Try them all! California Wine Festival - San Simeon Winery
San Diego has a hidden gem of a wine festival and it’s returning this June, 2025, to the Carlsbad Aviara Park Hyatt Resort. It’s big enough to be fun, the crowds are smart and sophisticated, the wine as plentiful as the San Diego sunshine. I go every year because it’s just so easy to have a good time and unlike the other larger wine and food festivals it’s priced so you don’t have to think twice. Before I forget, here’s the basic info you need:
CALIFORNIA WINE FESTIVAL
DATE: JUNE 2025, FINAL DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED
LOCATION: CARLSBAD PARK HYATT AVIARA RESORT
Poggio Leano Winery from Temecula
what to expect at the california wine festival in carlsbad
The California Wine Festival is broken into two parts - the first is a fancy sunset reserve wine event, very nice and a great event for wine lovers. The second is the “beachside” event, though the beach is a few miles away for those of you not familiar with the Park Hyatt Resort. Still, you won’t care as you walk from booth to booth sampling wine after wine. All the wine regions in California are here, from local favorites from Temecula to Paso Robles and Napa and Sonoma. You can go basic and sample it all at the various booths, perhaps stopping for a bit to listen to the live band, or go VIP and relax at a table and enjoy some of the reserve wines.
Interspaced with the wine booths are food samples, from insane fried chicken to decadent ice crea,. Want to see what I ate?
SHOUT OUT TO GUS’S FRIED CHICKEN AND JENI’S ICE CREAM!
The California Wine Festival isn’t like some of the giant wine AND food festivals where the food and wine share the billing. Wine is definitely the star here but there’s plenty of food to keep you from going hungry and I have to give a huge shout out to Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken, possibly the greatest fried chicken you will ever have and I love fried chicken. It’s hot out of the oil, crispy, juicy, insane. And they give you full size pieces. Next year I’m heading straight to their booth and getting in line again and again.
Jeni’s Ice Cream has to be some of the best ice cream I’ve ever had, certainly as good if not better than Salt & Straw with a location near the La Costa Resort and another in North Park. The Birthday Cake was a funfetti delight and so good I went back twice. I know, this is a wine fest and I should be drinking wine but Jeni’s ice cream was so good I totally forgot about the wine for a while and just indulged.
The VIP tent has a few more options for food and reserve wines and is worth the extra cost if you want a shady table to kick back and relax with. Though there is something to be said about going from booth to booth and trying them all.
Inside the VIP tent at the California Wine Festival
Is the California wine festival worth it?
Are you going to make me talk about the fried chicken and ice cream again??? Of course it’s worth it. Tickets were just $65 in 2024 and for that you got to sample dozens and dozens of wines, bask in the sunshine, dance a bit to the band, it’s the perfect San Diego Saturday. Add to that free parking and unlimited fried chicken and ice cream… OK, I really liked Gus’s friend chicken and Jeni’s ice cream! But yes yes yes, the pricing for the event is cheaper than a couple of tasting flights at a winery and can you put a price on how much fun you’ll have? Love it!
Were you there?
A few highlights of all of the wines I tried. Yes, I tried them all! (lie)
