Wine tasting Saturday

Iolans will have a rare chance to taste $20 per pound cheeses, wines and fine chocolates this Saturday at the third annual Hope Unlimited fundraiser, “Tour of Tastes.”
Tickets for the 7 p.m. tasting and silent auction are $18 per person or $30 per couple, available from Hope Unlimited at 8 N. Washington St. in Iola, or by calling 365-6040. Those who purchase tickets by Friday receive a complementary wine glass, said Hope’s Executive Director Dorothy Sparks.
“This is a fun fundraiser for Hope Unlimited,” Sparks said. “It’s not just asking for money — you get something, too.”
Sparks said four to five red and an equal number of white wines will be sampled, along with different chocolates and a champagne cocktail.
The wines will be served with cheeses unlike those found on local supermarket shelves.
“We have a goat cheese with honey and a cheese with wild rice in it,” she said. The exotic cheeses are priced out-of-range for most Iolans, making the night that much more special.
“People can come and support us and get to try something you wouldn’t otherwise get to try in Iola,” Sparks noted.
In addition to the tasty tidbits, the evening features a silent auction that includes cookbooks signed by Food Network chefs and gift certificates to area merchants. “There’s a lot of unique and different things,” Sparks said.

SPARKS said the tasting’s connection with the Food Network happened by chance.
“We didn’t know any better the first year,” she said. “We called Paula Deen’s restaurant directly.”
Since then, Sparks said, a rapport has grown between Hope Unlimited and the celebrity chef who, Sparks said, has experienced domestic violence herself, the subject that Hope Unlimited tackles each day for local residents of Southeast Kansas.
“Hopefully, she’ll come speak one day,” Sparks said.
Until then, Iolans can enjoy a taste of luxury at the fundraiser at the American Legion, 712 W. Patterson. Tickets can be purchased at Hope Unlimited’s office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday.