USA TODAY 10Best
A toast to the best: Top 10 wine festivals across the US
Best Wine Festival (2024)
There's a reason that Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, is often depicted as a partier; wine makes a good festival even better. From full parties to laid-back events, there's a wine festival for everyone.
To find the best wine-centric celebrations throughout the country, USA TODAY 10Best tasked a panel of experts with nominating their favorite events. Then, readers voted for their top picks. Here are the 10 best wine festivals in the United States.
- Key West Food & Wine Festival - Key West, Florida
- Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta - Santa Fe, New Mexico
- California Wine Festival - Dana Point - Dana Point, California
- Naples Winter Wine Festival - Naples, Florida
- Taste of Sonoma - Santa Rosa, California
- South Beach Wine & Food Festival - Miami Beach, Florida
- World of Pinot Noir - Santa Barbara, California
- Hudson Valley Wine & Food Festival - Rhinebeck, New York
- Black Vines - Oakland, California
- San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival - San Diego, California
Photo courtesy of Mark Funkhouser Photography
No. 10:
Escape winter and head to the sunny Florida Keys. This creative festival held in January is the perfect escape for the wintertime blues. Enjoy a series of over 20 unique events that includes chef and winemaker collaborations, as well as waterfront tastings.
Photo courtesy of Gabriella Marks
No. 9:
This five-day festival each September showcases the culinary and wine culture of Santa Fe. Some 90 wineries from around the nation partner with more than 60 Santa Fe restaurants for cooking demos, wine seminars, luncheons, and dinners, culminating in the Grand Tasting on the grassy lawn of Magers Field in downtown Santa Fe.
Photo courtesy of Luis Esparza
No. 8:
This two-day festival in Dana Point — the first of four California Wine Festival events held throughout the state each year — offers a tasting of rare and reserve wines at sunset to kick things off before their signature event: the beachside wine festival. The three-hour afternoon affair features hundreds of fine wines alongside culinary delights like shellfish, artisanal charcuterie, and freshly-baked breads.
Photo courtesy of Mila Bridger
No. 7:
Each January, the Naples Winter Wine Festival raises money for local underprivileged and at-risk kids. In addition to a charity wine auction, the festival includes a number of intimate wine dinners around Naples, Florida, where guests can mingle with top chefs and vintners.
Photo courtesy of Alexander Rubin
No. 6:
As one of California's premier wine regions, it’s only natural that Taste of Sonoma would celebrate their renowned producers with a festival. More than 100 wineries are featured in a walk-around wine tasting. To keep the palate fresh, there’s also a beer garden to break up all the vino, as well as curated, complimentary dishes from local food trucks.
Photo courtesy of World Red Eye
No. 5:
One of the best-known wine and food fests in the U.S, South Beach Wine & Food Festival has featured some of the country’s most notable chefs (thanks to its Food Network partnership) and winemakers for over 20 years. Enjoy more than 100 events during this four-day fest.
Photo courtesy of Zweifel Studios
No. 4:
World of Pinot Noir brings together notable winemakers from pinot noir-producing wineries along with chefs, sommeliers, and wine scholars who lead educational wine seminars. Held at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara in Santa Barbara — one of California’s best wine regions — more than 200 wineries participate.
Photo courtesy of franckreporter / E+
No. 3:
More than 300 vendors set up at this fall festival in upstate New York. Food trucks, wineries with pop-up tasting rooms, and celebrity chef demonstrations make for an entertaining weekend.
Photo courtesy of KJS Photography
No. 2:
Black Vines is on a mission to connect wine lovers with Black winemakers through the longest-running Black wine festival in the United States. The annual winter festival in California brings together Black winemakers, musicians, artists, and vintners for a day of tastings, food, art, and live entertainment.
Photo courtesy of Kaeli Hearn
No. 1:
Sandy beaches and sailboats set the scene for this week-long festival in San Diego. Celebrity chefs, top-notch winemakers, mixologists, master sommeliers, brewmasters, and James Beard Award-winning authors join together for a bevy of exciting events.
About 10Best Readers' Choice Awards
Nominees are submitted by a panel of experts. 10Best editors narrow the field to select the final set of nominees for the Readers’ Choice Awards. Readers can vote once per category, per day. For any questions or comments, please read the FAQ or email USA TODAY 10Best.
The Experts
Jenny Peters
Jenny Peters – aka Jet Set Jen – is a Los... Read More
Jenny Peters – aka Jet Set Jen – is a Los Angeles-based freelance journalist, editor and party columnist specializing in travel, entertainment, film, food, wine, fashion and the other good things in life. She is a founding/voting member of the Critics Choice Association, who present the Critics’ Choice Awards every January. Her favorite places to be are on the beach in Southern California playing volleyball, scuba diving with the sharks in warm tropical waters or strolling the streets and soaking in the atmosphere of one of the world's great cities (New Orleans and Florence are her favorites).
