California Wine Festival will present two days of coastal tasting events Friday, July 19 and Saturday, July 20, where attendees can sample pours from California’s top wine-making regions, paired with gourmet bites from Santa Barbara restaurants.
Highlights of the event are:
Friday: The Sunset Rare & Reserve Tasting at Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. Attendees will enjoy a first sip welcome reception from Brick Barn Wine Estates, sampling rare and vintage reserve wines. The evening also features a silent auction benefiting The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County.
Saturday: The Beachside Wine Festival at Chase Palm Park, where attendees will be able to engage with winemakers and chefs, taste hundreds of premium California wines and regional craft brews. The event will feature cooking demonstrations; the Best Tri-Tip in the 805 barbecue competition, and a VIP Pavilion with exclusive offerings.
“We are elated to host this year’s Sunset Rare & Reserve Tasting at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort,” said Emily Kaufmann, executive director, California Wine Festival. “This new venue will provide guests with stunning views of the ocean at sundown while they discover rare and vintage wines that they’ve never been exposed to.
“That’s why these events exist — to unite wine enthusiasts together and expand on their wine knowledge while getting out of their comfort zones in what they’d typically drink.”
Unique to Santa Barbara’s festival is the Best Tri-Tip in the 805 barbecue contest, sponsored by Traeger. Upon entering the festival grounds, all visitors are eligible to vote for a top contender. Attendees will be able to taste juicy tri-tip steak samples by skilled chefs from local restaurants.
Restaurant contenders include: Barbareño, Best BBQ, Big G’s Barbecue, Santa Barbara Woodfire Catering, and Solvang Brewing Company.
Live entertainment over the weekend includes former American Idol finalist Adam Lasher on Friday bringing his soulful, acoustic melodies; and on Saturday, Upstream, SoCal reggae, calypso, soca and steel drum band will perform.
California Wine Festival is a 21+ event. Tickets are available for pre-sale here. For more, visit CalifoniaWineFestival.com.