Save the date for Newport Beach Wine & Food Festival

Every year since 2014, food and wine enthusiasts come out to attend Newport Beach Wine & Food Festival, one of the state’s deliciously dynamic high-end food and wine events here in Newport Beach. For some, the main attraction is Saturday and Sunday’s Pacific Sales Grand Tasting—a chance to sample bites from OC’s top restaurants, see celebrity chefs in action and learn a thing or two from their cooking demonstrations. For others, it’s an opportunity to taste some of the region’s most exclusive wines and thoughtfully curated menus during the various events spread out over four days. There’s a wide array of experiences to choose from (but hurry, as some events are already sold out). Just in case you can’t make them all—but if can, then by all means—here are a few highlights you should know about.

Opening Night Gala and Dinner at Newport Beach Country Club | Oct. 3 | 6:00 – 10: 00 p.m.

What better way to kick off a culinary four-day extravaganza than a cocktail hour teeming with celebrity chefs you can rub elbows with? During the opening gala—hosted by Anthony Giglio, contributing editor of Food & Wine Magazine—you’ll get an opportunity to nosh on offerings whipped up by not one, not two, but five celebrity chefs. (Yes, Bravo’s Top Chef All-Stars Richard Blais, Kelsey Barnard Clark, Antonia Lofaso and John Tesar will be cooking up a five-course dinner for your enjoyment). A live auction, which benefits Covenant House, will bookend the whole affair.

Fire It Up! at Balboa Bay Resort | Oct. 4 | 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Returning for a second year, this outdoor shindig is a good reason to duck out of the office a little early and jumpstart your weekend plans. Served up alongside ocean views, expect a smorgasbord of scrumptious barbecued bites by a lineup of Bravo’s Top Chef stars such as Brooke Williamson, Shirley Chung and Casey Thompson, just to name a few. And because a proper barbecue isn’t complete without a brew in hand, there will be libations—beer, wine and other spirits—on offer as well. Oh, and did we mention there’s a live reggae band?

Diamond Club Lounge at the Newport Beach Civic Center | Oct. 5 – 6 | 2:00 – 6:30 p.m.

This two-hour wine tasting is new on the roster this year, and, as the name suggests, the experience features some pretty rare sips. Wine connoisseurs can look forward to swirling and swishing pours from sought-after labels like Realm Cellars, Quilceda Creek, Paul Hobbs Wines, Hundred Acre and Opus One. But the ticket offers even more perks, including early entrance to the Pacific Sales Grand Tasting, where you can scoop up bites by notable local restaurants, tune into celebrity chefs’ cooking demonstrations and sniff and taste even more vino.

Cristal & Petrossian Caviar Tasting at Pelican Hill Resort | Oct. 6 | 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Caviar is one of those things: you either like it or you don’t. If you’re a fan of this salty seaside delicacy, then here’s why this tasting—hosted by celebrity chef Hubert Keller and chef Alan Greeley—is the best place to get your fix. For starters, Petrossian Caviar is one of the finest the world has to offer, so there’s no doubt you’ll be saying “yes, please, thank you.” The mother-of-pearl spoons will be paired with exceptional bubbly—five cuvées of Louis Roederer Cristal champagne. When all is said and eaten, you can move the party over to the grand tasting, which your ticket includes grants you access to.

Written By: Mariam Makatsaria