Sip the Best of Our State’s Pours at the California Wine Festival in Carlsbad

The California Wine Festival returns to the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort for two days of tasting goodness beginning Friday.

Guests may try samples from winemaking regions across California, along with gourmet items from many of North County’s top restaurants. There will be lifestyle exhibitors and live entertainment, all to be enjoyed on the backdrop of the resort’s expansive vistas. 

Friday kicks off with a Sunset Rare & Reserve Tasting, which includes a sparkling wine reception followed by samplings of specialty reserve wines, tasting-room exclusives and limited-production wines. The vino will be accompanied by a menu of hot and cold appetizers from local restaurants. 

There will be a silent auction, including exotic wines, tasting tours and dining gift certificates. Proceeds from the auction will benefit Golden Rule Charity, an organization dedicated to helping people in the hospitality industry during unexpected hardships.

The Beachside Wine Festival takes place on the resort’s Heron Lawn on Saturday, featuring hundreds of premium California wines and regional craft brews, and pairings with artisanal cheeses, breads, olive oil, fresh-cut fruit, desserts and more.

The VIP Pavilion includes a selection of reserve-level wines, as well as craft brews, along with special seating, near the resort’s award-winning golf course overlooking the Batiquitos Lagoon.

Tickets start at $80 for the beachside fest, on up to $220 for the full event.

The festival highlights rare and reserve vintages and well-known bottles from California’s best vineyards based in Napa Valley, Sonoma County, Paso Robles, Santa Barbara, Temecula and more.

Notable wineries set to attend include Adobe Road Winery, B.io, Bellante Family Winery, Bernardus Winery, BONDLE Wines, Capriccio Sangria, Carol Shelton Wines, Cuvaison Winery, Doffo Wines, Double Bond Wine, Goldschmidt Vineyards, Kessler-Haak Vineyard & Wines, Le Vigne Winery, Michael Mondavi Family Wines, Miner Family Wines, Navarro Vineyards, Pasmosa Sangria, Russian River Vineyard and Wilson Creek Winery.

Participating restaurants include Butterfly Brittles, Carlsbad Cookie Company, Gino Angelini Authentic Italian Sauces, Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, Marsatta Chocolate, Orfila Vineyards Tasting Room & Kitchen, Ponto Lago, Seven Barrels Olive Oils and Aged Italian Balsamics, SiSi Cakes and the Real Empanada.

The rare and reserve tasting will feature soulful, acoustic melodies from former “American Idol” finalist, Adam Lasher. Saturday’s Beachside Wine Festival once again will feature Upstream, a reggae, calypso, soca and steel drum band.