More than 2,000 people are expected to attend the third annual VinDiego Wine & Food Festival Friday and Saturday, April 10 and 11 in Point Loma. Seventy-five wineries and 20 local restaurants will be on hand serving sips and bites during the grand tasting event that’s expected to sell out again this year. Having outgrown its previous venue after the inaugural festival on Broadway Pier, VinDiego moved to NTC Promenade in Liberty Station. This year, more wineries from key influential wine-growing regions such as Napa, Sonoma and Paso Robles, Calif. have signed on.
“The wineries we picked up from Napa and Sonoma this year are just phenomenal,” said David Fraschetti, executive producer of VinDiego. During the grand tasting event on April 11, attendees can choose samples from more than 300 wines from California and Oregon while enjoying live music from guitar and percussion duo Jimmy and Enrique. Food samples will be served by participating restaurants that include BiCE, Chez Loma, City Tacos, Jake’s Del Mar, Marina Kitchen, The Patio, RA Sushi and Studio Diner, among others.
“Attendees will find amazing wine from award-winning wineries and food from some of the greatest restaurants in the city,” said Fraschetti. After promising wineries the first year that VinDiego would always be a wine-only event, Fraschetti says word got out in the industry that it was a classy event focused on wine tasting, not a rowdy drunkfest. As a result, all 75 participating wine exhibitors four months ahead of schedule.
Fraschetti stresses to the wineries that this is a tasting event and as such should serve guests one-ounce pours.
For those who prefer a more intimate setting for wine tasting, the Special Sunset Rare and Reserve Tasting (capped at 350 guests) on April 10 at Corky McMillin Cos. Event Center in Liberty Station will feature 20 to 25 wineries pouring their most exclusive wines. From 6 to 8:30 p.m., limited, rare and reserve wine selections and appetizers will be served, accompanied by live jazz and a silent auction. All proceeds from the silent auction will benefit San Diego Food Bank. “We’re thrilled to be partnered with the Food Bank,” said Fraschetti. “The more awareness we can bring to them, the better off San Diego will be. A big chunk of ticket sales and 100 percent of the silent auction proceeds will go to them.”