Wine Down Main Street

The annual Wine Down Main Street is offering beer for the first time in its nine-year history.

In addition to the hundreds of wines available for tasting at the Friday night fundraiser, a selection of about 20 high-gravity beers will be available at the Landmark Booksellers and Cadence Bank stops.

"High-gravity" means that these craft beers are higher in alcohol content because they contain more sugar and other ingredients at the start of the brewing process. Brands include Stone, Dogfish Head, Rogue, Ommegang, Duval and more.

Also new this year is that Wine Down Main Street founders Mike and Phyllis Hyland are no longer locals. The couple, who started the event in 2001 to put money in the bank for the Boys & Girls Club of Franklin and Williamson County, moved to California in the summer.

Phyllis manages one of two tasting rooms for the Larson Family Winery in Sonoma, Calif., and established the vineyard's Songwriters In Sonoma monthly concert series. Mike recently started his own marketing and public relations agency and represents Meadowcraft Family of Wines.

The Boys & Girls Club now owns the event, which is produced by Candace Price.

"We are still consulting with Candace and the club on an as-needed basis. Anything we can do to help promote Wine Down is very important to us. After all, it is our baby, and since we've given it over to the Boys & Girls Club we want to make sure the first year of the transition is a great one," Mike Hyland said.

But much about the downtown Franklin event remains the same. About 40 shops and businesses will participate this year, along with 25 restaurants.

Ticket holders will receive a specialty wine glass and a map to all the tasting stations around the Main Street area. There's also a chance to sample cuisine from local eateries and listen to music performed live on the street.

Main Street will be closed to traffic from First Avenue to Fifth Avenue, including the Franklin Public Square.

Since its inception, Wine Down Main Street has generated more than $750,000 for the local Boys & Girls Club.

Wine Down Main Street runs 7-10 p.m. Fri., Nov. 6, on Main Street in downtown Franklin. Tickets are $85 per person and are available at www.WineDownMainStreet.com, www.bgcfwc.org and at merchant locations including Hallmark Volkswagen, Character Eyes, What's in Store, The Faye Snodgrass Gallery and the local Boys & Girls Club offices.