San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival 2008
November 5th, 2008
The largest wine and culinary event in Southern California – The San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival - returns to San Diego for another specactular celebration of wine and fine dining with over 700 wines and spirits, 60 of San Diego’s top fine dining restaurants and 30 gourmet food companies participating in this year’s Festival.
Held from Wednesday, November 12 to Sunday, November 16, 2008, the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival is nationally recognized by wine and food enthusiasts, media, chefs and winemakers alike as an international showcase of the world’s premier wine and spirits, chefs and culinary personalities, and gourmet foods.
Now in its fifth year, the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival has quickly grown into a world-class wine and culinary extravaganza. The five-day festival features wine tasting seminars, cooking classes by award-winning chefs, and an elegant Reserve Tasting on Hornblower’s ship Inspiration. The Festival culminates on Saturday at the star-studded Grand Tasting Event complete with dueling chef demonstration stages, celebrity cookbook signing tents, olive oil tasting and competition tent, and more.
2008 Wine & Food Festival Highlights include:
WineRave 2008: A wine tasting event like no other the WineRave 2008 kicks off the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival by hosting 25 of the edgiest wine and spirits on the market today. Dance the night away at one of San Diego’s top nightclubs, sip on exceptional vino, and chow down on some of the most “make-your-mouth-drool” food you can find.
Cooking Demonstrations: Food Detectives’ Ted Allen and other nationally recognized celebrity chefs and local culinary stars strut their stuff in these interactive and engaging classes. Each chef prepares a series of mouth-watering dishes with instruction and recipes provided so that attendees can make the dishes at home. All cooking classes are tasting events and are paired with one of the wineries featured at this year’s Festival.
Wine Tasting Classes: Tasting classes feature discussions led by award-winning winemakers, sommeliers and master sommeliers from around the world. All classes are tasting events and guests will sample between five and seven wines per class. Class topics range from a Master Sommelier Blind Tasting, the World’s Best Sake Tasting, Rhone Varietal Panel Discussion and Tasting, among several others.
Celebrity Chef Luncheon & AIWF Big Bottle Auction: The AIWF Celebrity Chef Luncheon & Big Bottle Auction will feature 15 celebrity winemakers and a world-class menu prepared by a nationally acclaimed celebrity chef. Guests will dine at tables of 10, each table featuring one winemaker pouring favorites from their portfolio. Celebrity artist Thomas Arvid will be on hand to serve as emcee of the event and will also host one table. The luncheon will culminate in a spirited live auction with jet-setting vacation packages, large format bottles, and one-of-a-kind items that are perfect for the serious wine and food enthusiast. Proceeds from the event’s auctions benefit The American Institute of Wine & Food Culinary and Enology Scholarship program.
Reserve & New Release Tasting featuring AIWF Silent Auction: An exclusive and elegant evening for collectors of fine wine, the Reserve& New Release Tasting sets the stage for wine enthusiasts to taste the pride of the vine from 150 wineries and spirits producers. Guests will also enjoy imported and domestic cheeses from igourmet.com, delicious cuisine from chefs at Viejas Casino, and catered aperitif from The Wild Thyme Co., carving stations from Brandt Beef and more. Exciting silent auction items such as large format bottles, libraries, and decanters will take the spotlight this year with proceeds benefiting the American Institute of Wine & Food Culinary Arts scholarship programs.
Grand Tasting Event & Fine Wine/Luxury Lifestyle Auction: The Grand Finale of the sizzling five-day festival is the star-studded Grand Tasting Event held Saturday, November 15, 2008 on the Embarcadero Park North behind Seaport Village. Sixty San Diego Star chefs show off their culinary artistry, 30 gourmet food companies wow you with their scrumptious fare, and 150 international winemakers and spirit producers pour some of the most exciting wines and spirits on the market today. Also featured at this year’s Grand Tasting: Olive Oil Tasting and Competition Tent; Cookbook Author Signing; Live Entertainment and Chef of the Fest Competition.
Hornblower Cruises Roederer Champagne Tasting Brunch: Enjoy a relaxing two-hour cruise on the San Diego Bay with a lavish brunch buffet and spectacular city and bay views. Your senses will be ignited with fresh air and amazing views and your taste buds will be tantalized with free flowing sparkling wines from Roederer Estate in the Anderson Valley-Roederer Estate Brut, the first California sparking wine produce by Champagne Louis Roederer, plus other specialty tastes including Roederer Estate Rose and Roederer Estate L’Ermitage, and delicious cuisine prepared fresh onboard by Hornblower’s Executive Chefs. On your two-hour cruise, you’ll also enjoy live music from a local favorite band and soak in the sights, including San Diego’s famous Coronado Bay Bridge, Star of India, USS Midway, Naval Fleet and Historic Ships.
The 2008 San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival takes place at various venues in downtown San Diego – including the San Diego Wine & Culinary Center, the San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina, the Hornblower ship Inspiration and the Embarcadero Marina Park - from November 12 to November 16, 2008. For more information and to purchase tickets to the various events, visit the Festival website.
Cheers!
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