Food and wine festivals are a great way to experience the best of what regions have to offer. From Sonoma to Soweto and from Paris to Essex, we bring you exciting events to visit...
From 27th -30th August, the sun-washed streets of Los Angeles will be filled with the finest wines and foods gathered from across the city. LA prides itself on being a great influencer of global food and wine culture, and this event is the perfect arena for you to immerse yourself in its energy and dynamism.
In celebration of its fifth year, the Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival has pulled out all the stops with its celebrity chef line-up. Alex Guarnaschelli, Tyler Florence and Curtis Stone are all set to attend.
Festival goers enjoy early evening Pinot in Sonoma. Credit: Sonoma Wine Country Weekend.
This three-day weekend is dedicated to food and wine produced in Sonoma County. You can meet some of the most prominent winemakers, growers and chefs in the region – whilst sampling all they have to offer.
It’s also Sonoma County’s largest charity event, bringing together 200 wineries and all proceeds go towards local Sonoma charities. The event has raised more than $20 million since it first began. So you can drink and eat knowing that organisers intend to use a hefty amount of the proceeds to help farm workers, children and students who need support in Sonoma County communities.
In the Johannesburg township of Soweto, local and international brands come together to celebrate South African wine and cuisine. Spread over a three-day weekend, the event showcases 950 wines from some of the most innovative and prestigious vineyards in the country.
It has become Africa’s leading food and wine festival, and over 8,000 people are expected to gather to celebrate South African lifestyle and culture. This includes music, dance and traditional African cooking, as well as contemporary gourmet influences. There are some of the best chefs and winemakers in the country on-hand, to share their expertise on pairing and tasting.
The New Hall Vineyards Festival claims to be the UK’s longest-running wine festival, celebrating its 45th anniversary in 2016. Set in classic English countryside in Chelmsford, the festival cultivates a traditional summer fête atmosphere.
Alongside the music, fire-eaters and craft fair, there are oysters and fresh seafood, numerous wine tastings and an art show. New Hall Vineyards opens its doors and guests are invited to join tours of the winery and press house.
The Oxford Wine Festival brings more than 40 of the UK’s best wine traders and experts to this most historic and atmospheric of English cities.
In the Oxford Union, it gathers a selection of hundreds of rare and award-winning wines to try, from over 20 countries. Patrons are offered tutored tastings from regional specialists, as well as food and live music throughout the day.
As the name suggests, this festival celebrates the defeat of the end of the 19th century Phylloxera outbreak, which almost wiped out the Spanish vineyards of Sant Sadurní, in the Catalonian Penèdes region – famed for its Cava.
Over 7 and 8 September, a series of symbolic performances recall the dramatic and passionate struggle of Spanish winemakers. Music fills the streets as people dressed as yellow Phylloxera insects crawl by, while the locals dance and release endless showers of fire crackers. Then, with the phylloxera pests defeated, everyone comes together for a triumphant feast in the centre of the town, where local food and Cava is served in abundance.
Festival goers enjoy the Haro Station Wine Experience in Rioja.
This is the second year of the La Cata del Barrio del la Estación (Haro Station District wine tasting festival). Set in 19th century stone and wooden buildings around the Haro Railway Station, with the district completely pedestrianized for the occasion.
Visitors can enjoy a tasting of 14 Rioja wines and local tapas delicacies with their ticket, as well as live music and a programme of activities in the wineries.
On the 23 and 24 of September, Wine Riot hits New York City. It aims to re-shape the wine tasting experience, with a focus on experimentation and education. A dynamic set-up features interactive booths and crash courses from a team of experts.
Guests have been told to expect vibrant evenings filled with DJ sets. There will be 250 wines from around the world and an app can be used to help festival goers track and down and rate wines.
The Fêtes des Vendanges, or ‘Grape Harvest Festival’, takes place in a small corner of Paris, the Clos Montmartre vineyard.
Every year, this hillside spot comes alive as the wine and gastronomic societies from all over France gather to celebrate the vintage. Visitors can enjoy performances from local musicians while they sample French wines and delicacies.
Around Montmartre, many cultural societies organise talks and exhibitions in honour of the occasion. On the Saturday, there is set to be a brass-band parade towards the Sacré Coeur, and a fireworks display in the evening.
All proceeds go towards social development in the 18th arrondissement.
