GOOD NEWS FOR ALL FOODIES: The San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival returns, after canceling in 2020 due to the pandemic. The San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival, which won the 2019 USA Today 10 Best Readers’ Choice travel award for Best General Food Festival, will return to America’s Finest City in November 7-14.
The annual culinary classic features the action-packed Grand Tasting, San Diego and Baja’s acclaimed chefs, foreign and domestic wineries, breweries, brand experiences, and live entertainment. The food festival and celebrations provide the perfect opportunity to reemerge from the weariness of the previous year and into the sights, aromas, and sounds that can only be associated with this one-of-a-kind event.
Read on to learn what the hype is about and why you should mark your calendar to visit this much-awaited event in San Diego.
Everything We Love About San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival
San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival is not your average food fair. It takes the celebrations to the next level. Here’s everything we love about this awesome event.
Food, Drinks, & More Food
The Festival’s organizers spend the year researching to invite chefs and staff from San Diego’s top restaurants to their table, giving you a taste of the region’s latest food trends.
The event’s pop-up food zone is well worth the ticket fee. Numerous eateries, restaurants, and brands from around the city will fill the space with the aromas and tastes of the world’s finest dishes, offering a wide spectrum of local and international cuisines. It’s the ideal moment to take risks and try new things.
Moreover, with the Beer Week in full action at the same time, the San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival will provide the perfect opportunity to celebrate the craft and micro-brewing culture of San Diego. The VIP guest list and partners also include many prominent personalities from the craft brew industry.
A Breathtaking Venue
Located in the heart of the downtown, the Embarcadero Marina Park North is the ideal venue for the food festival of the year. With a sandy beach and sailboats in the backdrop, the San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival venue is truly exquisite. In addition to the great food and company, you can enjoy the sunny seaside ambiance. You can feel the sea breeze on your face as you take another bite of the delectable food served to you.
Sustainable Food Party
The San Diego Bay Wine + Food Event has announced a new environmentally focused relationship with Associaço Portuguesa da Cortiça (APCOR) to promote cork closures’ sustainability during this year’s Festival, allowing guests to sip in an environmentally friendly manner.
It is the first-ever festival-wide recycling campaign as part of our common goal of raising awareness of the biggest environmental concern confronting the US wine industry. With the support of ReCORK, North America’s largest cork recycling program, there will be recycling bins accessible for all of the wonderful wineries and guests to recycle corks.
Following the Festival, ReCORK will grind down all of the corks gathered and present a carbon sequestration total to the San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival to highlight the massive impact.
Community, Charity, & Goodwill
The San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival generates funds for local and national charities, including culinary, hospitality, enology, and viticulture scholarships. The Festival has given more than $475,000 to ambitious professionals to date. The Grand Tasting and the live auction raise funds for scholarships.
The Scholarship Committee, which selects awardees each year, is hand-picked. Before interviewing applicants, these members of San Diego’s local hospitality and culinary communities examine, assess, and discuss the applications. The winners are then revealed and honored at the San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival.
Nationally Recognized Chefs
Some of the most skilled chefs, sommeliers, and artisans gather with the city’s trendiest tastemakers at the San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival. This might be your chance to meet the people who make your favorite foods and see them in action. Here are some of the biggest names to look out for.
- Aron Schwartz — Ranch 45
- Dallas Juanes — Verbena Kitchen
- Emily Josenhans— Domaine Santé
- Bernard Guillas — Maître Cuisinier de France
- Darius Miller — Koi Zen Cellars
- Meghan Balser— Humboldt Distillery
- David De Alva— David De Alva Music
- Jenny Niezgoda— Alfresko Experience
- Esteban Lluis— Damiana Restaurant Valle de Guadalupe
- James MacPhail — The Calling
Let the Feast Begin:
What to Expect at San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival?
Over 11,000 wine and culinary fans and industry tastemakers flock to sunny San Diego for this week-long Festival, so expect the best of everything from gourmet food and cooking demonstrations to wine-tasting workshops, auctions, and celebrity chefs.
The San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival in 2021 will feature over 40 events during the week, all aimed at an affluent consumer of fine wines and high-end lifestyle goods and services. You can start your weekend with the Grand Decant Tasting Experience, a mega-tasting of more than 200 international and domestic wines with some of the country’s best sommeliers.
Chefs compete in the Chef of the Fest Competition as the People’s Choice Award lets the audience make the final verdict for the competition. Let’s not forget about panel discussions and courses where you can hone your kitchen skills under the careful eye of experts, and a variety of late-night events and parties with live music and DJs are among the other events.
If this sounds like something you’d enjoy, book your tickets today. The San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival offers tailored packages to fit the diverse audience. Learn more about the events and book your tickets at San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival.
