Local Wally's Guide to San Diego

Local Wally's Guide to San Diego

California Wine Festival

Carladbad's California Wine Festival Returns June 20-21, 2025 - A Weekend of Wine, Gourmet Food and Fun - Worth It!

Local WallyComment

Everything You Need to Know About San Diego’s Favorite Wine Fest!

AT A GLANCE: Two events, the Friday evening “Sunset Rare and Reserve Tasting” and the Saturday “Beachside Wine Festival” where you walk from booth to booth for unlimited wine and food samples.

TICKETS: Tickets to the Beachside event start at $85 (early bird prices right now) and the Sunset Tasting starts at $125. Combo tickets are $235. GET TICKETS NOW at the lower price.

LOCATION: Carlsbad’s Park Hyatt Resort (official site)

OFFICIAL LOCAL WALLY OPINION: I love this event. OK, yes, there are larger wine and food festivals in San Diego but this one is just right - Not so small that you feel like you’ve seen it all after a few minutes, but not so large that you find yourself fighting crowds just to get a sample.

The food in the past has been great and the wines top notch. You do know I also write wine guides for Napa and Paso, right?? So I know a bit about wine and the wines here will impress - you’re sure to find a few new favorites.

TOP SECRET: Free parking and the ocean breeze and coastal vibe is well represented. You’ll love this location at the Aviara Parkside Resort.

Festival Details

Sunset Rare & Reserve Tasting

Friday, June 20 | 6:30 – 9 p.m.

Park Hyatt Aviara Resort Golf Club & Spa – The Gardens

The festival kicks off with the exclusive Sunset Rare & Reserve Tasting, featuring limited-production and reserve wines from renowned California wine regions including Napa Valley, Sonoma, Paso Robles and beyond. Guests will begin their evening with a champagne reception before sampling rare wines and enjoying gourmet appetizers from celebrated North San Diego County restaurants. The evening also includes a silent auction benefiting a local charitable organization. Live entertainment will set the tone for an elegant evening under the stars.

Beachside Wine Festival 

Saturday, June 21 | 1 – 4 p.m. (VIP Entry at 12 p.m.)

Park Hyatt Aviara Resort Golf Club & Spa – Heron Lawn

The festivities continue Saturday with the Beachside Wine Festival, a vibrant afternoon offering tastings from hundreds of premium California wineries and regional craft breweries, paired with delicious bites from local culinary hotspots. Set against panoramic views of lush rolling hills and the Pacific Ocean, the event features live music, creating the ultimate coastal wine tasting experience. VIP guests will enjoy early access at noon, featuring exclusive reserve wines and additional gourmet food options.

Festival Sponsors & Highlights

  • Sponsors: High Flyer Wines/Priest Ranch, Kaleo Marketing, System Pavers, DreamFinder Travel & Virgin Voyages, Wine Spectator, Renewal by Andersen, Piper Sonoma, Park Hyatt Aviara, Andy Gump, Icelandic Glacial, Melin.

  • Restaurants & Food Purveyors: aficio22, Aquamar/California Rolls, Butterfly Brittles, Carlsbad Cookie Company, Chipz Happen, Farm Fresh Home Foods, Gino Angelini Authentic Italian Sauces, Goufrais Southern California – Cocoa Confection, Icelandic Glacial, Inferno Woodfired Kitchen, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, Kerrygold, p.o.p. candy co., Prager Brothers Artisan Breads, Waterloo Sparkling Water, Seven Barrels Olive Oils and Aged Italian Balsamics, Señor Grubby's and Grubby's Poke, Ponto Lago.

  • Wineries: Ackerman Family Vineyards, Adobe Road Winery, Akash Winery & Vineyards, Archer Roose Wines, Barlow Vineyards, Bouchaine Vineyards, Burtech Family Vineyard, Carol Shelton Wines, Castelli & Pizarro Family Winery, Caymus Vineyards, Cuvaison, Darcie Kent Estate Winery, Double Bond Wine, Goldschmidt Vineyards, Harvey and Harriet, Hawk & Horse Vineyards, High Flyer Wines/Priest Ranch, Kubani Wines, Michael David Winery, Michael Mondavi Family Wines, New Zealand Wine Navigator, Pasmosa, Quench + Temper, Ramona Valley Vineyards Association, The Vinho, Vinera Wine Society, Wilson Creek Winery, Wine Guy & Wine Gal, Ysidro.

Carlsbad Wine Festival at Aviara Resort, June 20-21, 2025

Local WallyComment

California Wine Festival returns to Carlsbad Aviara Resort June 20-21, 2025

Let’s get right down to it. The California Wine Festival is one of my most favorite events in San Diego. Unlike some wine and food festivals where the crowds are big and the food and wine portions small, the Carlsbad event is just right. The crowds and venue are large enough but not too large, and the food and wine options plentiful and wonderful.

SUNSET RARE & RESERVE TASTING

Friday, June 20, 2025 - 6:30-9pm

Guests are invited sip on fine wines and taste a variety of delicacies  at the beautiful Park Hyatt Aviara Resort Golf Club & Spa's newly renovated Lawn.  This is an elegant VIP event for true fine wine lovers, located in one of San Diego County's most beautiful coastal cities – Carlsbad. The limited number of tickets sell out quickly (due to the rarity of the wines being poured). A champagne reception is just the prelude to an evening of sampling hard-to-find trophy wines, some already out of circulation and impossible to find are poured, to an adoring crowd dressed in their finest casual/elegant resort wear.

