San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival - 2017

As one of the largest wine and food festivals on the west coast, the 2017 San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival was a spectacular gathering of wine lovers who enjoy an epicurean experience unlike any other. This year’s showcase of the world's premiere wines and spirits was again set against the beautiful backdrop of downtown San Diego and the Bay. With highs in the mid 70’s, a slight breeze, and mostly sunny skies it was a perfect day for wine tasting.

Upon entrance to the event, each participant was given a souvenir wine glass, a food tray with a convenient glass holder, a bottle of water and a fresh loaf of bread from the Sadie Rose Baking Company. This wonderful fresh handmade artisan bread was a staple of my tasting, as I used it to help keep my palate fresh & made a wonderful addition to some of the cheeses I sampled. Now that I had my basics, it was time to begin to choose where to begin my journey.

Unfortunately, the short 3-hour event made it so that I was reviewing multiple samples of wine very quickly, and was unable to take detailed tasting notes to share. I did however identify several standout wines & producers that I will be going back to revisit & review at a later time. I will post those detailed reviews when I get a chance to source a bottle of the wines I wrote down throughout the event. I had many wonderful conversations with winemakers, importers, & regional brand ambassadors about the exciting wines coming out with the newest vintage releases, as well as some of the things they are looking forward to that are still in barrel. I walked away from almost every booth thinking, “I could have talked wine with them all day, wow they jazzed about their wines.”

In addition to the wine selection being poured, there were definitely some other stand-outs in the scotch tent! Singleton was serving up samples of their 12-year scotch, with a chance to win a tasting of the 15-year scotch if you made some shots into the beer pong style-arranged jars. Johnnie Walker was offering samples of their new pre-mixed cocktail beverages. While Glenfiddich served up selections of their 12, 14, 15 year offerings, and one aged in an IPA barrel with a small pour of the IPA beer. It was a truly amazing flavor profile when paired with the beer. As if this wasn’t enough, there was a bar in the back offering up a lavender lemonade, an old-fashion, or a sonic boom (whiskey & tonic.) This little oasis in the middle of the event provided some fun & educational information on a spirit I have had little experience with prior.

On top of all that, there was beer & cider from Stella Artois, cold brew coffee from KonaRed, and sparkling waters from Spindrift if you wanted non-alcoholic samples to try. I was very pleasantly surprised with the selection of vendors displaying their wears as well, with a nice selection of wine & cooking related merchandise available to browse. This made for a well-rounded experience, without complete overload from nothing but sensory stimulation.

I would also like to thank Chosen Foods for the tote bag they provided me, the Vins de Provence exhibitor for the great hat to protect me from the sun, and Stella Artois for the cool beer on a hot day that was served in a great commemorative glass with a huge smile. Many booths offered information and take-aways, but the exhibitors about went above and beyond to make sure my time at the 2017 San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival was amazing.

As a parting note, I would like to give those who attend this great event in the future (or others like it) a little advice:

• Bring Sun Glasses – This event is held on the water, and reflections of the sun can be bright.
• Bring a Tote Bag – exhibitors were out within the first 15 minutes.
• Good Shoes – there is a lot of walking to visit all the booths, some of it on grass, so come prepared.