Looking to sample the perfect wine? Now's your chance! The 2012 Shoreline Wine Festival kicks off this weekend, sponsored and hosted by Bishop's Orchards Winery.

With two full days of wine tasting and entertainment, Bishop's Orchard's Marketing Director and event organizer Sarah Bishop Dellaventura is expecting more than 2,500 shoreline residents throughout Saturday and Sunday.

"There's seven wineries and two wine schools that will all be sampling and pouring wine. There will be a number of Connecticut wineries here included in the admission ticket price of $30 per person," she said. "You get to enjoy tastings of all the wine being poured and sampled that day as well as free wine seminars. Live music is included. There will also be tours of Bishop's Orchards Winery we do every hour, which is also included."

The wineries featured at the sixth annual Shoreline Wine Festival include Bishop's Orchard, Chamard Vineyards of Clinton, Hopkins Vineyard of Warren, Jonathan Edwards Winery of North Stonington, Jones Winery of Shelton, Sunset Meadow Vineyards of Goshen, and the Connecticut Wine Trail.

Live musical performances will include Moody Blossom and the Shiny Lapel Trip on Saturday and Rizzo's Dilemma and Dizzy River Band on Sunday. There will also be several local artisans and craft vendors selling jewelry, crafts, and bags.

Although food is not included in the $30 admission fee, there will be plenty available for festival participants.

"Food is the only thing not included in the ticket price, but we have five different food vendors ranging from tacos to pizza to vegan and gluten free, as well as barbecue," said Dellaventura. "There will be plenty of food there for whatever everybody's in the mood for."

Dellaventura said that one of the benefits of the Shoreline Wine Festival is the fact that it is much smaller than other festivals across the state, providing a warm, intimate setting for all who attends.

"It's a smaller event compared to the Connecticut Wine Festival. It's not as crowded and it's a completely different setting. It's all outdoors with tents as compared to metal buildings that are on a fairground," said Dellaventura. "You get the more personalized, one-on-one [experience] as opposed to just pouring and shoving you out of the way because there's so many people waiting…You can actually talk to the people that are serving the wine from the wineries and ask them questions."

Another added benefit of this festival, according to Dellaventura, is that shoreline residents will be able to taste samples from a number of wineries all across Connecticut at one location, as opposed to traveling and spending money at each winery separately, as well as having entertainment, tours, and seminars included and offered during the two days.

All wine sampled will be available for sale at the event.

"It's a great event and a nice day on the shoreline," Dellaventura stated.

For more information about the Shoreline Wine Festival, call Bishop's Orchard at 203-

453-2338.