BEACHSIDE WINE FESTIVAL

Saturday, June 21, 2025 - 1-4pm (VIPs 12pm)

The quintessential California wine tasting experience – sun, sea, food, wine and music – all come together at this sun-splashed wine fest overlooking lush rolling hills with the shimmering Pacific beyond at Park Hyatt Aviara Resort's Heron Lawn.  By 1:00 pm the joint is jumping at this Camelot-like white-topped tent village.  Wine oenophiles  will find hundreds of fine wines, regional craft brews and a dizzying variety of foods to sample. Artisanal cheeses, breads, olive oil, as well as shellfish, salads,chocolates, cakes, and more! A live band keeps the beat for this all-day feast for the senses where wine and food are king and queen.

TICKET INFO TO THE CALIFORNIA WINE FESTIVAL AT CARLSBAD’S PARK HYATT IN AVIARA

You can select either the Friday Sunset Rare and Reserve Tasting event, an upscale sort of affair, or the Saturday Beachside Wine Festival, a more casual “go booth to booth” experience. Both are wonderful but the Saturday event gets a big thumbs up from me. Come on, you’re in coastal Carlsbad, you’re enjoying the sunshine and there’s wine and food at every booth just begging you to try it. Is there a better way to spend a Saturday?

San Diego Wine Festival Returns to Carlsbad's Park Hyatt Aviara Resort June 23. 24, 2023

Food Festivals, SD Wine Food Fest, San Diego Wine Food Fest, Things to Do in San Diego, Things to Eat San DiegoLocal WallyComment

CALIFORNIA WINE FESTIVAL CARLSBAD, CA, AVIARA RESORT, JUNE 23, 24, 2023

California Wine Festival, Southern California’s premier wine festival event producer, announces its return to the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort for two days of palm tree-lined tasting events on Friday, June 23 and Saturday, June 24. Guests will be able to try samples from renowned winemaking regions across California, paired with gourmet appetizers from many of North San Diego County’s top restaurants, in addition to experiencing lifestyle exhibitors, live entertainment and stunning, expansive vistas. 

This seriously is one of my favorite events in San Diego. I love that it’s so low key, so easy, so uncrowded with easy access to plenty of wine and food samples. No, it’s not as huge as some of the other better known events but that’s what makes it so great - you want another glass of wine, you just walk up and they pour it for you! No fighting in lines, no being pushed aside, no waving your arms to get someone’s attention, it’s so civilized. And no, you don’t need to get all dressed up! I mean you could, but you don’t have to.

Overlooking lush green landscape beneath string lights at Park Hyatt Aviara Resort’s The Gardens, Friday evening kicks off with a Sunset Rare & Reserve Tasting, an intimate experience for wine aficionados. A sparkling wine reception begins the evening of sampling specialty reserve wines and offers tasting room exclusives and limited-production wines hailing from vineyards based in California’s most esteemed wine producing regions. Locals’ favorite North County restaurants will serve delicious hot and cold appetizers to pair with the best-in-class wines. 

Throughout Friday evening, guests will have the ability to participate in a silent auction, bidding on coveted items such as exotic wines, tasting tours and dining certificates. Proceeds from this auction will benefit Golden Rule Charity, an organization dedicated to helping people in the hospitality industry during unexpected hardships.


SATURDAY’S BEACHSIDE WINE FESTIVAL
The ultimate wine tasting experience continues with a Beachside Wine Festival taking place at Park Hyatt Aviara Resort's Heron Lawn on Saturday, June 24th. The al fresco afternoon event will allow guests to improve upon their culinary education and exploration through one-on-one conversations and tastings with culinary and wine talent descending upon Carlsbad from California’s most distinguished wineries and local restaurants. Guests will have the opportunity to experience hundreds of premium California wines and regional craft brews. Fine wines can be paired with artisanal cheeses, breads, olive oil, fresh-cut fruit, decadent desserts and more. The VIP Pavilion will feature a selection of reserve-level wines as well as craft brews along with special seating just a stone’s throw away from the resort’s award-winning golf course overlooking the Batiquitos Lagoon nature preserve.


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 beyond. Notable wineries attending include: Adobe Road Winery, B.io, Bellante Family Winery, Bernardus Winery, BONDLE Wines, Capriccio Sangria, Carol Shelton Wines, Carruth Cellars, Cuvaison Winery, Doffo Wines, Double Bond Wine, Goldschmidt Vineyards, HALL Wines, Halter Ranch, Kessler-Haak Vineyard & Wines, Le Vigne Winery, Lloyd Cellars, Michael Mondavi Family Wines, Miner Family Wines, Navarro Vineyards, New Zealand Wine Navigator, Pasmosa Sangria, Russian River Vineyards, Stonehouse Cellars, Wilson Creek Winery and Wine Guy & Wine Gal.

GOOD EATS TO GO WITH ALL OF THE GREAT WINE!

Top restaurants from North San Diego County and beyond will serve delectable appetizers to accompany the festival’s top-notch wine selections and include: Butterfly Brittles, Carlsbad Cookie Company, Gino Angelini Authentic Italian Sauces, Goufrais Southern California - Cocoa Confection, Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken, Icelandic Glacial, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, Kelly’s Croutons, Kerrygold, Marsatta Chocolate, Mendocino Farms, Orfila Vineyards Tasting Room & Kitchen, Ponto Lago, Señor Grubby's and Grubby’s Poke, Seven Barrels Olive Oils and Aged Italian Balsamics, SiSi Cakes and The Real Empanada.

LIVE MUSIC TO SET THE VIBE!

Live entertainment will provide the perfect soundtrack to a relaxing weekend enjoying coastal California living. Friday’s Sunset Rare & Reserve Tasting will feature soulful, acoustic melodies from former American Idol finalist, Adam Lasher. Saturday’s Beachside Wine Festival will once again feature Upstream, SoCal’s premier live reggae, calypso, soca and steel drum band.