August 2010 Wine and Food Events

Chef Hubert Keller Plays DJ at SF Chefs 2009 (in back is Andrew Freeman, Pres of Andrew Freeman and Co. the Promoter of the Event). Photo Courtesy of SF Chefs. All Rights Reserved.

I like to alert you to events now and then because there is no better way to experience something new in wine and food. For one, these festivals provide the perfect opportunity to try different wines and wineries, ask questions, taste and compare, and find out what you like – not what so called wine experts say.

The best wine is the one you enjoy and the more you find, the more you will enjoy! Find out how wines and foods pair together, learn new cooking techniques from the pros, try wines and food from all over the world or have most of the wineries come to you all under one roof. You will usually find a lot of entertainment, a take home glass, lots of wines and food to buy, and most importantly — you will have a lot of fun!

Most of the following events were turned in by readers of WineFoodChat and those I know about that tend to be in California. However, this is only a small portion of events happening throughout the world and as there are a lot of readers from abroad, I would encourage you to please pass on any events near you and I will be happy to review them for possible inclusion either as an article or by adding an event calendar. WineFoodChat.com members can alert me by sending an e-mail to the address you have been given any time. Not a member? Then you can use the Contact Form here: “Contact and Membership”.

August 2010 Wine and/or Food Events

(links provided where available):

SF Chefs 2010: August 9-15, 2010, San Francisco, California, USA. This coincides with San Francisco Restaurant Week where several of the city’s restaurants have signed on to provide special three course menus for dinner and some for lunch. It provides you with a taste of what the city has to offer. Other events are workshops, cooking demonstrations, luncheons, dinners, entertainment (sometimes by chefs themselves taking time from cooking to jam!), plus many other festivities. Come hungry and ready to have a good time as there will be plenty of wine, food, spirits, and beer tastings. For SF Chefs events most will be held at Union Square and the Westin St. Francis. For restaurant week, the participating restaurants and menus are on the above link or for a quick link San Francisco Restaurant Week.  Various costs see website, restaurants have special pricing for their three-course lunches or dinners, see menus. This really is a fun event.

The Wine, Cheese and Bread Faire: August 7-8, 2010, Clarksburg (near Sacramento), California, USA. Plenty of wine and barrel tastings, breads, cheese, nuts, chocolate, and other foods and you can even pull together enough to buy and have lunch on the patio.

Long Beach Crawfish Festival: August 7-8, 2010, Long Beach, California, USA at Rainbow Lagoon. They bill this as New Orleans in California. Crawfish is the star, but there will also be a lot of dining, drinking, and entertainment.

Great British Beer Festival: August 3-7, 2010, Earls Court in London. Ok, it is almost over and it has to do with beer not wine. If you are in London (and there are plenty of you that are), then you still have a few days to catch it. Sample all the beer you like, food, and pub fare, with entertainment. Sounds fun to me!

Belfast Taste and Music Fest: August 4-8, 2010, Belfast, Northern Ireland at the Great Lawn Botanic Gardens. Chefs from throughout Ireland cook for attendees, champagne and wine bars, entertainment, cooking demonstrations among other activities.

Maine Lobster Festival: August 4-8, 2010, Rockland, Maine, USA at Harbor Park. Have lots and lots of lobster, plus some other seafood delicacies. Entertainment, contests, dinners, parades, road races, and other activities for a fun filled days.

Gluten Free Expo: August 6-7, 2010, Sydney, Australia at the Olympic Park. This will have exhibits, cooking demonstrations, education about Gluten free cooking, and much more.

Canal Winchester Blues and Ribfest: August 6-7, 2010, Canal Winchester, Ohio, USA. All I can say for this is if you are into BBQ Ribs and Blues, then this cannot be missed. Contests, beer gardens, entertainment, food, and much more.

Vintage Ohio Wine Festival: August 6-7, 2010, Kirtland, Lake County, Ohio, USA. This is a premier event attended by wine and food enthusiasts from all over. The best of what Ohio has to offer in restaurants and wineries. Cooking school demonstrations, exhibits, food, wine, entertainment, and much more.

Bite of Oregon: August 6-8, 2010, Portland, Oregon, USA at Waterfront Park. This will be a bit of everything for all attendees. Wine, craft beers, food, entertainment, and more.

Taste of New York: August 7, 2010, Sackets Harbor, New York, USA. Tastings from over forty farms and wineries across the State of New York. 

