California Wine Festival returns to its beautiful home base of Santa Barbara for two days of coastal tasting events on Friday, July 19 and Saturday, July 20, 2024. The festival’s idyllic coastal location is the perfect spot for ticketed guests to sample pours from 200 of California’s top winemakers, augmented by gourmet bites from many of Santa Barbara’s favorite restaurants.
The two-day celebration kicks off on Friday evening with a Sunset Rare & Reserve Tasting, the festival’s ultimate experience for wine lovers. Held at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort, the VIP event will enjoy a sunset views of the shimmering Pacific Ocean and a “first sip” welcome reception serving Californian sparkling wine. Brick Barn Wine Estates commences the evening with a sampling of rare and vintage reserve wines, plus tasting room exclusives and limited-production wines from California’s most revered wine regions. Hot and cold appetizers will be enjoyed along with the world-class wines.
The quintessential California wine tasting experience – sun, sea, food, wine and music – comes together at Beachside Wine Festival at Chase Palm Park on the afternoon of Saturday, July 20. Guests will taste hundreds of wines from all of California’s distinct wine regions, local craft brews and a delicious variety of foods including artisanal cheeses, breads, olive oil, and desserts.
The festival highlights rare and reserve vintages as well as well-known bottles from California’s best vineyards in Napa Valley, Sonoma County, Paso Robles, Santa Barbara, Temecula and beyond. Notable wineries pouring samples include: Adobe Road Winery, Bernardus Winery, Dana V. Wines, Darcie Kent Estate Winery, Garre Vineyard & Winery, Goldschmidt Vineyards, Kessler-Haak Vineyard & Wines, Miner Family Wines, Mizel Estate Wines, Navarro Vineyards, Rombauer Vineyards, Scheid Family Wines, Wente Vineyards, and Zialena Winery.
Fine wines can be paired with mouth-watering bites from nearly 20 Santa Barbara-area restaurants including Aficio22, Aquamar California Rolls, Arteseans Scallops & Four Star Seafood, Barbareño, Divine Bake House, Finch & Fork, Goufrais Southern California, McConnell’s Fine Ice Cream, and Santa Barbara WoodFire Catering.
Unique to Santa Barbara’s wine fest is the “Best Tri-Tip in the 805” BBQ competition, sponsored by Traeger. Attendees can sample and vote for their favorite tri-tip steak by skilled chefs from local restaurants including Barbareño, Best BBQ, Big G’s Barbecue, Santa Barbara Woodfire Catering, and Solvang Brewing Company.
Saturday’s VIP Pavilion, presented by HexClad cookware, will have cooking demos and serving stations serving bites from top local chefs such as David Schoen of Rice Browns, Zoya from Fysh Foods, and Miles Robbins who will preview his new burger concept to debut in Montecito. The VIP Pavilion will also feature a selection of reserve-level wines, craft brews, and ocean-view seating.
Also on Friday evening, guests will can bid in a silent auction for such items as exotic wines, tasting tours and dining certificates. Auction proceeds will benefit The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, whose mission is to end hunger, increase food security and transform the health of Santa Barbara County residents through good nutrition for all.
“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.”
Between wine sips, Icelandic Glacial will keep attendees hydrated, the Tate Group will gift keepsake bottle stoppers, and each guest goes home with a California Wine Festival wine glass. Friday’s Sunset Rare & Reserve Tasting will feature soulful, acoustic melodies from former American Idol finalist, Adam Lasher. Saturday’s Beachside Wine Festival will feature Upstream, SoCal’s premier live reggae, calypso, soca and steel drum band.
California Wine Festival is a 21+ event with tickets available here. For more information visit CalifoniaWineFestival.com.
HOW TO GET THERE
Better than a roadtrip, getting to the California Wine Festival by train is the smart way to travel. With 29 stations in Southern California — including the historic Santa Barbara station just a short stroll from the festival — the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner lets you leave the driving to the pros while you relax in comfort with scenic views, snacks and cocktails from the onboard Market Cafe, free Wi-Fi and lots of power outlets.
The Amtrak Pacific Surfliner route hugs the majestic California coastline for 351 miles from San Diego thru Orange, Los Angeles, and Ventura Counties to Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. With multiple stops a day, there’s an Amtrak departure time to fit every wine festival attendee’s schedule: https://www.pacificsurfliner.com/plan-your-trip/schedules/
WHERE TO STAY
Center of the Action: Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort
The sprawling, newly renovated beachfront resort boasts 335 spacious rooms and 25 suites, each with a private balcony or patio. “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.”
Most Romantic: El Encanto: A Belmond Hotel
Raise a toast to Californian chic at this verdant seven acre hideaway Santa Barbara’s hills overlooking the Pacific. El Encanto is a historic eden for the Hollywood elite offering luxurious privacy with elegant bungalows and cottages for a taste of uninterrupted serenity.
Closest to Amtrak: Hotel Californian
Just steps from Santa Barbara Amtrak station, and a few blocks from the wine festival, Hotel Californian offers spacious guest rooms that intertwine classic Spanish Colonial Revival architecture with Moroccan influences and custom furnishings from celebrity designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard, exhibiting the glamor of modern nostalgia.
