NEW! "Great Guacamole Throw Down" at CWF - Monterey

At the brand new California Wine Festival - Monterey Peninsula, the 2011 Emmy-award winning TV personality, comedian, and food and travel expert, Mark DeCarlo, will host an entertaining half-hour cooking challenge. The culinary competition will take place on Friday, October 5th at the the Sunset Rare & Reserve Wine Tasting to be held at the Grand Ballroom of the Monterey Hyatt, as a part of the new two-day Harvest Wine & Food Festival.

During the 30-minute cooking challenge, DeCarlo will take the stage to oversee the contest, banter with the crowd, and tell stories from his food and travel adventures from his popular Travel Channel series "Taste of America."

The winner of the "Great Guacamole Throw Down" will receive a $10,000 all-inclusive vacation to a luxury resort on the Mexican Riviera!

"We are very excited to have Mark DeCarlo to appear at our first Harvest Wine & Food Festival in the Monterey Peninsula," says California Wine Festival owner and founder Don Fritzen. "Mark is an extremely funny, multi-talented personality, actor, comedian, and TV and radio host. His cooking challenge show is really entertaining and lots of fun."

This is just one of the many, many fun things to see and experience at the California Wine Festival - Monterey Peninsula. You don't want to miss out on what is sure to be a delicious weekend!

For more information on this and other events at the California Wine Festival - Monterey Peninsula visit californiawinefestival.com.

We're Coming to the Monterey Peninsula!

With the great following that the California Wine Festival has gained down south, we've decided to spread the love up north. This October we are coming to the beautiful Monterey Peninsula! This will be the fourth in a great line of wine festivals we put out each year (the California Wine Festival - Santa Barbara, the California Wine Festival - Orange County, and the California Wine Festival - Winter Wine Classic).

The California Wine Festival - Montery Peninsula will be a two-day wine and food extravaganza celebrating historic Monterey and the wine harvest season. Wineries from regions all over the state, as well as out-of-state wineries, will be encouraged to bring their new releases along with other vintages of wine in the spirit of harvest. Local restaurants and other food purveyors will serve seasonal foods that harmonize with the harvest theme.

The Friday Rare & Reserve wine tasting will take place on October 5, 2012 at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel & Spa. This newly renovated hotel complex is located near many of Monterey's most popular attractions and is literally on the prestigious Del Monte Golf Course, a Pebble Beach Company course. Special weekend rates at the Hyatt will be offered for festival attendees.

Many of California's most famous winemakers will attend and pour their finest award-winning wines at the Rare & Reserve event. Due to the limited availability of rare wines, the event is limited to 500 guests.

The Saturday event is another story! Over 2,000 quests are expected to attend and enjoy sipping over 250 different California wines, while sampling dozens of local gourmet foods, all accompanied by live music. The 2012 Harvest Wine and Food Festival will take place on Saturday, October 6, 2012 in the heart of old Monterey, at the historic Custom House Plaza overlooking beautiful Monterey Bay. In 1846, the U.S. flag was first raised in this historic square, claiming California for the United States.

The California Wine Festival - Monterey Peninsula will continue our tradition of great festivals with what can only be called a cornucopia of wine, food, and fun, making for a perfect weekend of celebrating the bounty of harvest! 

For more information on and to buy tickets for this and other California Wine Festival events please visit californiawinefestival.com!

California Wine Festival Santa Barbara Does it Again!

 

The 2012 California Wine Festival Santa Barbara broke attendance records as the sun, once again, shined bright for festival day. Estimates top 3,000 happy wine lovers for the Saturday beachside event. Our other events also recorded large crowds and great weather,  always a winning combination. 

Mark DeCarlo's $10,000 Cooking Challenge also drew enthusiastic foodies who watched the "Great Guacamole Throwdown" with the winning "chef" winning an all expense vacation to a Mexican resort.

Plans are already under way for the next California Wine Festival in Monterey, California: The Harvest Wine & Food Festival on October 5-6, 2012. Tickets and more information are available at californiawinefestival.com

Food & Wine 101

With the Santa Barbara festival just a couple weeks away, we thought we'd give you a crash course in wine and food pairing. After all, not only will there be nearly 300 different wines, there will also be 20+ restaurants offering delicious delights.

While a lot of wine tasting and food pairing is left to the discretion of the tasters palate, pairing the right wine with the right dish can enhance the flavor experience of both the wine and the food.

Below is a brief crash course in the types of foods that go well with some of the most popular wine varietals:

• Cabernet Sauvignon: Hearty meats, pastas with heavy red sauce, sausage, dark chocolate
• Pinot Noir: Lighter meats like pork, salmon, mushroom risotto
• Syrah: Richly flavored meats like lamb, grilled meats and veggies, stews
• Zinfandel: Spicier foods, pizza, hamburgers, gamey meats
• Chardonnay: Seafood and shellfish, risotto, pasta with heavy cream sauce
• Sauvignon Blanc: Mussels and clams, grilled chicken, summer salads
• Pinot Gris: Pasta primavera, pesto pasta or pizza
• Viognier: Light Asian cuisine like Thai or Vietnamese, seafood and shellfish

With so many different mixing and matching going on, it may be hard to remember what goes with what. An easy rule of thumb is to match the flavors of the wines with the flavors of the food. Rich, heavy wines pair well with rich and heavy cuisine, whereas lighter wines with lighter style foods.

Stay tuned when next time we focus specifically on what cheeses go with what wines.

Cheers and bon appetit!

Welcome to our blog!

As the California Wine Festivals expands to even more event venues around the state, we thought it would be a good idea to keep you up to date and current with all our fellow wine festival fans. In this day and age, what better way to do that then by blogging?! So, welcome to the California Wine Festival blog, where we will explore all things wine, food, and fun. Not only will be update you on upcoming festival information—newly added wineries, restaurants, and vendors—but we will also keep you abreast with other news in the wine world. And just like wine itself, we will strive to keep each post fun, unique, and leaving you wanting more!

Until next time, cheers!