If you have ever tried to choose between the Grand Tasting and the Grand Fiesta, 2026 solves it for you: both land at Embarcadero Marina Park North on back-to-back days. The San Diego Food + Wine Festival returns November 1–8, 2026 for its 22nd year, with a rebuilt Grand Weekend, four new culinary districts, and a first wave of chefs that stretches from Los Angeles to Valle de Guadalupe.
Tickets for individual events and weekend packages are on sale now. Here’s what’s actually worth planning around.
The Grand Weekend, day by day
Friday, November 6 — Icons + Legends at JULEP Venue
Opening night is a new event built around the chefs, wineries and spirits producers who shaped the current scene. Expect tasting plates paired with heavily awarded wines, rare bottles and spirits, with the chefs and winemakers pouring alongside you.
Saturday, November 7 — Grand Tasting at Embarcadero Marina Park North
This is the event the festival was built on, back on the downtown waterfront. On the schedule: Live Fire VIP experiences, Cohn Restaurant Group’s “Cohnchella,” One World Beef’s Brandt Experience, live music, and pours from Temecula Valley, Sonoma, Lake County and international producers.
There’s also the Chef of the Fest Competition, where chefs cook for your vote. The winner takes the 2026 People’s Choice title, a plaque, and up to $5,000 in cash and prizes.
Sunday, November 8 — Grand Fiesta at Embarcadero Marina Park North
For the first time, Grand Fiesta shares the Embarcadero with the Grand Tasting instead of moving to a separate venue. The Baja side of the festival gets bigger: more Michelin-recognized and Bocuse d’Or chefs from Mexico, a wider range of Baja wines and spirits, an expanded VIP area, and the return of Taco TKO.
The new culinary districts
Rather than one long row of tasting tables, the Grand Weekend is being broken into neighborhoods you wander through:
- Smoke + Fire — live-fire cooking with premium proteins, hosted by a Food Network star and pitmaster to be announced.
- Sweet Street — pastry, desserts and coffee, hosted by Kareem “Mr. Bake” Queeman.
- So San Diego — local indie food, arts and culture.
- South of the Border — Baja and Mexican winemakers, regional producers and border-region traditions.
- Street Feast — an Asian night-market-inspired version on Saturday, and Mercado, a Mexican marketplace of emerging brands, street food and artisan goods, on Sunday.
Across the week, organizers say more than 800 wines and spirits will be poured, from Paso Robles, Lodi, Napa, Sonoma, Santa Rita Hills, Sierra Foothills and San Diego County to Baja, Spain, France, Slovenia, New Zealand and Georgia. There are also whiskey tastings, tequila and mezcal sessions, and low- and no-alcohol options.
First wave of chefs
The lineup leans hard into Latin, Asian and BIPOC talent from both sides of the border. Names announced so far include:
- San Diego and North County: Tara Monsod (Animae, Le Coq), Aidan Owens (Herb & Wood, Herb & Sea), Danny and Dante Romero (Two Ducks, The Lion’s Share), Bernard Guillas, Aron Schwartz (Blank Slate), Eric Bost (Jeune et Jolie, Lilo), and Roberto Alcocer of Valle in Oceanside.
- Baja: Javier Plascencia, Miguel Ángel Guerrero, Marcelo Hisaki, José Luis Hinostroza, and Sabina Bandera of La Guerrerense in Ensenada.
- Visiting: Joe Sasto, Maynard Llera (Kuya Lord), Susan Bae (Moon Rabbit), Suzette Gresham (Acquerello), James Trees, Matt Vawter, Gale Gand, David Sim (Kingfisher), Kareem “Mr. Bake” Queeman, and sommelier Cha McCoy.
More chefs, sommeliers and winemakers will be added over the coming months.
Dinners and side trips worth booking early
- Sunday, Nov. 1 — Día de los Muertos Gala, Fairmont Grand Del Mar. Fourth year, honoring José Andrés of World Central Kitchen, with Javier Plascencia, Roberto Alcocer, Drew Deckman and Esteban Luis cooking. Proceeds go to Fundación Tijuana Sin Hambre, which delivers 3,500 meals a day to 40 shelters in the Tijuana region.
- Thursday, Nov. 5 — Romesco Mexiterranean Bistro 20th anniversary dinner, with Javier Plascencia and guest chefs.
- Thursday, Nov. 5 — Legacy of the Land Dinner, Fairmont Grand Del Mar. A multi-course dinner built around San Diego County produce; the county has more small farms than any other in the country.
- Thursday, Nov. 5 — Baja Culinary Expedition. An all-inclusive cross-border day in Valle de Guadalupe hosted by Baja Wine + Food founder Fernando Gaxiola, including a private tasting at Baja’s oldest winery.
- Friday, Nov. 6 — Bevan Cellars Wine Lunch at Mister A’s. A five-course lunch above Balboa Park paired with Russell Bevan’s Napa Cabernet.
Where the food goes afterward
The festival is expanding its food recovery program this year, led by Ken Baker of Rethink Food and built with the San Diego Food Bank’s distribution network, to move surplus prepared food to San Diegans facing food insecurity. The festival also funds culinary, wine and hospitality scholarships and grants, and says it has awarded more than $600,000 to date.
Why the format changed
“The San Diego Food + Wine Festival has always been more than a celebration—it’s a statement about who we are as a region. This year, we’re taking that further than ever: a fully reimagined Grand Weekend along the Embarcadero, new culinary districts that invite real discovery and a lineup that reflects the incredible diversity of cultures, traditions and talent that define Southern California and Baja. After 22 years, the thing that excites me most is that we’re still evolving and still finding new ways to champion local farmers, celebrate sustainability and bring the world’s best to our own backyard.” — Michelle Metter, SDFW co-founder
The festival draws more than 11,000 people from the U.S., Mexico and beyond. Southwest Airlines returns as the official airline and presenting sponsor of both Embarcadero days; other partners include Brandt Beef, Temecula Valley Winegrowers, Devil’s Grin Gin, El Faro Seafood, the Consulate of Mexico and Baja California Tourism.
Ticket details, hotel partner packages and the full schedule are on the festival website; updates run through @sdfoodwine on Instagram.