Growing up in Worthington, the Hills Market was one of our go-to grocery stores. While I was excited to hear that they put a location downtown, I never made it down there. That is, until they started their monthly wine tastings. Will travel for wine, not groceries. After attending my first wine event last year, I was hooked. Not only do they offer a great selection of wines to choose from, they offer equally as tasty snacks. One thing that they do different than other local wine tastings is offer a certain amount of tickets. This is great because it prevents over-crowding. Don’t get my wrong, I will wait in line for wine, but, knowing that I won’t be elbow to elbow with people all night is an added bonus. The price has increased from $10 to $15 per ticket, still very affordable for a fun night out. We have gone for date night, mom/sister night and girls night. It is a great double date option, too! Plus, you are close to a variety of delicious restaurants. We tend to head over to South Forth St. to Hadley’s, El Camino, Late Night Slice, Dirty Franks or 16-bit!
I love that they change up the theme every month. Last month’s theme was “These are a few of my favorite things..!” If you instantly started singing the song from The Sound of Music, welcome to the club! I loved the concept. The day of the wine tasting happened to be the same day as their wine director Amanda’s birthday! Yes, she was their working on her birthday! She picked out her favorite wines and snacks. She did an amazing job. She chose a TATOR TOT BAR!! YUM! It paired perfectly with the different wines.
photo cred: hills market instagram
This is Amanda. She is the sweetest. You can tell she loves her job. She is at all of their events, always smiling and talking with customers. She has been with The Hills Market Downtown since 2013, transferring from their Worthington location.
photo cred: hills market downtown instagram
As mentioned, the wine tasting is VERY affordable for everything that you get. For $15, you get ten tickets. They can be used on any of the wines, beer and cocktails. They usually have four of five stations set up, each offering 3-5 different wines. At each station, they have very knowledgeable wine reps. I always learn something knew. Each time we have done a tasting, they have offered one speciality cocktail and one beer. Last month, Seventh Son’s was there.
They offer plastic cups, however, if you bring your own wine glass you get entered into a drawing to win FREE admission to next months wine event.
This is my mom and sister. They were enjoying the speciality cocktail!
This is Chris, one of the wine reps. We first met him at Meza in Westerville. He is AWESOME! He knows a great deal about wine, always suggesting the perfect bottle. He has traveled all over, which I am quite jealous of, tasting all different types of wines. What a life!!
Remember how I said they had a tator tot bar? Well, it was genius and DELICIOUS. I love the idea so much, I am doing the same concept for my husbands birthday next month. They had tator tots, chicken, bacon, salsa, onions, sauces and more. It was fantastic. In previous months, they have had full spread of appetizers. One month they had risotto and cheese filled balls that were to die for!
My mouth is drooling right now looking at this picture and remembering how delicious this was.
Not only do they offer food with the wine tasting, they also bring in local vendors who pass out snacks. My two favorite vendors are OH! chips and Lopaus Waffles.
OH! chips paired with CaJohn’s Salsa? BEST COMBO!
Organic, Non-GMO, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free
While you are there, don’t forget to shop their local goodies. My tip is to shop PRIOR to finishing your last tasting. You will spend far less money. Or maybe that is just a problem I have? I can’t resist the fresh cut flowers or the gluten-free goodies from bake me happy.
I am REALLY excited for next month’s theme, it is the P E R F E C T girl’s night out!
Not only will they have delicious wine hand-picked by their Wine Director and yummy fall inspired appetizers, they will have some of their favorite local vendors of health and beauty products and services. While you sip, you’ll have the opportunity to mix, mingle and sample products from: replenish: the spa co-op, The Tart Peach, Michels Medicinals, Candle with a Cause and more! This is going to be so much fun! You can purchase your tickets ahead of time here.
If you’re a wine lover like myself, you are going to LOVE the wine tasting at The Hills Market! I hope to see you there sometime.
XOXO
