Holiday shopping? From the looks of all the cool food and wine festivals springing up around the globe, it’s still summer. From California to the Caribbean, folks are celebrating all things culinary and cabernet. The following three fests sound so appetizing that we might skip Thanksgiving altogether.
San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival
November 14-18
San Diego’s food scene is a lot more diverse than you might think. But don’t take our word for it; take it from the 30-plus local chefs who’ll team up with nationally recognized names like Hawaiian fusion king Roy Yamaguchi, Café Boulud chef de cuisine Gavin Kaysen and Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star Mirabelle chef-owner Daniel Joly. They will shine some light on the city’s underrated dining scene at the ninth annual event. Beyond tasty-sounding classes like the Kerry Simon-featured “Shaking Up America’s Burger Classics,” the festival’s menu is also stuffed with grand tastings, cocktail-making courses and a chance to try more than 800 wines.
November 15-17
Not every movie gets the marketing push of Lincoln. The small-budget shorts featured at this third annual cinematic celebration rely on word-of-mouth advertising to raise awareness. The Chicago festival held at Kendall College ingeniously helps those selections garner an audience by pairing them with appropriate food. For instance, when farm-centric documentaries like Farmer Poet show, a hearty menu of sustainable dishes from local restaurants will be served. It gets better: For “Fish Fry Friday,” nosh on the catch of the day while watching a screening of Fish Fry Night Milwaukee.
Barbados Food & Wine and Rum Festival
November 16-19
The 80-degree temperatures and sparkling waters are generally reason enough to visit the island in November. Toss in a festival celebrating food, wine and spirits and you have the necessary ingredients for a can’t-miss destination. Now in its third year, BFWRF brings in top-shelf culinary stars (Food Network’s Anne Burrell) and authorities of the vineyard (Best Cellars co-founder Joshua Wesson). But where this event marks its own spot in the sand is with all the happenings surrounding its world-renowned rum, most notably a seminar hosted by respected mixologist Chester Browne.
