Tickets are now available for the 25th annual Wine & Food Affair. Hosted by The Wine Road, an award-winning association of wineries and lodgings in the Alexander, Dry Creek and Russian River Valleys of Northern Sonoma County, Wine & Food Affair is a two-day celebration of the end of harvest season and offers the chance to sample wines paired with sumptuous small bites from local, regional and in-house kitchen magicians (most personal recipes from the winery’s themselves!). This year, the event will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both Saturday, Nov. 4, and Sunday, Nov. 5.
To date, nearly 50 wineries and vineyards have signed on to take part, many previewing their food pairings on the interactive event map to help folks plan their routes. Each food pairing will be accompanied by three or four small pours of various varietals, and many wineries are planning to have additional entertainment and/or winemakers in attendance to help host the crowds. Event-goers will need to select their check-in winery to obtain their glass and wristband before heading off to explore any of the participating wineries. There are also some standalone ticketed events as well.
Among the Sonoma wineries taking part, and their perfect pairings, are:
- Alexander Valley Vineyards, serving fricassee chicken with pork fennel sausage and peppers
- Baldassari Wines, serving charcuterie featuring smoked duck breast and bresaola served with rustic bakery olive oil and sel gris flatbread
- Balletto Vineyards, serving short ribs with mashed potatoes in Syrah sauce
- Carol Shelton Wines, serving beef ragout with cherry-currant relish
- CAST Wines, serving rustic roasted tomato harvest soup
- deLorimier Winery, serving mushroom and truffle pizza
- Francis Ford Coppola Winery, serving garden herb and semolina fritters with a wild mushroom ragu and Tuscan kale puree
- Jeff Cohn Cellars, serving cassoulet with duck confit, creamy white beans, sausage and bacon
- Kokomo Winery, serving corn chowder
- Longboard Vineyards, serving pork and mushroom dumplings
- Mazzocco Sonoma, serving its famous skirt-steak and seasonal vegetables
- Notre Vue Estate, serving its specialty mashed potato recipe in martini glasses
- Pedroncelli Winery, serving mushroom Bolognese
- Roth Estate, serving Italian beef sandwiches with estate vegetable giardiniera
- Russian River Vineyards, serving salmon cakes and zucchini fritters with red pepper aioli
Two-day tickets are $125 per person, and there is a Sunday-only ticket for $95 per person as well as a designated driver ticket for $25 per person. (There are no Saturday-only options.) Wine Road Insiders are eligible for 10 percent off two ticket purchases of any kind and may sign up here.
In addition to all of the Wine & Food Affair main festivities, several wineries are also planning to host ticketed events on Nov. 3 to help kick off the weekend, including:
- Alexander Valley Vineyards, which will start the weekend with a sampling of its award-winning wines accompanied by light appetizers and the chance to mix and mingle with the Wetzel family. The party will also give guests the chance to tour the barrel-aging wine cave. Tickets are $50 per person here.
- Hook & Ladder Winery will put on a free concert featuring Rodney Sweat and the Groove Unit, an ensemble of five Sebastopol natives. There will be wine and food truck fare available for purchase. No ticket or reservations are necessary.
- West Wines will welcome ticketed guests for a sunset library Cabernet tasting, paired with small bites, with its winemaker. Winemaker Katarina Bonde will pour from vintages 2004, 2005, 2006 and the current release 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. Tickets are $80 per person here.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.wineroad.com/events/wine-food-affair.