All images in this story provided and published by permission of owner and/or authorized representative and are the copyrighted intellectual property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

INside SD Report: As an ever-appreciative San Diego resident and a good life connoisseur indelibly on the hunt for the best of the best, it’s incumbent on me to experience and inform you, dear reader, about notable San Diego-area “happenings” — you know, those society events, grand openings, launch parties and such where the A-listers lurk — and that make the local luxury scene tick.

Here’s the INside track on yet another sensational San Diego soirée:

The Event: 7th Annual San Diego Bay Food & Wine Festival

The Scoop: I recently joined an army of fellow gourmands and oenophiles for a yearly local food, wine and spirits event like none other — the 7th Annual San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival. This highly anticipated event is a premier international showcase of the world’s top wine and spirits producers, chefs and culinary personalities, and gourmet foods.

This year, fully 170 wine and spirit purveyors, 70 of San Diego’s top fine dining restaurants, gourmet food companies, cookbook authors, and a bevy of celebrity chefs participated in the Festival to the delight of hardened foodies who attended in droves.

With the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival having established itself as a world-class wine and culinary venue, the 6-day epicurean extravaganza was replete with one fabulous event after another.

The delicious line-up of activities included:

• VIP Kickoff Party
• San Diego Wine Rave
• Cooking Classes by James Beard award-winning chefs
• Wine Tasting Classes
• Wine Dinners
• Tastemaker Dinner Series
• Industry Insider’s Party
• Elegant Reserve Tasting & Silent Auction
• Star-Studded Grand Tasting Event
• Chef of the Fest Competition
• Hornblower Champagne Brunch Cruise
• Celebrity Chef Luncheon and Live AWF
• Big Bottle Auction, Presented by Wine Spectator 1

Scores of celebrity chefs and notable industry personalities were in attendance throughout, adding yet more allure to the festivities.

One of the events I attended was the Reserve Tasting & Silent Auction where more than 150 award-winning winemakers poured from their reserve, library or barrel sample wines. This event also featured a selection of gourmet food stations from some of the city’s top caterers and the mega-collector’s Silent Auction.

I was pleased to see attendees feverishly bidding on great values and hard to come by vintages, large format bottles, libraries, private dining experiences and more, with auction proceeds benefitting the American Institute of Wine & Food culinary arts scholarship programs.

The festival culminated with the unforgettable Grand Event, which I also attended. The ingenuity and caliber of food being produced on-site was staggering, as were the 800 varietals of wines being poured by the 170 wineries in attendance. Even the inclement weather at this year’s event didn’t dissuade the appearance, enthusiasm or appetites of the food-and-fun-loving crowd.

The Bottom Line: Fueled by Fast Forward Event Productions, the Festival benefits the American Institute of Wine & Food’s culinary arts scholarship program. Beyond its philanthropic purpose, the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival event is an undeniable must for anyone with a penchant for fine wine, quality spirits, gourmet fare of the highest order, and camaraderie with others who have an insatiable craving for life.

The 411: To learn more about the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival and to see a complete schedule of events that took place this year, visit www.WorldOfWineEvents.com.

***Some or all of the accommodations(s), experience(s), item(s) and/or service(s) detailed above may have been provided at no cost and/or arranged to accommodate this review, but all opinions expressed are entirely those of Merilee Kern and have not been influenced in any way as per the disclosure policy on our “Legal” page***