Erin Moore - Harmonious Monks - iwantaBUZZ.com

Reviews & Columns
Oktoberfest is known as the Largest People’s Fair in the World. Every year about 6 million people flock to
this world renowned beer drinking festival. Located in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, this two week festival
takes place at the Theresienwiese (the field of Therese). As September rolls around so does Oktoberfest.
Contrary to its name, this great beer drinking festival begins the third weekend in September and last
approximately 16 days. The actual length of Oktoberfest depends on the days of the week each calendar
year. The festival traditionally ended on the first Sunday of October, but currently if this day is the 1st or
2nd day of October the festival is extended until October 3rd, which is German Unity Day.
The first Oktoberfest took place on October 12, 1810. This date commemorates the marriage of Crown
Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Five days later for
their marriage celebration, the newlyweds organized a great horse race at Theresienwiese festival grounds.
Since then, this celebration has been altered into the greatest beer drinking festival in the world. Each year
following 1810 Oktoberfest incorporated additional entertainment and gigantic beer tents into the festival,
increasing its popularity. By 1819, the town fathers of Munich took over the festival management and
decided Oktoberfest should be celebrated every year without exception. In 1887 the festival really took off
with the addition of the Oktoberfest staff, breweries with their decorated horse teams and live bands in the
beer tents. Approximately 120,000 liters of beer were poured during the Oktoberfest of 1910 celebrating
the 100th birthday of the great festival. Since its beginnings, Oktoberfest has only been canceled a record
of 24 times. The causes for cancellations have been from extreme measures only, such as wars, deadly
diseases and other disastrous emergencies.
Today’s modern tradition, which first started in 1950, has been to open the festival with a 12 gun salute and
then at noon the tapping of the first keg of Oktoberfest beer. The mayor of Munich taps the keg at 12:00pm
and shouts “O’zapft is!” (“It is tapped!” in the Austro-Bavarian dialect). Oktoberfest is started in full swing.
In 1960 the horse races ended as the festival became world famous and tourists from all over the world
started to partake in the 16 drunken days of festivities. For this worldly festival, a special Oktoberfest beer
is brewed each and every year. Oktoberfest beer is slightly darker and stronger, both in taste and alcohol
content, and is only served in one-liter-steins called Maß or Mass. In addition to the large intake of German
beer, visitors also consume large quantities of traditional German food such as sausage, hendl (roasted
chicken), kasespatzel (cheese noodles), sauerkraut and roasted ox tails. Oktoberfest is an enormous festival
of overindulgence and hence has become an annual world wide tourist attraction.
This year the Munich Oktoberfest is from September 22nd to October 7th.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oktoberfest
“Oktoberfest”
Free Wine
Tasting
MONDAY: Cobblestone at the Creek (108
Julington Plaza Drive, Jacksonville; (904)
230-6744) Tasting 4-7pm. Excellent wine
list. www.cobblestoneatthecreek.com
MONDAY: Ocean 60 Restaurant & Martini
Room (60 Ocean Blvd., Atlantic Beach;
(904) 247-0060) Tasting 6-7:30pm. A new
theme every week & wine tastings are
paired with a heavy hors d’oeuvrs.
TUESDAY: Bistro PJ (8 Aviles St.,
St. Augustine; (904) 827-1010)
Wine tasting 5-7pm.
TUESDAY: Simons, a Wine Bar (1004
Hendricks Avenue, San Marco; (904) 396-
8088) 60 wines by the glass and 500 labels
available. HH Tue-Fri 4-7pm, $2 off wines
by the glass and $1 off bottled beers.
Tasting 6-8pm, $5 credit towards purchase
of wines tasted.
WEDNESDAY: Island Girl (7860 Gate
Parkway; (904) 854-6060)$5 wine tasting
6:30-8:30pm. $5 applies towards the
purchase of a bottle of wine.
www.islandgirljax.com
your toilet paper has page numbers on it.
WEDNESDAY: Urban Flats (330 A1A South,
Ponte Vedra Beach; (904) 280-5515)
Wine tasting 4-7pm.
THURSDAY: Buzzy’s Cafe (2574 County
Road 220, Doctor’s Inlet; (904) 298-1870)
Tasing 6:30-8pm.
FRIDAY: Riverside Liquors & Village Wine
Shop (1035 Park St., Five Points; (904) 356-
4517) Tasting 5-8pm every Friday.
FRIDAY: Total Wine & More (4413 Town
Center Pkwy #300, Jacksonville; (904) 998-
1740) Tastings 4-7pm, Saturday 12-6pm.
wineaccess.com/store/totalwine-jacksonville
FRIDAY: Turtle Island Market (363 Atlantic
Blvd; 904-246-2441) Wine tasting 3-6pm.
SATURDAY: San Sebastian Winery (St.
Augustine; (904) 826-1594) Winery tours &
tastings 10-6pm.
SATURDAY: World Market (1919 Wells Rd.,
Orange Park; (904) 541-1030)
Wine Tasting 1-4pm.
SATURDAY: Cork and Keg (Bartram Oaks
Walk, on the corner of SR 13 and Racetrack
Rd; (904) 287-4310) Wine tasting 5-7pm.
www.corkandkeg.com
SUNDAY: World Market (11112 San Jose
Blvd., Jacksonville; (904) 260-3039)
Wine tasting 2-5pm.
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