The Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair is gone, and all that is left for many is just memories. The smells, sounds, and excitement of the county fair will linger for months.

But there were some people who visited the county fair for a very worthwhile purpose. They participated in the Amateur Wine Exhibit for the specific purpose of demonstrating their skills. They tried their best to win first place, but their main goal was to learn more about a favorite pastime in order to improve their skills in the future.

This is the first time such a contest has ever been held at our county fair. This contest was developed for the fair because of the increased interest in homemade wines and the drastic increase in wineries and wine consumption in the state.

I was very pleased that 13 individuals from the region exhibited their wines. Most of the participants were from Robeson County, but one was from Columbus County and one from Cumberland County.

A total of 30 different bottles of wine were entered. Each was judged on its own merit. There were 13 bottles of very fine wine, each receiving a blue ribbon. Seven bottles received red ribbons. Ten bottles received white ribbons, indicating that the person making these wines needs to refine their skills somewhat with the current crop of grapes.

The great thing about this contest was that each of the participants were extremely interested in what the judges thought of their wines and were eager to receive feedback from the judges, so they could improve their wines and be a little more competitive next year.

Highly qualified judges were very important for this contest. Both of the judges used were members of the American Association of Wine Judges, and each of them had many years of experience making and judging wines.

Following the competition, the judges spent almost an hour sharing suggestions and answering questions for the participants.

There is no doubt that these amateur wine makers will go back home and practice their skills using the information they gained at the county fair. I anticipate each of them will be back at the fair next year, with even more competitive wines.

I would like to conclude this column with a few comments related to a letter to the editor that appeared in this newspaper and some comments I have heard about the prices of foods at the county fair. This letter and the comments I heard implied that foods at the county fair were priced way too high.

One of the fantastic things about the county fair is the opportunity to sample some of the special foods that are available only once a year -- when the fair comes to town. Many people visit the county fair, and even the State Fair, simply to sample these specialty items, since they never taste as good anywhere else.

Because of my role with the county fair, I take vacation during the week of the fair and spend a considerable amount of time at the fairgrounds. I usually eat lunch and supper with the various vendors at the fair, and my friends know I sample a lot of the fair foods between meals as well. Because of this I become very familiar with the menus and prices of most of the vendors on the fairgrounds.

I am very aware that many food vendors offered hot dogs for $1.50 and french fries for $1.50. Even though almost all of the food vendors offered several different sizes of soft drinks, Pepsi Cola, an exclusive sponsor of the fair, placed about a dozen vending machines around the fairgrounds providing can soft drinks or bottled water for $1. So if someone wanted a simple hot dog, basic fries, and a soft drink, they would not have had to look very hard to be able to purchase the entire meal for only $4.

However, I do know that some of the specialty items were priced much higher, just as you would expect anywhere you go. You can buy deep fried onion rings at a fast-food restaurant for about a buck, but a blooming onion, which is nothing other than a specially prepared deep fried onion, will cost about $6.50 at Outback.

Food vendors at the fair did offer Italian sausage with all the pepper and onion trimmings for $6. Some vendors offered the huge turkey drumsticks and others offered barbecue ribs or steak sandwiches for about the same price. Huge platters of curly fries, which are a specialty item, could be purchased for $5. One vendor even offered the same thing as a blooming onion but at only $5 which is a buck and a half less than what it would cost at the sit-down restaurant.

So, yes, some foods at the fair may have seemed expensive. But most likely they were the specialty items -- something you can't get just anywhere, and they probably came in huge portions.

Fairgoers who would like to have a simple meal from a local food vendor at a reasonable price can still find just what they want at the county fair. But don't expect to get the specialty foods at the basic food prices.

E-mail address: Everett_Davis@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Come out to the fair next year, and I will show you where the best food vendors are. Date Created 10/26/05