Guadalupe Valle
WHEN: All month
WHERE: Guadalupe Valle, Baja
We’ve written extensively about Baja, Mexico’s food and drink revival. Read our exploration of its boom in this story. Their wine region—Valle de Guadalupe—looks like Joshua Tree with wine grapes. Like grapes growing on the desert moon. It’s awesome. It takes just as long to drive there as it does to L.A., and border waits are down to a record low time. So if you’re going to go any month, this is the month. It’s “Vendimia,” their annual grape harvest party season. Everyone from around the country comes for the wine, the parties, the pop-up roadside restaurants and the people. If you want to get a taste of the region beforehand, check out “Awake” dinner/trunk show at Finca Altozano on Aug. 13. For a list of all Vendimia parties, click here.
COST: Varies
Brew & Food Festival
WHEN: Aug. 29, 3-6:30PM
WHERE: Waterfront Park, 1600 Pacific Highway
What? A beer festival in San Diego? Shocker. But this should be a good one. A majority of the biggies will be participating for the waterfront festival, along with some of the top restaurants. Breweries include Ballast Point, Stone Brewing Co., Pizza Port, Lagunitas, AleSmith, Great Divide, The Lost Abbey, Port Brewing Co., Modern
Times, Monkey Paw, Avery Brewing, Bell’s, Left Hand Brewing Company, Breckenridge Brewery, Dogfish Head, Deschutes, Sierra Nevada, Ninkasi Brewing, Rough Draft Brewing Company, The Dudes’ Brewing Company, Knee Deep Brewing Company, Coronado Brewing Company, SanTan Brewing Company, and others. The restaurants on board so far include Bracero, Bottega Americano, Biergarden, Mexikosher, Embargo Grill, The Regal Seagull, Parq, The Patio Group, Cousins Maine Lobster and others.
COST: $40 ($100 for VIP)
Treasure Chest
WHERE: Green Flash
WHEN: Aug. 29, 12PM – 5PM
One of my favorite breweries in San Diego, Green Flash throws this annual huge bash to raise money for Susan G. Komen (breast cancer). It’s their largest rare-beer event of the year—with specialty beers, cask beers, barrel-aged beers and all those weird, creative beers that the brewmasters have been waiting to unveil all year long. This year’s theme is a Hawaiian Luau, so wear tiki. There will be pinup girls styled by local designer Fables by Barrie. Ironside Oyster Bar, True Gentleman’s Jerky and Venissimo Cheese will provide the food and 30-minute educational foodmaking demos. They’ll also have a marketplace of local arts makers. You don’t need a reason to support breast cancer. But if you can do so and make it a great night, well hell that’s all the better.
COST: $40
The Best Food & Drink Events This Month: August 2015
Treasure Chest Fest 2015
