Pebble Beach Food & Wine—a high-end culinary gathering that holds significant appeal for gourmands and wine aficionados—wrapped its ninth edition on April 3. The festival offered wine tastings, celebrity chef demos, grand-tasting tents, and 22 wine and spirits seminars—and for the first time, planners added a live stream component to involve fans who weren't able to make it to California.
On April 2, some 50 guests attended a dinner at Chicago's Seven Lions restaurant where they watched a live stream of the seminar titled "The Art of Celebrating: Champagne Tattinger & Caviar". Guests at the Chicago event sipped the same wines and sampled the same caviar that festival guests had access to, and even interacted with panelists by asking questions.
Organizers billed the live stream as a step towards making the festival global, and as a first-time happening in the history of food festivals. "We are constantly looking for innovative ways to bring the Pebble Beach Food & Wine experience outside of [our event space]," said festival founder David Bernahl. "Live streaming some of the amazing content and panels allows guests who can't make the trip to participate in a meaningful and interactive way."
Bernahl said that planners chose the champagne- and caviar-focused panel for a simple reason: "Everyone loves champagne and caviar! We wanted to start with something that was fun and would appeal to most people." As for choosing a host venue, Bernahl has a relationship with Seven Lions's owner and master sommelier Alpana Singh. "She knows the festival, knows the participants, and understands what we're all about," he said.
Though this year's live stream took place in Chicago exclusively, Bernahl explained this was "just the tip of the iceberg," and that organizers plan to expand the concept to several markets next year. "People love feeling like they are part of something," he said. If you have the kind of talent we are lucky enough to get at Pebble Beach Food & Wine, there are a lot of people around the world that want to be a part of that. Even if they can't be in the room."
![The Pebble Beach panel featured highly regarded wine experts, including Belinda Chang, Anthony Giglio, and Jordane Andrieu.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2016/04/pbfw2016_taittinger_6.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![Guests at the panel discussion sampled caviar and sipped champagnes, and those who tuned in via live stream in Chicago sampled the same bites and drinks.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2016/04/12912332_578719315639122_2040998122_n.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)