Wine regions throughout the state coming to Santa Barbara for the annual festival
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The California Wine Festival this weekend in Santa Barbara will be a rare blend of multiple regions together at an event on the iconic waterfront.
Chase Palm Park is capable of handling a very large crowd of wine lovers. They can taste samples from the Central Coast, Napa, Sonoma, Temecula, Russian River, Mendocino and many other regions.
The event will also have craft brewers, live entertainment, and food samples.
The Festival starts Friday night with a Sunset Rare & Reserve Tasting at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort.
The weekend will also have an auction with proceeds going to the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County.
Those attending will be able to talk one on one about the wine that is being poured and also ask questions about this year's grape crop, weather impacts, and get region-specific information.
"So we have a lot of winery owners, winemakers in attendance that, really want to have a conversation about their wine. This is their pride and joy. They want people to, learn a little bit more about it," said Emily Kaufmann the Executive Director of the California Wine Festival. "At the end of the day, it doesn't have to be a certain, region or territory or varietal. It'll just be open to exploring at the event is what it's all about."
Operations Manager Scott Kelsey said, some guests know right where they want to go from the moment they enter. "People almost sprint to the back for VIP. But then everybody has favorites. So sometimes there'll be a line for a particular food vendor or a particular winery and others. It's maybe three people deep and others it could be 15 people."
The conversations are both local and statewide about wine. "You'll be able to kind of compare and contrast and hopefully come away with a new favorite," said Kaufmann.
The team at this wine festival also puts on three other events in Southern California.
Kelsey said of this weekend's site, "the Santa Barbara coastline here is is hands down, you know, second to none. It draws people from all over the country to be able to come here to our town and to join the event."
Saturday's main festival runs 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. with VIP's who pay a premium allowed in at noon.
Those attending can taste tri tip from several local restaurants and catering companies with the winner determined by a "People's Choice" vote.
The weather is expected to be close to 80 degrees with a warming trend in the forecast.
For more information and tickets go to: California Wine Festival
