Weekend of wine, BBQ and blues in Washington Twp.

Three cheers for the reds, whites and blues.

The Garden State Wine Growers Association (GSWGA) is sponsoring a Memorial Day Weekend Blues, Wine and BBQ festival from 12 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in Schooley’s Mountain Park in Washington Township.

A former staple at Waterloo Village in Byram, the festival was forced to find new grounds following the bankruptcy of the Waterloo Arts Foundation, which helped organize outside events, and the action by the Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Parks and Forestry to assume stewardship in 2007.

The festival moved on to the 404-acre Natirar Estate in Somerset County before moving to Washington Township this year.

The change in venue to Schooley’s Mountain Park offers residents of western Morris, Warren and Somerset Counties a chance to experience the festival, said Denise Lanza, assistant deputy director of administration for the Morris County Park Commission.

“We are very happy to be testing this new site for them,” she wrote in an email. “Returning back to western Morris allows Waterloo fans to return.”

Thousands will attend

The festival is expected to attract between 5,000 to 7,000 people per day, said John Cifelli, executive director of the GSWGA. A change of locations over the years makes for a tough call to estimate attendance, he said.

“You lose connections,” he said. “At Natirar, there was wine and blues, and a barbecue event is a little bit different. We’ve rebranded, updated and refreshed. All the wineries made a team effort for marketing.”

Food providers at the event will include Meatwagon BBQ of Hatfield, Pennsylvania; Grumpy’s BBQ of Allentown, Pennsylvania; Taste of Smoke of Jackson; Nomad Pizza of Hopewell; and Florham Park’s very own, Oink and Moo.

Josh Sacks, owner of Oink and Moo, will be serving up brisket and pulled pork sliders, chipotle chicken tacos and pulled pork tacos topped with pineapple salsa, the preferred fare for wine drinkers based on his experience at prior GSWGA events.

Blues will be provided by Slim Chance and the Gamblers (www.slimchanceandthegamblers.com) on Saturday and The Fins (www.thefins.com) on Sunday.

Wine winners

In another first, in addition to the new venue, the festival will announce the winners of the 2015 New Jersey wine competition, which will take place Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

The annual contest, held in early May, is chaired by Atlantic County Agricultural Agent and wine enthusiast Dr. Gary Pavlis, of the Rutgers NJAES Cooperative Extension. The competition is judged by a panel of liquor store and restaurant owners plus sommeliers, who have swirled and sipped the 100-plus wines submitted for critique, Cifelli said.

The 20 member wineries participating in the festival span the state from Sussex County to Cape May County. The GSWGA is comprised of about 42 wineries total.

According to the State Department of Agriculture, New Jersey ranked twelfth in the nation in 2012 in wine production, having manufactured about 1.7 million gallons.

In 2011, the wine industry contributed about $231 million to the state’s economy, according to an independent economic study commissioned by the GSWGA and conducted by Frank, Rimerman + Co. at The Wine Business Center in St. Helena, California.

“In the last four years, 75 percent of GSWGA members reported an increase in business, and the other 25 percent of members held steady,” Cifelli said.

In terms of grapes, New Jersey produces a lot of blended wines due to annual vintage variability.

“The harvest in September can bring 80-degree days, hurricanes or fall blowing in early. Some grapes can tolerate the unpredictable weather and you can mix the strong grapes with the struggling grapes to produce high quality wine.”

Admission to the festival is $20 in advance and $25 at the site. The price includes a keepsake tasting glass and access to 20 Garden State wineries eager to share the fermented fruits of their labors. Admission also covers live entertainment and children’s activities.

The festival will debut an exclusive VIP ticket, which provides access to a tented, private catered four-hour farm-to-fork buffet lunch, courtesy of Silver Birch Kitchens in Long Valley. VIP tickets cost $75 with 100 tickets to be sold each day.

BLUES, WINE & BBQ FESTIVAL

Where: Schooley’s Mountain Park, 91 East Springtown Road, Long Valley.

When: 12 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; rain date is Monday.

Cost: $20 in advance (www.newjerseywines.com), $25 on site. Admission includes tasting glass, entertainment and children’s activities.

Entertainment: Slim Chance and the Gamblers, The Fins