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2014 Food and Wine Festivals
Tom’s Foodie Blog’s Food and Wine Festival Top Picks and Tips
If you are planning a vacation this year and you love food, then I suggest you consider adding a food and wine festival to your travel plans. Most touristy cities in North America are hosting Food and Wine Festivals in 2014, so you might as well make it a Gastronomic Trip. See Bottom of post for a list of Food and Wine Festivals by date.
Food and Wine Festivals give you the opportunity to try a city ‘s cuisine and understand their culture
I love food and wine festivals and attend as many as I can every year, as it tells me a story about the culture of that city and a chance to network with the local culinary scene.
Food and Wine Festival Palm Desert - Chef Rey Yamaguchi poses with Toms Foodie Blog
Food and Wine Event Structures
Each event is very different, so be sure to do your homework before you get impulsive and charge it on your credit card. There are three basic structures to these events:
1) All-Inclusive Tasting Day - All-inclusive for a set price for unlimited tastings and are generally unstructured. These tasting events typically last 3-6 hours and can be a cattle rush on the most popular stations.
Food and Wine Festival Format - can range from all-inclusive, all you can eat tastings like the item above or pay per dish
2) Structured Events - These events are extremely structured and you pay separate fees for each demo, seminar, class, and Chef dinners.
Food and Wine Festival Palm Desert -schedule
3) Pay per bite - These events are very similar to the all-inclusive tasting, but you pay per bite. Typically, you typically load up an event card with money and each vendor charges you a sliding scale price based on what they are cooking. The last scenario is my least favorite and should be avoided.
Food and Wine Festivals can get very busy. Image from California Wine Festival
Most food events operate in a combination of these scenarios, with pricing to reflect the quality and inclusiveness.
2014 Food and Wine Festival Ideas
BB& T Charleston Food and Wine Festival - March 6th-9th
Forth Worth Food and Wine Festival- March 27th- 30th
Pebble Beach Food and Wine Festival - April 10th-13th
California Wine Festival - Orange County -
Austin Food and Wine Festival - April 25-27th
Vegas Uncorked by Bon Appetit - May 8-11 2014
New Orleans Food and Wine Experience - May 21-24
Atlanta Food and Wine Festival - May 29th - June 1
Food and Wine Classic in Aspen June 20-22
Taste of Chicago - July 9th-13th
Bite of Seattle - July 18ty-20th
Los Angeles Food and Wine Festival - August 2014 (TBD)
Feast Portland - September (TBD)
Hawaii Food and Wine Festival - August 31st - September 7th
Music City Eats - Nashville Food Wine Spirits Festival - September (TBD)
Epcot Food and Wine Festival September (TBD)
New York City Food and Wine Festival - October 16th-19
Taste MTL - Montreal - November 1-11 tl
South Beach Food and Wine Festival February 20-23
Cancun Food and Wine Festival - March 14-17
Palm Desert Food and Wine Festival March 21-23rd
I think i am on the wrong coast..I would be at all those events..
You are in luck Kungpho! There is one in New York and Phili in 2014
YThere is one in New York and Phili in 2014
I’ve never been to a food and wine festival. My city, Tucson, Arizona, will be having a food and wine festival next month at our botanical gardens and I’m thinking of going. It looks like fun.
I will add that one to the list as well, thanks for the info
I love going to these events. Getting a little taste of everything really is a great option, instead of buying a whole meal and not caring for it. Thank you for the list of events!
No problem at all, they are a lot of fun
I would love to go to one of these festivals! Thanks for sharing he listing. I may be able to plan a trip to one of them now!
Sue, I try to schedule the timing of my vacations around these festivals. It is a great way to soak in the local culture
I’ve never been at a F&W festival either though I once went to a Chocolate Festival! It wasn’t all that eventful, to be honest, and I didn’t like how the foodie products available for purchase were better than those available for sampling. I’d definitely go to FW festival if it offered plenty of freebies as incentives for buying something : ). (I’m a college student, so I’m on a strict budget, you know?)
I’ve always wanted to go to one of those food and wine festival. Thank you for the guide. I don’t live in the USA, will check if we have something similar here in Montreal!
Marielle,
You are in luck there is one in Montreal this year
I hope to attend one of these events in 2014. I might be asking you which ones since you’ve got them covered.
What is that in the first picture? I would love to taste that on a wine tour.
My other business is owning part of a winery in Napa. I will let you know when we participate in an event in your area.
I’ve never done a food festival before. Adding to the bucket list
I love food and wine festivals! They are my favorite! I am all about the ALL inclusive ones so we can go cray cray:)
I would like to attend all
I have always wanted to go to a food festival. I would love to just walk around and try didn’t types of food.