For nearly a decade the San Diego Bay Food & Wine Festival has been delighting the most discriminating palates in town, drawing foodies and oenophiles from across the nation. This annual week-long event to take place this November 14-18 is poised to again deliver an exceptional epicurean experience replete with A-list chefs and culinary personalities, master and advanced sommeliers, and nationally acclaimed winemakers in a combination of over 25 not-to-be-missed event activities.

Copyright: Joey Hernandez

Among other notables, the year’s culinary celebration will include wine tasting seminars, cooking classes, wine pairing dinners featuring the city’s top trendsetting chefs and restaurants, the Grand Tasting extravaganza and a Wine Spectator Celebrity Chef Luncheon and Big Bottle Auction.

Boasting a tasty new line-up of wine tasting seminars and cooking classes, the Festival will introduce today’s trendiest topics in the wine and food realm. Highlights include the “8 Decades of Barolo & Italian Luncheon,” a tasting experience of Barolo wines from eight decades of the 20th century expertly paired with Italian dishes by Chef Suzette Gresham and Celebrating Julia: Past & Present, a tribute class for Julia Child, where celebrity chefs Katsuya Fukushima and RJ Cooper showcase a “then and now” comparative French tasting menu. Additionally, The Food Network’s Hearty Boys return to the Festival with their class, Classic Cocktails & Salty Snacks, featuring recipes from their new book “The New Old Bar” of finger friendly foods, salty snacks, and cocktails perfect for entertaining.

If you’re hungry to rub elbows with the epicurean elite, the San Diago Bay Food & Wine Festival is the place to be! This year’s righteous roster of culinary celebs includes James Beard Award-winning Chef Roy Yamaguchi of Roy’s, cookbook author and James Beard Award-winning Chef Gale Gand of Tru, Chef Gavin Kaysen of Daniel Boulud’s New York City restaurant Cafe Boulud, The Next Food Network Star winners The Hearty Boys, Chef James Campbell Caruso of La Boca in Santa Fe, Chef Suzette Gresham of Acquerello, Chef Katsuya Fukushima of Daikaya in Washington, D.C., Chef Sarah Gruenberg of Spiaggia in Chicago, former Top Chef contestant Chef Lindsay Autry, Chef Mike Isabella of Graffiato in Washington, D.C., Chef Edward Lee of 610 Magnolia in Louisville, and local celebrity personalities Chef Brian Malarkey of Searsucker, Chef Paul McCabe of Delicias, Chef Bernard Guillas of The Marine Room, Chef Matt Gordon of Urban Solace, Chef Deborah Scott of Indigo Grill, Chef Jon Sloan of Roy’s, Master Sommeliers Joe Spellman and Bonnie Graves, and many more.

Beyond the fare-driven fun, it’s important to note that proceeds from the Festival’s live and silent auctions benefit the American Institute of Wine & Food and Chaine de Rotisseurs’ culinary arts and enology scholarship program for students and professionals in San Diego. The Festival has raised over $205,000 for scholarships to date.

The festivities will officially kick off in downtown San Diego at the UnCorked Launch Party at Analog Bar–a limited ticket option for those who want an event sneak peek and the unique opportunity to mix and mingle with local celebrity chefs.

The anticipated annual affair will culminate with its incredible Grand Tasting Event, which I have had the distinct pleasure of attending over the years. Here, an astounding number of premier wine and spirit purveyors, San Diego’s top fine dining restaurants, gourmet food companies, cookbook authors, and a bevy of celebrity chefs are on hand to satiate appetites and quench the thirst of this food-and-fun-loving crowd.

Beyond its philanthropic purpose, the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival event is a must for anyone with a penchant for fine wine, quality spirits, gourmet fare, and camaraderie with others with an insatiable craving for life.

Those interested may visit www.SanDiegoWineClassic.com to learn more.

***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***