Southern California foodies and wine enthusiasts don’t want to miss the Pacific Sales Newport Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by Jaguar Land Rover, one of Southern California’s most intimate and highly-acclaimed food and wine events. Returning to the Newport Beach Civic Center for its fifth year on October 6th and 7th, 2018, this is your chance to wine and dine in the heart of Newport Beach with all-inclusive tastings from some of the top-tier restaurants on the West Coast. Each day of the festival will feature a different lineup of restaurants and tastings with a variety of over 250 wines for your quaffing pleasure.
The weekend’s VIP events include interactive chef dinners, wine tasting panels, and the new “Fire It Up!” event and yacht party, celebrating open-flame cooking and barbecuing, all of which will take place at various locales around Newport Beach. (Full itinerary below.) The Grand Tasting, hosted again at The Newport Beach Civic Center from October 6-7, will feature small plates from more than 40 of Orange County’s top restaurants, over 250 varieties of world-class wines, beers, and spirits, celebrity chef cooking demos, and more.
Thursday, October 4
-
Opening Night Reception and Dinner at the Pelican Hill Resort: 5-course dining experience and Q & A with James Beard Award Winners Hubert Keller & Phillipe Haddad, Top Chef Stars Bruce Kalman and Tyler Anderson, and local masters Jean-Pierre Dubray, Yvon Goetz and Rainer Schwarz. Master Sommelier Michael Jordan will pair wines.
Friday, October 5
-
Fire It Up! Party at Balboa Bay Resort: All dishes will be prepared over a barbecue, with offerings from Hubert Keller; Top Chef Winner Joe Flamm; along with Top Chef Alumni Brian Husky, Carrie Baird, Christopher Scott, Fatima Ali, Joe Sasto; NBC’s Biggest Loser chef Devin Alexander; and Balboa Bay Resort executive chef Rachel Haggstrom. Guest appearances by Duff Goldman and Jet Tila. Live music by “Common Sense.”
-
Yacht Sunset Cruise on Hornblower’s Endless Dreams: 250 VIP guests will cruise Balboa Bay with all participating celebrity chefs. Music by Chef Duff Goldman and Bruce Kalman’s band, “Foie Grock.”
Saturday, October 6
-
VIP Riedel Master Glass Education and Wine Tasting with 10th generation owner of Riedel glasses, Georg Josef Riedel, and Hundred Acre wine.
-
VIP Champagne and Petrossian Caviar Tasting with Master Sommeliers at Newport Beach Civic Center.
-
101 Reasons to Drink More Wine, A Hilarious Romp Through Science, Medicine, History, and Religion of Drinking led by Wes Hagen, J. Wilkes Winemaker & Raconteur.
-
Pacific Sales Grand Tasting at Newport Beach Civic Center: Includes celebrity chef cooking demonstrations on Sub Zero Wolf stage by Food Network Ace of Cakes star Duff Goldman, Bravo star Richard Blais, Food Network star Jet Tila, and Top Chef Season 15 winner Joe Flamm and finalist Tyler Anderson. Tastings from over 40 of OC’s top restaurants, 250 varieties of wine, spirits, and brews, and more. Official Host, Chef Jamie Gwen.
-
VIP Shaken, Stirred, and Twisted presented by Duke Spirits & Modern Luxury: Top Chef stars Joe Flamm, Chris Scott, Joe Sasto, Carrie Baird, and Fatima Ali will create unique courses and go head-to-head in a blind draw mixology challenge set to inspiring music by special guest DJs. Hosted by mixologist and vinter, Chris Radomski of Duke Spirits.
Sunday, October 7
-
VIP Cooking Demonstrations and Lunch prepared by Chef Nobu Matsuhisa at Nobu Newport Beach, with cocktail, wine, and sake pairings.
-
VIP Franciacorta Italian Sparkling Wine Tasting, including six luxury Italian sparkling Metodo Classic wines poured by professional wine educator, Laura Donadoni.
-
Pacific Sales Grand Tasting at Newport Beach Civic Center: Includes celebrity chef cooking demonstrations by Bravo’s Top Chefs Amar Santana, Katsuji Tanabe, Christopher Scott, Joe Sasto, Carrie Baird, and Fatima Ali. Guest will also enjoy tastings from over 40 of OC’s top restaurants, 250 varieties of wine, spirits, and brews, and more.
Participating restaurants include Marché Moderne, Puesto, The Winery, Bluegold, Old Vine Cafe, Pizzeria Mozza, Bourbon Steak , Sushi Roku, Pelican Grill, Sprinkles Cupcakes, and more, with wineries such as Nellcote, J. Wilkes, Williams Selyem, Domaine Della, Anhfeldt Wines, and Goldschmidt Vineyards.
The Newport Beach Wine & Food Festival has partnered with the National Food & Beverage Foundation (NatFAB) as its charitable partner for 2018. The organization operates the nation’s only non-corporate, general interest culinary museums, as well as documents and celebrates food and drink from all cultures through exhibits, programming, and media efforts. NatFAB is the nation’s most comprehensive institution studying food and drink-related topics and issues, and often collaborates with strategic partners, like The Newport Beach Wine & Food Festival, to maximize impact and find solutions to hunger, nutrition, obesity, and more.
Tickets are now available for purchase at www.NewportWineandFood.com/Tic
We love hearing from our readers!