With SD’s Beer Week all wrapped up, what better way to follow it up than with another week of imbibing and eating? It is the holidays, after all. Running from November 18-24, 2013, The San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival™ returns for its 10th year and will be celebrating in grand style. Being touted as “bigger and better than years past,” this year’s lineup will include some of the best wines in the world alongside the biggest celebrity chefs and culinary personalities.

Joining the festivities will be 200 wineries, breweries and spirit purveyors and to make sure guests don’t go hungry, 70 of San Diego’s restaurants will be serving up their best dishes. The birthday bash is expected to attract 10,000 wine and food aficionados from across the nation.

Tickets can be purchased individually or by four different package options: Grand Cru VIP, Premier Cru, Grape Escape and Ultimate Festival. 

• The Grand Cru VIP package includes one ticket to Timeless Beauty: The 10th Anniversary Celebration, three tickets to wine tasting and/or culinary classes of your choice, one ticket to “The Collection” at The Vault: Reserve & New Release Tasting, one VIP ticket to the Grand Tasting Event, and one VIP Gift Bag with 2013 Official Poster, t-Shirt and apron starting at $600.
• The Premier Cru package is $340 and includes one ticket to Timeless Beauty: The 10th Anniversary Celebration, two tickets to wine tasting and/or culinary Classes of your choice, one General Admission (GA) ticket to The Vault: Reserve & New Release Tasting, one GA ticket to the Grand Tasting Event and a Collector’s Edition Festival Poster.
• The Grape Escape package includes two General Admission (GA) tickets to The Vault: Reserve & New Release Tasting, two GA tickets to the Grand Tasting Event and a two-night stay at one of event’s nine participating properties ranging from $600-$700 depending on the hotel.
• The Ultimate Festival package starts at $1,600 and includes four tickets to wine tasting and/or culinary classes of your choice, two “The Collection” All Access Tickets to The Vault: Reserve & New Release Tasting, two VIP tickets to the Grand Tasting Event, two VIP Gift Bags with official poster, SDBWFF Collector’s Wine and lots of goodies, two VIP Lanyards for Special Access, Early Event Access and Exclusive Access to VIP Tent during Grand Tasting Event, two tickets to Wine Spectator’s Celebrity Chef Dinner and a two-night stay at a participating hotel.

Among the noted personalities is celebrity chef and Executive Chef of Juniper & Ivy (opening in December 2013) Richard Blais, who is most recognized as winner of Bravo’s Top Chef All-Stars. A native New Yorker, Blais’ take on classic American dishes is personal and innovative. His new venture brings him all the way to California for his first West Coast restaurant. To meet the talented chef, purchase tickets to SWISH: Serious Siops & Urban Eats on November 20.

Also participating the weeklong celebrations is Scott Mowbray, Editor of Cooking Light and a 17-year award-winning veteran of Time Inc. As a health-conscious chef, Mowbray will be at the Fit Foodie 5k to chat with runners before their race. Afterwards, guests and runners can watch chef demos and join in on fitness discussions and wine tastings. The Fit Foodie 5K costs $55 and starts at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, November 23 from the Hilton San Diego Bay Front.

This year’s Chef of the Fest showcase, hailed as one of the largest culinary showdowns in Southern California, will take place at the Grand Tasting Event on Saturday, November 23 and will feature The People’s Choice Award. Voted on by attendees, the winner will receive two round-trip Southwest Airline tickets and an engraved platter. To vote, each restaurant will have its own voting code and diners can send a text to the pre-designated number with the voting code in the body.

Since many chefs will be from restaurants in our own backyard, locals will get a unique chance to mingle with the creators of some of their favorite dishes and menus. We can’t wait to see what this year’s event brings and we’ll more than likely be adding a few more names to our preferred wines list.