Del Mar Wine + Food Festival Returns Oct. 2-7 With Superstar Athletes, Chefs, and Celebrities

Get your food fix as the second annual Del Mar Wine + Food Festival returns Oct. 2-7, featuring a star-studded lineup of professional athletes, Hollywood celebrities, Food Network stars, James Beard Award-winning chefs, and MICHELIN-starred standouts—all celebrating San Diego as one of the nation’s most exciting food landscapes.

The festival was founded in 2023 to redefine modern food festival culture and create a platform for diversity rooted in San Diego’s unique identity—namely, pairing the region’s ascendant food and drink scene with the famed SoCal active lifestyle.

More than 25 culinary-fueled events held in Del Mar and throughout San Diego County include a two-day Grand Tasting, incredible wine & spirits programming, a celebrity pickleball tournament, and various golfing, soccer, volleyball, and surfing lifestyle activations.

Plus, signature events and partnerships pay special tribute to LGBTQ+ culinary excellence, Cali-Baja’s vibrant cross-border influence, and more. Below you’ll find the full lineup of what’s happening this October with DMWFF benefiting Feeding San Diego, the city’s leading hunger relief and food rescue organization. 

PLAY | PRO ATHLETES FIRE IT UP TO CELEBRATE SO-CAL’S ACTIVE LIFESTYLE: 

• Whispering Angel Celebrity Pickleball Tournament hosted by NFL legend Drew Brees with pro athletes and friends including former professional tennis champs CoCo Vandeweghe and James Blake, former NBA player/ recent USA Olympic Volleyball player Chase Budinger, San Diego Padres Alumni Mark Loretta and Tim Stauffer, Kyle Cooke of Loverboy beverages/Bravo TV fame, and Food Network’s Catherine McCord, ‘The Grill Dads’ Mark Anderson and Ryan Fey
• Beach Cleanup and Seafood Brunch with surfing icon and environmental activist Rob Machado alongside celebrity chefs Brian Malarkey, AIdan Owens, and Javier Plascencia at Herb & Sea following a beach cleanup at Encinitas’ Moonlight Beach 
• Grand Tasting VIP experience on Sunday hosted by Soccer superstar Alex Morgan 
• Tacos, Tortas, and Tequila Opening Night Party where San Diego’s new Major League Soccer team (men’s), San Diego FC, kicks things off at Monarch Del Mar 
• Celebrating Hometown Heroes hosted by Major League Soccer team (women’s) San Diego Wave FC, Big Queer Food Fest and celebrity chef Tiffani Faison, where dishes and drinks are inspired by the hometowns of team players as well as National Hall of Famer & two-time World Cup champion Jill Ellis, who has opened doors for gay women in high-profile sports
• Two-day Grand Tasting has several of the city’s professional sports teams joining in on the fun with immersive activations including volleyball by the San Diego Mojo, a soccer tailgating pop-up with San Diego FC, surfboard shaping sponsored by Kove Brewing, mini golf, a golf simulator and foosball sponsored by the Alex Morgan Foundation, and more
• Happy Fillmore Golf Classic closes out the festival on Monday with a non-traditional golf tournament featuring the longest drive and pitch and putt competition (which may or may not incorporate a hockey stick), great food and drink, live music, and more.

SAVOR | CELEBRITY CHEFS & SIGNATURE EVENTS CHAMPIONING SAN DIEGO’S SUSTAINABLE FOOD CULTURE:

Food writer, Food Network personality, and DMWFF co-founder Troy Johnson has been telling the stories of San Diego’s food and drink culture for 17 years. As festival host, he invites chef friends from across the country to cook alongside San Diego and Baja’s top chefs at various events highlighting the region’s farmers, fisheries, and homegrown purveyors.

