Christmas Open House Saturday, November 30 at Amber Falls Winery
Amber Falls Winery & Cellars’ annual holiday gift to the community, its Christmas Open House, will be held on Saturday, November 30, featuring the 2013 Snow Village display, release of two highly anticipated wines, and an afternoon of music by the popular country duo, The Sins Country, during its Christmas Open House.
The festivities, which are free of charge, will get underway at noon November 30 with the opening of the Snow Village. Comprised of approximately 150 buildings and hundreds of accessory pieces, the Snow Village, now in its sixth year at the Hampshire winery, is a panorama of winter scenes that range from the mid-1800s, to farm life, to downtown life in the 1950s, a ski resort, an airport and more. Almost all of the pieces in the collection are collectible, rare pieces.
The Snow Village collection has been in the making for more than two decades by winery co-owner Judy Zaunbrecher, who moved from Lafayette, LA to Tennessee seven years ago to start the winery with her husband, Tim. Since moving to Tennessee, the Snow Village display has fascinated visitors of all ages. Mrs. Zaunbrecher says that the massive display evokes memories of bygone days for many visitors, and adults and children alike are fascinated with all of the tiny stores, schools, churches, people and animals. She takes great care to vary the display each year to keep it fresh and different for those who come to see it year after year.
The first two wines in Amber Falls’ Presidential Wine Series — “The People’s Choice” Blackberry and “Sarah’s Choice” Riesling – honoring James K. Polk and First Lady Sarah Polk will be available for sale at the Christmas Open House. Tastings of the first two wines in the Presidential Series have been offered to guests since a special celebration on Saturday, November 2 marking President Polk’s birthday, but November 30’s Christmas Open House marks the first opportunity for guests to actually purchase and take home the recently bottled wines.
“We have received a lot of very favorable feedback from those who have tasted the wines,” said Tim Zaunbrecher, who owns the winery with his wife Judy, “and a great many guests have pre-purchased the wines, which they can pick up on or after November 30.  We think these two additions to our wine list will be very well-received and will be a tremendous help in our continued support of the Polk Home.”
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the new wines will go to the James K. Polk Association to help fund the operation, maintenance, preservation and restoration of the Polk Home, located in historic downtown Columbia, TN. The James K. Polk Home is owned by the State of Tennessee and partially funded under an agreement with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation/Tennessee Historical Commission. The nonprofit James K. Polk Memorial Association operates the site.
Providing entertainment for the Open House festivities will be The Sins Country, a husband and wife duo whose country music video, “Muscadine,” hit the Number One slot on yallwire.com’s Country Chart’s “Most Watched Videos” for the week of November 10-16. The video was filmed this past summer at Amber Falls Winery, and the record, released at the end of October, has been receiving excellent air play on radio. Joe and Kristen Welch Sins, who live in Columbia, have been regular and popular performers at Amber Falls for the last several years.
“We want the community to mark November 30 on their calendars and come out and enjoy our Christmas Open House,” said Tim Zaunbrecher. “With the unveiling of the 2013 Snow Village, the release of the first two wines in our Presidential Wine Series and musical entertainment by The Sins Country, it will be a celebration that should appeal to the whole family. And, to top it off, we have a great selection of Christmas ornaments, and unique gift items for easy Christmas shopping.”
The Snow Village will be on display from November 30 through the end of January. The winery will be open from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Saturday, November 30; the Christmas Open House and Snow Village display will begin at noon. Musical entertainment by husband and wife team Joe and Kristen Welch Sins will be featured from 1 – 5 p.m.
Amber Falls Winery & Cellars, located at 794 Ridgetop Road in Hampshire, is open seven days a week except on major holidays. Hours of operation are from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 12:30 p.m. – 5 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, call Amber Falls Winery & Cellars at (931) 285-0088 or visit www.amberfallswinery.com.
