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Craft beers added  to charity event

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By Don Thrasher, Contributing Writer Updated 7:56 PM Thursday, October 13, 2011

“We’ve done wine tastings exclusively, but this year because this whole advent of craft brewing has come on the scene so strong, we thought it would be really interesting to combine the two,” said Emil Kornfeind, chairman of the Wine Fest and Beer Garden charity at The Castle, 133 N. Main St., Centerville at 6 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $50 in advance, $55 at the door.

“It’s going to be 10 different wines and eight varieties of beers,” Kornfeind said.

“We’re hoping it’ll generate some other interest in attending. For the wines, we have different ones with that same kind of grape and processing that mimics the French wines of the Rhone Valley, but they come from all over, whether it’s California, Chile or Australia.

“They’re good wines for fall because they’re a little bit more robust and should be a nice compliment to the beer tasting,” he continued.

“They’re all craft beers with a fall theme like some of the pumpkin ales and Oktoberfest beers from some of the small batch breweries.”

The Castle, co-founded in 1991 by Dick Neff and Tony Staub, is a 501 (c) (3) tax exempt, nonprofit entity focused on providing an encouraging environment for adults with mental disorders to help them achieve an improved level of competence and independence. The Castle opened in 1993 and relies on government funding, donations from individual and corporate sponsors and benefit events like the wine and beer tasting, which runs from 6 to 9 p.m.

“We’ve got a lot of expenses,” Kornfeind said. “We serve lunch to about 40 to 45 people who use the facility on a daily basis. We’re always looking for ways of funding. We get some help from the state, the county and the city, but that’s diminishing.

“With all the cuts in budgets going on right now, this kind of a fundraiser takes on an even greater importance than it has in the past,” he continued. “We’re more dependent on the charity of people than we ever have been before, but they’ve been great.”

In addition to beverage samples and separate finger food menus for wine or beer, Saturday’s fundraiser will have a silent auction.

“There will probably be about 40 items total that’ll be auctioned off,” Kornfeind said. “There are condominiums in Florida and Hilton Head that are being auctioned off for a week. There’s a booze basket, an automatic shoe polisher and a pearl necklace. The silent auction generates a good portion of our fundraising, so it’s a biggie.”

Contact contributing writer Don Thrasher at donaldthrasher8@aol.com.