At tonight’s Red & White wine-tasting in Akron, you can try everything from dry cabernets to sweet chardonnays. Seventeen local wineries offer their finest vintages at the Arthritis Foundation’s 10th-annual benefit, which attracts more than 750 people to the John S. Knight Center each year. “We even give you a wine glass that you can take home,” says Cheryl Carter, the agency’s development director.
You can also chow down on sampler dishes from 20 area restaurants — including Akron’s Crave, LeFever’s in Cuyahoga Falls, and the Blue Canyon in Rock Creek. The outing also offers a pair of auctions. The first is for sporting-event tickets, rare wines, and a Harley-Davidson; the second offers a trip to Napa Valley. Between the booze, food, and auctions, speakers take the podium to warn folks that arthritis even strikes people in their twenties — especially athletes. “If you’ve worn out all that squishy cartilage between your joints, you can have an extreme amount of pain,” says Carter. “It’s not what you want when you’re 25.”
Thu., Jan. 25, 5:30-9 p.m.
This article appears in Jan 24-30, 2007.