Jenny Peters
Jenny Peters – aka Jet Set Jen – is a Los Angeles-based freelance journalist, editor and party columnist specializing in travel, entertainment, film, food, wine, fashion and the other good things in life. She is a founding/voting member of the Critics Choice Association, who present the Critics’ Choice Awards every January. Her favorite places to be are on the beach in Southern California playing volleyball, scuba diving with the sharks in warm tropical waters or strolling the streets and soaking in the atmosphere of one of the world's great cities (New Orleans and Florence are her favorites).
Jillian Dara
Jillian is a lifestyle journalist with a focus on... Read More
Jillian is a lifestyle journalist with a focus on travel, wine, spirits and culture. Growing up in Bermuda, Jillian quickly became comfortable on planes and intrigued by the concept of the unfamiliar. Traveling, eating, and imbibing may be part of the "job" but Jillian truly believes in the whimsical power of a local experience or meeting over a traditional spirit to bond strangers in the most chance of circumstances. Outside of 10Best, Jillian's work has appeared in Travel + Leisure, Decanter, Wine Enthusiast, Forbes, Elite Traveler and Hemispheres.
Jillian Dara
Jillian is a lifestyle journalist with a focus on travel, wine, spirits and culture. Growing up in Bermuda, Jillian quickly became comfortable on planes and intrigued by the concept of the unfamiliar. Traveling, eating, and imbibing may be part of the "job" but Jillian truly believes in the whimsical power of a local experience or meeting over a traditional spirit to bond strangers in the most chance of circumstances. Outside of 10Best, Jillian's work has appeared in Travel + Leisure, Decanter, Wine Enthusiast, Forbes, Elite Traveler and Hemispheres.
Joanne and Tony DiBona
Travel memories may fade over time, but... Read More
Travel memories may fade over time, but photographs recall those magical moments.
Joanne and Tony DiBona
Travel memories may fade over time, but photographs recall those magical moments.
Katy Spratte Joyce
Katy Spratte Joyce is a Midwest-based food, wine,... Read More
Katy Spratte Joyce is a Midwest-based food, wine, travel, and design writer. She has contributed to Travel+Leisure, Eating Well, ELLE DECOR, Chilled Magazine, The New York Times, and more. She enjoys a jammy Pinot, aggressive brunching, and traveling the globe in search of her next great story.
Katy Spratte Joyce
Katy Spratte Joyce is a Midwest-based food, wine, travel, and design writer. She has contributed to Travel+Leisure, Eating Well, ELLE DECOR, Chilled Magazine, The New York Times, and more. She enjoys a jammy Pinot, aggressive brunching, and traveling the globe in search of her next great story.
Lynn and Cele Seldon
Lynn and Cele Seldon make up the team that is... Read More
Lynn and Cele Seldon make up the team that is Seldon Ink and have spent more than 25 years covering all aspects of culinary and travel writing. With a keen focus on the Southeast and a particular love of the Carolinas, they have written dozens of magazine and newspaper articles about the area and have become self-professed experts along the way. Their work has appeared in Southern Living, Taste of the South, The Local Palate, Cruise Travel, South Carolina Living, South Carolina Magazine, TrailBlazer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Charlotte Observer, various in-flight publications and many AAA magazines. They are also the authors of 100 Things To Do In Charleston Before You Die from Reedy Press. Follow along on their adventures at www.seldonink.com or @seldonink.
Lynn and Cele Seldon
Lynn and Cele Seldon make up the team that is Seldon Ink and have spent more than 25 years covering all aspects of culinary and travel writing. With a keen focus on the Southeast and a particular love of the Carolinas, they have written dozens of magazine and newspaper articles about the area and have become self-professed experts along the way. Their work has appeared in Southern Living, Taste of the South, The Local Palate, Cruise Travel, South Carolina Living, South Carolina Magazine, TrailBlazer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Charlotte Observer, various in-flight publications and many AAA magazines. They are also the authors of 100 Things To Do In Charleston Before You Die from Reedy Press. Follow along on their adventures at www.seldonink.com or @seldonink.
Sarah May Grunwald
Sarah May Grunwald is a wine, food, and travel... Read More
Sarah May Grunwald is a wine, food, and travel writer originally from California She is a certified sommelier and former professor of wine. She gardens and keeps bees in the Roman countryside and has seven rescue dogs and three cats. She leads wine and food tours in Rome and the country of Georgia. She co-owns a Tbilisi food and wine tour company called Taste Georgia. Sign up for her Substack newsletter Contadina, and find her on Instagram at @sarahmaygrunwald and @tastegeorgia.
Sarah May Grunwald
Sarah May Grunwald is a wine, food, and travel writer originally from California She is a certified sommelier and former professor of wine. She gardens and keeps bees in the Roman countryside and has seven rescue dogs and three cats. She leads wine and food tours in Rome and the country of Georgia. She co-owns a Tbilisi food and wine tour company called Taste Georgia. Sign up for her Substack newsletter Contadina, and find her on Instagram at @sarahmaygrunwald and @tastegeorgia.
10Best Editors
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original,... Read More
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original, unbiased and experiential travel coverage of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.
10Best Editors
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original, unbiased and experiential travel coverage of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.