• Mad Hatters Tea Party hosted by world-renowned chef Tiffani Faison with Big Queer Food Fest and chefs Adrian Mendoza and Johnny Duran immerses guests in a whimsical world of color, magic, and fantasy at Hillcrest’s insideOUT 
• Trattoria di Prato sees celebrity chefs Rocco DiSpirito, Jackson Kalb, and Jason McLeod for an alfresco Italian multi-course dinner at the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe
• Spice Girls Dinner with culinary stars Aarti Sequeira and Claudia Sandoval is a memorable event spotlighting unique dishes and spices from India, Mexico, and beyond paired with LXV Wines by winemaker Neeta Mittal
• A Night of Divine Art + Cuisine hosted by celebrity chef & James Beard Award winner Maneet Chauhan with chefs Kelli Crosson and Aly Lyng incudes an exclusive museum tour of MCASD La Jolla followed by a globally inspired menu paired by Innumero Wines/Setting Wines and breathtaking ocean views at The Kitchen @ MCASD
• Coastal Cowboys Dinner presented by Experience Scottsdale welcomes acclaimed Chefs Beau MacMillan, Matt Carter, and Rene Andrade, 2024 James Beard Award winner Best Chef-Southwest, for an evening of indulgent cuisine, paired wines by Los Milics Vineyards, a winery owned by Tool’s frontman Maynard James Keenan, and a tequila experience by Tequila Corrido at a lavish La Jolla Estate
• Napa Luxe Event at the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe with Chefs Jason McLeod and Karen Krasne paired to Napa Valley’s top producers featuring Benchmark’s Napa Portfolio, Fortunate Son by Hundred Acre, Gagnon-Kennedy Vineyards, HALL, La Jota, Macauley Vineyards, Staglin, The Mascot, and more
• Mer de Baja by Drew Deckman, Benito Molina, and Sergio Jimenez sees a French-Baja fusion menu expertly paired by Austin Hope and DAOU Wines at the Rancho Bernardo Inn.
• Marisi’s Fall Harvest with Iconic Italian Wine Pio Cesare hosted by Chef Cameron Ingle with a five-course family-style dinner paired with iconic Italian wine producer Pio Cesare to showcase their most notable wines from Northern Italy’s Piedmont region
• Bluefin Tuna, the Whole Fish – A Night with Ambrogio by Acquerello with recognized chef Enea Sintoni as he showcases a full tuna in different preparations from belly to cheeks
• Agave After Party at Fox Point Farms featuring live performances by Fleetwood Max and The PettyBreakers tribute bands with hosted mezcal/tequila tastings and food by Chefs Alex Carballo and Kelston Moore of Haven Farm + Table and Karen Krasne of Extraordinary Desserts

SIP | STAR SOMMS & ICONIC PRODUCERS LEADING NEW WAVE WINE SEMINARS & TASTINGS 

The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe sets the stage for two days of incredible fine wine programming with 10 exclusive tastings, moderated discussions, and seminars led by the most respected names in winemaking. Joining DMWFF is pioneering American vintner David Ramey, Ian Cauble MS, one of America’s most awarded and highest recognized Sommeliers, Mark Bright co-founder/wine director for two MICHELIN Starred Saison, June Rodil MS, CEO of Goodnight Hospitality (Food & Wine and Wine Enthusiast “Sommelier of the Year”), Femi Oyediran co-owner of Graft Wine Shop & Wine Bar (Food & Wine “Sommelier of the Year”), acclaimed wine writer and critic Jonathan Cristaldi, President of Benchmark Wines Jay James MS, DMWFF Beverage Director Ted Glennon, a renowned winemaker (Food & Wine’s “Top Sommeliers in America”), and more. Highlights include:

• My Life in 8 Glasses tasting with David Ramey with eight selections that tell the story of his life in wine
• In the Boardroom with Ian Cauble (Friday) and Mark Bright (Thursday) tasting rare & cult wines from around the world that hold personal connections to their journeys in wine
• The Pyramid Valley Story offering the first public tasting in North America of New Zealand’s Pyramid Valley Winery’s new 2022 Botanicals Collection and library selections with winemaker Steve Smith MW
• Blind Tasting With The Masters invites attendees to blind taste live with five Master Sommeliers–class is in session! 
• Apertivo Italiano book signing, tasting, meet and greet with James Beard Award recipients Shelley Lindgren and David Lynch, two prominent figures in the world of wine and food
• A Perfect Wine is a lively tasting with three distinct opinions offering differing criteria on what makes a perfect wine.
• Great Cabernet Terroirs tasting with David Ramey and Jonathan Cristaldi celebrating and exploring the core of the world’s favorite wine: Cabernet
• A Few of My Favorite Things an insider seminar about the secret sauce, including insight on what the best and brightest wine minds are enjoying
• Trip the Fizz Fantastic  Ted Glennon takes us on a journey through the solar system of great bubbles available today from Champagne to California to Germany and more destinations – open your mind and your palate to more great sparkling wines 

THE BIG SHOW | A TWO-DAY GRAND TASTING FLEXING THE REGION’S TOP CULINARY TALENT

The week culminates in a two-day, all-inclusive Grand Tasting on Saturday, October 5, and Sunday, October 6 that welcomes culinary greats from San Diego to Baja. With more than 100 restaurants and over 150 international wine/spirits/beverage producers in attendance, eight acres of grassy field at Surf Sports Park transform into a coastal gastronomic wonderland. Dazzling large-scale culinary activations and immersive pop-ups shine a spotlight on community leaders including Big Queer Food Fest celebrating LGBTQ+ culinary excellence, The Bad Boyz of Culinary supporting African American chefs through scholarships, San Diego Magazine’s Celebrating Women shining a spotlight on changemakers across various industries, Baja Tourism showcasing the vibrant influences of the Cali-Baja mega region, Fox Point Farms as San Diego’s first ‘agrihood’ with a regenerative farm, brewery, restaurant, and more. Plus, there is volleyball with San Diego Mojo, a soccer tailgating pop-up by San Diego FC, mini golf, a golf simulator and foosball sponsored by the Alex Morgan Foundation, surfboard shaping with Kove Brewing, and more. The Grand Tasting offers one or two-day passes with options for VIP, early entry, or general admission online here.