The Spokane Winery Association plans to hold its annual Mother's Day Spring Barrel Tasting festivities this weekend, May 7-9, and the Washington Wine Commission will hold its annual Taste Washington! Spokane event on Sunday, June 6.

The Spokane Winery Association is an alliance of 16 Spokane-area wineries that work to promote regional wine products, and all of them will participate in the Spring Barrel Tasting, the association says.

They include: Arbor Crest Wine Cellars, Barili Cellars, Barrister Winery, Caterina Winery, Grande Ronde Cellars, Overbluff Cellars, Knipprath Cellars, Liberty Lake Wine Cellars, Latah Creek Winery & Gift Shop, Lone Canary Winery, Mountain Dome Winery, Nodland Cellars, Robert Karl Cellars, Townshend Cellar, Vintage Hill Cellars, and Whitestone Vineyard & Winery.

That event will run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday through Sunday, and will include wine tastings from current vintages, new wines, and wines still in the wine-making process sampled directly from the barrels, plus hors d'oeuvres. Tasting fees may apply. Also, the weekend observance will give the public an opportunity to talk to the winemakers, the association says.

On June 6, the Taste Washington! Spokane event will be held at the Davenport Hotel, at 10 S. Post, from 5 to 8:30 p.m. It will include new wine releases from more than 100 Washington wineries and also food samples from 25 Spokane-area restaurants. The cost is $75 a person.

Taste Washington! Spokane is part of the Washington Wine Commission's effort to raise awareness of wines produced in the state and to help boost consumer demand. The commission, a state agency established by the 1987 Legislature, represents every licensed winery and wine grape grower in the state. It's guided by an appointed board and is funded almost entirely by the industry, through assessments based on grape and wine sales. There are more than 650 licensed wineries in the state.