If the last 20 months or so of lock downs, canceled events, limited socializing, and restricted dining options have left you hungry for celebrating the joys of gastronomy, the 17th San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival, November 11-14 is just what you need to satisfy your appetite.
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Glasses ready for wine at Grand Tasting event
The San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival is turning Sweet Sixteen, and everyone is invited to the party! Taking place over an entire week of gastronomic pleasures, the Festival brings together San Diego’s top tastemakers to showcase the diversity of the area’s farms, seas, sustainable practices, taco culture, Baja influence and more. There’s a good reason the San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival was named the winner of the 2019 USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice travel award contest for Best General Food Festival. The Festival’s tagline of “Arrive at Awesome” says it all!
Welcome to the Grand Tasting
Happening November 9-17, the San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival draws over 10,000 foodies, oenophiles, beer and spirits enthusiasts, and the culinary curious to over 40 separate events, culminating in the ever-popular Grand Tasting on November 16 and Taco TKO on November 17. With a majority of new-this-year events combined with longstanding returning favorites, there is truly something for everyone, from elegant wine pairing dinners to a beer-showcasing pool party, from the serious wine-centric Grand Decant to a chill cookout, from cooking classes to wine tastings. With a nod to San Diego’s world famous craft breweries, an increasing number of the events highlight local beers. Some of the events are already sold out, so click here for a complete list of all the happenings and ticket info.
A tasting of scallops!
Just a few of the many fresh additions to this year’s Festival schedule include:
Stagecraft Beerfest Kicking off the festivities on November 9 at the Viejas Casino & Resort, the venue’s 3 restaurants and 8 local breweries come together around the Allure pool area at the Willows Hotel for an afternoon of food and beer pairings with live music. $50
Barbecue & Bourbon On Sunday, November 10, guests will enjoy barbecue and beverages with views of the San Diego skyline and Coronado Bridge from the lawns of the Coronado Island Marriott & Spa. The casual event is family friendly. $65.
Expedition: San Diego Beer Tour Also taking place on Sunday, November 10, beer lovers can take a guided tour to some of San Diego’s top beer producers. During the fun and educational experience, guests will enjoy the VIP treatment while sampling a variety of brews, meeting with brewery staff, taking an educational class and gaining first hand knowledge of the art of craft beer making. Lunch and transportation is included. $120
Morning Glory’s Breakfast For Dinner Held at one of San Diego’s hottest new restaurants on Monday November 11, the menu will include such gourmet tantalizers as sturgeon caviar, cured duck eggs, heirloom tomato quiche, smoked salmon mousse, and much more. Moët Champagne will be served throughout the evening. $115
Pizza Making with Buona Forchetta On Tuesday November 12, guests will sip Prosecco and experience a hands-on pizza-making lesson, while learnng about the history of the authentic “Neapolitan style” pizza this extremely popular pizzeria is known for. $60
The list of almost 70 participating talent includes an array of highly respected and well-known chefs, winemakers, brewers, sommeliers, and artisans.
Participating Chefs at the 2018 Ocean-to-Table Luncheon at The Marine Room. Always a sold-out favorite, the event returns this year.
This year the host hotel is the beautiful new Intercontinental San Diego, which is also the location for several of the Festival’s events.
Click here for all the San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival info.
Chef Flor Franco plates a dish
by Wendy Lemlin
In recent years, San Diego has done a lot of growing up, gastronomically speaking. What was once a culinary backwater, defined mostly by gringo-ized pseudo-Mexican surfer grub, has blossomed with growing sophistication and appreciation for inventive cuisine, fine wines, craft beers —and direct collaboration between chefs and the farmers, ranchers, fishermen, winemakers and brewers whose labors provide the raw ingredients for the new excitement in local cuisine. And, in the last 14 years, the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival has been showcasing and giving impetus to this delicious maturation process in a multi-day event unlike anything else in the San Diego gastronomisphere. Because of its multi-faceted scope of events, San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival is my favorite local gourmet experience.
This year, San Diego Wine & Food Festival Festival, which runs November 12-19, is more eclectic than ever and has something for everyone who loves to eat or drink. From fermentation to fish tacos, from wine to wagyu, guests and participants can partake of events celebrating both the latest trends and the time honored favorites.
The Grand Tasting
By Wendy Lemlin
With 43 events over seven days, the 14th annual San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival, November 14-20, is a really big deal. As one of the nation’s largest gastronomic festivals, it brings together celebrity and local chefs, sommeliers, winemakers, brewmasters, and gourmet food artisans to present gala dinners, tastings, classes, competitions, and even a golf tournament. Continue reading
Ocean-to-Table Wine Pairing Luncheon features an impressive roster of chefs
By Wendy Lemlin
Something’s fishy at the 12th annual San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival this year—- and that’s a good thing!
The abundance of delectable seafood found in our local waters will be the inspiration for a 5 course wine pairing luncheon held at The Marine Room, La Jolla’s iconic oceanfront restaurant, on Wednesday, November 18, from 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM. Hosted by Executive Chef Bernard Guillas, the exclusive luncheon will feature the formidable talents of a cadre of local celebrity chefs known for their creativity and passionate respect for the sea’s bounty.
Chef Bernard Guillas
By Wendy Lemlin
Wonder how much San Diego loves food and drink? Just look at the success of the San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival, now in it’s 12th year, bigger and more comprehensive than ever. Running November 15-22, with a full roster of events, dinners, tastings, classes, and exhibits, it is one of the largest food and wine festivals in the country, shining a spotlight on both San Diego’s burgeoning gourmet dining scene and our cross-border connection with Baja’s exciting culinary landscape. From tacos and beer to wine paired-haute cuisine, there is something for anyone who loves indulging in crave-worthy food and spirits. And really, who doesn’t?
More than a dozen celebrated national chefs, including Rick Bayless, Gayle Gand, and Suzette Gresham will join over 40 local luminaries in presenting delicacies and/or cuisine-related educational programs. Look for such regional favorites as The Marine Room’s Bernard Guillas, Javier Plascencia of Bracero, Finca Altozano, and Mision 19, Jason 
Knibb of NINE-TEN, Chad White of Comun and La Justina, Ironside Fish & Oyster’s Jason McLeod, Flor Franco of Finca La Carrodilla and Indulge Contemporary Catering, Mario Medina of Bernini’s Bistro, The Patio Group’s John Medall, Anthony Sinsay of Dukes’s La Jolla, James Montejano of La Valencia Hotel, and a host of others.