8 Reasons to Sip and Savor at Wine & Food Affair

Just the name Wine & Food Affair identifies the top two reasons to attend this aptly named annual event. Held the weekend of November 2^nd and 3^rd from 11 – 4 each day, Wine & Food Affair is the premier food event in northern Sonoma County. Although wine and food are the top reasons to attend, let’s explore some other reasons to come, and then dive into some wine and food options.

 

Stunning Vistas

Sonoma County has endless beauty. As a county resident, I am always awed by the natural splendor throughout the countryside. Driving around Alexander, Dry Creek and Russian River valleys provides plenty of visual beauty to enhance your weekend visit.

 

Enriching Experiences

A weekend in Wine Country offers so much to those who venture here — a relaxed environment, an ideal setting to enjoy friends and family while sipping superb wine and savoring delicious food, opportunities to meet winery owners, winemakers and the winery staff, and more.

 

Exploration Opportunities

Wine Road events, like Wine & Food Affair, allow ticket holders access to over 50 wineries for one price versus paying tasting fees at each location. This all-access ticket lets you explore new wineries you’ve wanted to check out, and look for new varietals to try as well, all while enjoying delicious sips of wine paired with tasty nibbles.

The pace of exploration and learning is set by you. You decide what wineries you want to visit and what path you want to take. Do a fast-paced charge and you can taste at six or more wineries each day. Or, relax into the flow and visit four or five wineries each day. Take your tastes outside, and enjoy the view from a deck or patio. This is your time to appreciate the moments and experience the autumn weather and scenery along the Wine Road.

An added benefit to Wine & Food Affair is no reservations are needed. After you depart from your check-in winery, you’re free to go to any of the other participating wineries. Planning ahead is always a good idea, but you can also just meander along the Wine Road, stopping at participating wineries that strike your fancy. Or, talk to your fellow ticket holders about their favorites, and go check them out.

Learning about the wines you sip and also how they pair with the food offered at each location is a bonus for foodies, or anyone who just loves tasty bits. When it’s not the Wine & Food Affair weekend, planning a wine and food pairing adventure requires research, planning and reservations, and special wine and food pairing tasting fees at each winery you visit. With Wine & Food Affair, you can savor the wine, the food and the freedom to just relax and enjoy the weekend.

 

Add-on Options

If you like to come early and are looking for something special to do Friday night, there are three wineries offering an add-on event on Friday night.

ACTA, located in Alexander Valley, is hosting an evening of films on the big screen (one indoors and one outdoors) along with an exclusive wine tasting paired with fresh-made flatbread direct from their wood-fire oven. Whether you watch movies or enjoy the surrounding vineyard vistas, you’re guaranteed excellent wine paired with the hot-from-the-oven flatbread. Tickets are limited, so get yours soon if you want to jumpstart your weekend.

Just a short stroll off the Healdsburg town green, Spicy Vines is offering live music and fine wines to Wine & Food Affair ticket holders, and at a bargain price. Adam Lieb, voted Healdsburg’s Best Musician in 2023, will be performing rock and roll and Americana covers as guests sip on Spicy Vines wines, which will be available for purchase by the glass or bottle. Complimentary assorted small bites will be available for their guests.

Wilson Artisan Wines is hosting a Grand Tasting Gala at their Coyote Sonoma location near downtown Healdsburg. Owners Ken and Diane Wilson, along with winemakers Antoine Favero, Chris Barrett and Victoria Wilson, will be your party hosts. All 11 Wilson Artisan wineries will be pouring selections of their award-winning wines, and they’ve invited Truett Hurst and VML to pour their wines, too. Along with the wines, enjoy delicious appetizers and live music.

 

Same Great Wines, New Locations

It doesn’t happen often, but we’ve had a few wineries change their location. To ensure can you find them, here’s the list:

Truett Hurst and VLM have both moved from their former rural locations into Healdsburg. Although they will eventually have their individual tasting rooms, on the weekend of Wine & Food Affair, they’ll both be serving their wines from the new VLM location at 113 Mill Street in Healdsburg. To satisfy your dessert craving, Truett Hurst’s food pairing is Zinfandel swirl cheesecake cups, while VML is offering up Chardonnay apple pie ice cream sundaes.

Ramazzotti Wines moved just a couple blocks north in Geyserville to 100 Schoolhouse Ln, Suite 110. If you’re hankering some heartier fare, Ramazzotti will be serving up BBQ brisket sliders to pair with their wine.

In case you missed it, Williamson Wines opened a rural tasting room at their Yoakim Bridge Estate, located at 7209 Dry Creek Road near the corner of Canyon Road. During Wine & Food Affair, savor the bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin with balsamic jam paired with Williamson’s wines. Williamson’s in-town locations will not be participating in Wine & Food Affair, but the picturesque Yoakim Bridge Estate is worth seeking out.

 

New Winery

The Wine Road has a few wineries that have only been around a year or two like ACTA, but there is also a winery that has just recently appeared on the scene. Overshine, located on Westside Road, opened their door this past summer. For Wine & Food Affair, Overshine is serving slow-smoked baby back ribs with peanut chipotle sauce paired with their wines. This might be a stop where you drink in the views along with the wines.

 

The Food

It goes without saying that you’ll find superb wines during Wine & Food Affair, but here are ten of the food pairings to tempt you to attend.

Food Pairings

Cabernet-infused Mini Beef Wellingtons with a Red Wine Reduction Glaze @ Bellacana Vineyards
Hearty Beef and Bean Chili @ due Ruscelli Vineyards
Coffee Dark Chocolate Bonbon @ EHRET Winery
Classic Danish Smørrebrød @ Leo Steen Wines
Sonoma Grown Cassoulet @ Longboard Vineyards
Maine Lobster White Cheddar Mac & Cheese topped with a Truffled Crostini aside a Fresh Seaweed Salad @ Pech Merle Winery
Red Wine Braised Beef Cheeks with a Potato Mash @ Pezzi King
Wine Country Winter Gumbo, with smoked Caggiano duck sausage, roasted pumpkin, and wild rice @ Ridge Vineyards Lytton Springs
Ahi Poke Wonton Crisp @ Russian River Vineyards
Braised Short Ribs with Creamy Polenta @ Soda Rock Barn

The food options go on and on, but no need to make you salivate. Check out the Wine & Food Affair weekend program to see the wineries and their delicious offerings.

Recipes

Not only do you get to taste so many fun food pairing options, but you’ll also have access to every recipe for each food item served during Wine & Food Affair!

One of the Wine Road website’s treasured offerings is a database of all the Wine & Food Affair recipes going back to 2013. This gold mine of recipes is housed in a database searchable by the contributing winery or lodging, by categories (like appetizers, main course, soups, desserts and more), by main ingredient, by wine pairing, by vegetarian or gluten free, or by year. If you attended in 2015 and want to review all the recipes from that year, a simple click in a dropdown list and you can view every recipe from that year.

Next time you’re looking for a great recipe to pair with a favorite Zinfandel, check out the extensive list of delicious options from the Wine & Food Affair recipe database.

 

Magnificent Wines, Superb Wines and Even More Stellar Wines

All of the above reasons for attending to Wine & Food Affair might be enough to entice you, but the top reason is always the wine. With so many options, a weekend really isn’t long enough to taste all the wines you want to experience and also drink in the views while sipping and relaxing. The options to come early, stay longer or come again soon are always on the table, too. With the cooler weather, Wine & Food Affair is also the perfect time to load up the car and restock your wine cellar for the holidays!

I hope to see you along the Wine Road on November 2^nd and 3^rd during the 26^th annual Wine & Food Affair, and as always . . .

Happy Sipping!