Huddersfield Food and Drink Festival: August 12-15, 2010, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England at St. George Square. Lots of food, drink, exhibitions, cooking demonstrations, entertainment, among other activities. 

Fisherman’s Feast (100^th Annual): August 12-15, 2010, Boston, Massachusetts, USA at Boston Harbor’s North End. This is defiantly an Italian celebration that has now been held in Boston for the last 100 years. Plenty of food, drink, entertainment, and festivities for all ages.

HKTDC Food Expo: August 12-16, 2010, Hong Kong, China. This is actually a food and beverage trade show but is open to the public for tastings, demonstrations, workshops, entertainment, and much more.

New Jersey Beer and Food Festival: August 13-15, 2010, Vernon, New Jersey, USA at the Crystal Springs Resort. All the brew you can drink and taste, gourmet dinners, barbecues, entertainment, competitions, golf tournament, and much more.

Note: If you consider yourself a foodie and wine connoisseur, there is also the New Jersey Food and Wine Festival that has already been held this year, but next year’s date still is unannounced, it is held at Crystal Springs Resort as well. The 2010 event had top chefs, sommeliers, wineries there to prepare dinners, wine tastings, seminars, even a golf tournament.

The Okanagan Summer Wine Festival: August 13-14, 2010, Okanagan, British Columbia, Canada at the Silver Star Mountain Resort in Vernon. Food, lots of wine, entertainment, educational workshops, and more. If you have not had many wines from BC this will give you that opportunity.

San Rafael Food & Wine Festival: August 14, 2010, San Rafael, California, USA at Falkirk Cultural Center. Food, wine, demonstrations, jazz, and other festivities.

Plate by Plate Annual Tasting Benefit: August 14, 2010, Los Angeles, California, USA at the California Science Center — Wallis Annenberg Building. This is a charity event for the Health Justice Network. This is a prestigious event and for a good cause. Gourmet food, top wineries, top chefs, silent auction, among other events.

Note: There is also a Plate by Plate event in New York at Metropolitan Pavilion South on October 1, 2010 and an inaugural one to be held in San Francisco at Terra on September 18, 2010. Both have their own charities that benefit from these events.

Yorkville Highlands Wine Festival: August 14, 2010, Yorkville Highlands, California, USA at Meyer Family Cellars. Grape stomp, Boar and Land BBQ, wine, entertainment.

North Fork Craft Beer, BBQ, & Wine Festival: August 14, 2010, Riverhead, NY, USA at Martha Clara Vineyard. Wines from Long Island, craft beers, BBQ, entertainment, fun for all!

Celebrity Chef Tour: August 19, 2010, Portland, Oregon, USA at Nostrana. Fundraising dinner for the James Beard Foundation. Holly Smith, Cafe Juanita, Kirkland WA; Jason Wilson, Crush, Seattle WA; and Cathy Whims, Nostrana, Portland, Oregon are the chefs that will cook up a storm bringing their culinary art form to the lucky few attending.

Newport Winefest: August 20-22, 2010, Newport, Rhode Island, USA at the Newport Yachting Center. The best of what chefs have to offer, wine, food, beer, spirits, brunch, Grand Cru tastings, exhibits, and much more.

Tasting 2010 Family Winemakers of California: August 22-23, 2010, San Francisco, California, USA at Festival Pavilion Fort Mason. This is a great chance to taste from over 300 small family and boutique wineries from California under one roof with an estimated 1,000 wines to choose from. Just make sure you take a cab!

Taste of Melbourne: August 26-29, 2010, Melbourne, Australia at the Royal Exhibition Building. This is a foodies paradise and with wines and champagne as icing on the cake. This is the event to go to if passionate about food and wine, plus the Aussies know how to have a great time!

Food, Wine & Art Festival: August 27-28, 2010, Mesa Verde Country, Colorado (Southwest), USA. Food, wine, entertainment, and much more.

World of Wine Festival: August 28, 2010, Gold Hill, Oregon at the Del Rio Vineyards. Over 40 wineries under one tent/roof! Try some wines you never tried before and take some home. Again, make sure you have a designated driver or cab!

OC Fest: August 28, 2010, Anaheim, Orange County, California, USA at the Honda Center. This is held outdoors in the beautiful and will have various food trucks and cuisine to choose from with proceeds going to charities.

CHEERS THEN ENJOY!