Food, Wine & Restaurant Industry Events San Francisco 2019

Up from #4
California’s Central Coast is a destination in its own right for golf and the gorgeous coastline, but the non-stop slate of experiences at Pebble Beach Food & Wine warrant an extended stay. The four-day “epicurean lifestyle event” matches more than 250 wineries and 100 chefs for daily events where guests can sample drinks and bites from top talent in the culinary world. The 2019 festival included multiple golf tournaments (complete with wine and cocktails), tasting events, cooking demos, and chef competitions. Next: Spring 2020

Food festivals can skew too high-brow to justify the expense for families with young children, but the Gilroy Garlic Festival keeps things kid-friendly and affordable. Tickets are $20 for adults at the gate ($10 for kids between ages 10 and 16, and free for kids 9 and under), and most food items are priced between $2 and $15 for full-size servings. Options will always include garlic fries, bread, and shrimp, plus lesser-appreciated delicacies like garlic ice cream. The festival is known for bringing in huge crowds; in 2017, it set a Guinness World Record as the world’s biggest garlic festival. Next: July 26-28, 2019

Up from #5
The future is vino, according to the Sonoma winemakers. Wine Road—a group of wineries and lodgings in the Alexander, Dry Creek, and Russian River valleys of Northern Sonoma County—hosts Barrel Tasting weekends each spring to jumpstart sales of futures. “Barrel Tasting is a time-honored tradition in Sonoma County, and was one of the first of its kind in the United States,” says Beth Costa, executive director of Wine Road. “But more importantly, it really is an educational weekend where you learn about the work winemakers put into their wines after harvest, but before the wine is bottled.“ Ninety wineries participated in 2018, welcoming 4,500 guests per weekend to sample the latest blends. Next: March 6-8 and 13-15, 2020

Share Our Strength’s fund-raising event to combat childhood hunger is also a foodie destination. Nearly 40 of the Bay Area’s best restaurants assembled at the Regency Ballroom for the 2019 event, where chefs greeted guests with signature bites from their restaurants—pastas, caviar, ceviche, sushi, ice cream, freshly sliced prosciutto, prime rib, and more. Between wine, cocktails, and an endless selection of bites, the event feels like a gourmet eating contest where everyone's a winner. Next: March 2020

New to the list
Attendees of Eat Drink SF enter fully prepared to leave in a food coma. A San Francisco food, wine, and spirits festival, the event celebrates the Bay Area’s world-class chefs and restaurants. Each year, more than 150 restaurants participate, and about 8,500 guests attend to sample the fare. Last year, the event celebrated its 10th anniversary with a three-day blowout. This year, organizers are taking a pared-down, single-day approach. Next: August 24, 2019

Need a reason to fall in love with Eat Real Fest? Let’s start with the obvious: Admission is free. The event, located in Oakland’s Jack London Square, is also educational. One of the goals of the two-day foodie frenzy is to teach consumers where food comes from, who grows it, and how to make it. All the dishes on the vendors’ menus are affordable and made with regionally-sourced, sustainably-produced ingredients. Last year, 54 vendors fed and taught approximately 60,000 people at the event. Next: September 21-22, 2019

Up from #8
In 2010, the science-savvy folks at Exploratorium decided to test their hypothesis that setting up 20 cocktail bars in a science museum would be a great idea. It turns out they were correct. Now Science of Cocktails has grown into a crowded but still surprisingly civilized event. (Tickets for the party sell out each year.) Guests walk around sipping on smoking coupes, blue vodka blends that would never occur in nature, and cannabis-infused liquors at the 21-and-up event. For anyone who likes to taste (and then discard) every cocktail on the menu, the gathering offers the rare opportunity to sample everything without feeling guilty. In 2019, the event drew 1,200 guests, raising $230,000 for the museum. Next: February 2020

Up from #9
Cheese Fest does one thing, and it does it well. The premier urban cheese festival in California, Cheese Fest taps more than 30 California artisan cheesemakers to showcase their cheeses alongside delicious bites while 500 guests sip local wines, beers, and ciders and listen to live music. The Friday sessions at Social Hall are all about cheese tasting, while the Sunday lectures—in partnership with the San Francisco Cheese School—gives attendees the chance to learn more about their favorite fromage. “SF Cheese Fest has become a beloved yearly tradition for local foodies and cheese lovers,” says California Artisan Cheese Guild executive director Anthea Stolz. “We're excited to pay homage to California's pioneering and innovative spirit, past and present, through the lens of cheese.” Next: September 14-15, 2019