The San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival, Southern California’s largest culinary event, returns to downtown Nov. 17 to 21. With more than 170 wine and spirit purveyors and 800 wines to sample, even Bacchus would be riding back to his room in a pedicab, totally spent at the end of the day. The seventh annual event brings together thousands of wine and food enthusiasts from around the country for a week of classes, celebrity chefs, tastings and wine — lots of wine. “It’s hard to believe that each year brings new culinary surprises, but really, there is so much to take in throughout the week,” said Michelle Metter, one of the event organizers. New this year at the Grand Tasting Event & Chef of the Fest Competition on Nov. 20, for example, is the Night & Day VIP experience including live demonstrations by artists. Featured artists this year include Christopher M. — “The Painter of Chefs” — and David Tyrone Villa, who created the official poster for the festival, the original of which will be auctioned off to raise money for scholarships for culinary students. There will be even more of an emphasis on promoting responsible drinking, with Bridgestone sponsoring a safe ride program — free shuttles that will transport guests to various locations around town. In addition, a selection of “mocktails”will be available, and a greatly-reduced ticket price is being offered for designated drivers attending the Grand Tasting Event. Though the week culminates Nov. 20 with Saturday’s Grand Tasting Event held at Embarcadero Park North behind Seaport Village, classes will be held throughout the week at the San Diego Wine & Culinary Center on Harbor Drive and Macy’s School of Cooking in Mission Valley. Another major event is the Nov. 21 Celebrity Chef Luncheon & AIWF Big Bottle Auction, to be held at the San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina. The luncheon will include a live auction to raise funds for scholarships for the American Institute of Wine & Food. To date, festival activities have raised more than $150,000 toward educating the next generation of top chefs. “Everyone involved is looking at the future growth of our industry, to train new talent in San Diego,” said chef Bernard Guillas of the Marine Room, who helped organize the luncheon event along with his team. “[The festival] is one of the hottest events in the country.” Several of the region’s prominent names in cooking are returning this year to the festival, including Sam Zien (“Sam the Cooking Guy”), Deborah Scott of Island Prime and Indigo Grill, and Roy Yamaguchi of Roy’s. Events are for those 21 years old and older. Tickets range in price depending on the event, and discount packages are available for multiple festival events. Several hotels in the downtown area offer packages for festival getaways. For a comprehensive schedule, visit www.worldofwineevents.com.
