Rhapsody in the Vineyard once again brings together the perfect combination of tasty wine, soothing music and brisk business

Downtown Corvallis Association executive director Joan Wessell is bustling about her office above the street near the corner of Madison Avenue and Fourth Street. She's unpacking the signature wine glasses that will serve as the designated vessels for the wine at this year's Rhapsody in the Vineyard.

She's also demonstrating how to properly use a neck sling, the device that allows wine enthusiasts to stash their glasses around their neck so they have their hands free to snack on appetizers and gesture wildly as the mood strikes them.

On Saturday, Sept. 6, Rhapsody in the Vineyard will unofficially mark the fifth year since its conception, when a couple of Corvallis residents came to Wessell to suggest that the downtown area needed its own wine-based event. The event was off and running after that, and has been going strong twice a year ever since.

"It's a treat for the eyes and ears, and for tasting wine and appetizers," Wessell says.

The idea is simple. Starting at 2:30 p.m., participants can purchase one of the commemorative glasses from downtown business. This year, they'll be available from Brown House, Shoetini's, Sibling Revelry, The Inkwell, Footwise and Camellia.

Beginning at 4 p.m. those with glasses can stroll store to store, not only tasting wine and the appetizers that all businesses are required to provide, but listening to live music and enjoying local fine art, as well.

Each year, Wessell sends out invitations to roughly 300 wineries, a number that gets whittled down for a variety of factors to usually between 30 and 40 participating wineries.

Those wineries are then paired with local businesses to create micro environments that people can experience in any order they choose.

Wessell says that over the years, unique pairings of wineries and businesses have developed and those participants have chosen to remain together through the years. Examples include Hip Chicks Do Wine and Sibling Revelry, Namaste and InsideOut Garden Visions, Noble Estate and Footwise and Cardwell Hill and The Inkwell.

This year, 37 wineries are participating, which means 37 different flavor and music or art combinations to check out. While that might sound like a lot, Wessell says that people are encouraged to choose designated drivers and that signs remind tasters at exits that no alcohol is allowed on the street.

This isn't Mardi Gras, after all.

"It's only three hours by design," Wessell says, laughing.

When asked if cab companies experience a surge in business come 7 p.m., she say she `can't speak to that. However, she does remember getting a call from Big River manager Brant Pollard one year asking "What in the heck were you doing on Saturday night?"

After three hours of wine tasting, restaurants tend to fill up pretty quickly after 7 p.m., so be advised that you might want to cut that last taste a few minutes short to beat the rush to your favorite eatery. Wessell also points out that if you're a member of the DCA and are interested in participating in the event, it's important to get your application in as soon as possible.

Rhapsody in the Vineyard takes place twice a year, in May and September, and she says she's already received 37 applications for May's event. In other words, if she gets the same number of responses from wineries as this year, all the business spots are already filled. Wessell says that the event serves both the public and the businesses, because it helps to connect them. She estimates that each business is exposed to 1,200 to 1,500 attendees over the course of the day.

Several people have said, "I didn't even know you were here," upon walking into a business that was new to them, she said. "Folks can appreciate what's available to them in downtown."

And if Wessell is busy before the event, she says it's nothing compared to the day of. Unfortunately, because she feels obliged to make the rounds from business to business, checking in and making sure all is going smoothly, she doesn't really get to sample the wines much herself.

"The group that starts out with me doesn't wind up with me," she says of her fellow revelers.

Fortunately, there will still be plenty of wine, music, food, song and other folks present to keep them company.