizza & PastaAspen at ManchesterAspen at ManchesterMystico Cucina ItalianaMystico Cucina ItalianaGSK Climate ControlGSK Climate ControlThe Crooked RamThe Crooked Ram