San Diego Special Wine Tastings Dinners Winemaker Events Gayot

May 17
Guests at the Wine, Brews & Blues Festival will enjoy samplings from 50 wineries, six microbrews and five bands, which will play on two stages. Food is provided by local restaurants and caterers. Some of the wineries participating include Wilson Creek Winery & Vineyards, Fallbrook Winery and San Pasqual Winery. There will also be dancing and a large silent auction. The event will take place 4 p.m.-10 p.m., and tickets cost $50 each. For more information, visit www.bonsallrotary.com or call 800-456-4465. California Center for the Arts-Escondido, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido, CA 92025, 800-456-4465.

November 12-16
The 5th Annual San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival features wine dinners, cooking classes by celebrity and local chefs, live and silent auctions and more. Wednesday kicks off with a “Winerave.” Thursday and Friday will bring cooking classes and special dinners. Friday afternoon will feature a celebrity chef luncheon and live auction while evening attendees will enjoy tasting reserve wines. The highlight of this festival will be The Grand Event on Saturday, an elegant afternoon with a chance to try the offerings of more than 160 wineries and spirit producers, 60 of San Diego's top restaurants, gourmet food producers and festival exhibitors. All classes and events are priced separately; packages are also available. For more information visit www.worldofwineevents.com. Embarcadero Park North (Marina Park), W. Harbor Dr. & Kettner Blvd., San Diego, CA 92101, 619-342-7337.

Ongoing
Join Blanca’s sommelier Cory Hagan daily from 5:30-6:30 p.m. and again at 9:00-10.00 p.m. for half-priced appetizers, drinks and wine flights. Or try corkage-free Sundays and Wednesdays and a special half-priced wine list. Blanca, 437 S. Highway 101, Solana Beach, CA 92075, 858-792-0072.

Ongoing
Avenue 5 Restaurant & Bar is offering a variety of specials, including an extended happy hour (now from 5 p.m.-7 p.m. Tues.-Sat.), weekly specials and a pre- or post-theater dinner offer of three-course meals with complimentary Champagne for $40 (with night-of-show ticket presentation). On Tuesdays, wine pairings are complimentary with the tasting menu ($30 value). Wednesdays offer half off selected bottles of wine. On Thursdays, buy one bottle of wine and get the second one half off. No corkage fee on Sundays. Avenue 5 Restaurant & Bar, 2760 Fifth Ave., San Diego, CA 92103, 619-542-0394.

Ongoing
Addison at The Grand Del Mar in North San Diego offers its “Perfect Wines for Your Perfect Match” program. Explore the restaurant’s 10,000-bottle wine collection with head sommelier Jesse Rodriguez in a full day of customized intensive tastings and tours. The $500 fee includes a lavish six-course meal for two prepared by chef William Bradley and intensive interactive sessions with both sommelier Rodriguez and a boutique winemaker. For more information, visit www.thegranddelmar.com. Addison, The Grand Del Mar, 5200 Grand Del Mar Way, San Diego, CA 92130, 858-314-1900.

Mondays
Delight in Monday night wine tastings at the Cask Room from 5:30 p.m-10 p.m. Try a 2.0 ounce pour of five different wines; selection varies from week to week. $12 per person. Cask Room, 550 Park Blvd., San Diego, CA 92101, 619-822-1606.

Mondays
Every Monday, The Shores offers 50% off house bottles of wine by La Terre from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. A new menu of wine flights is also being featured during lunch and dinner, with a variety of three ounce pours of three different wines. And kids won’t feel left out with a milk tasting including chocolate, strawberry and plain. The Shores, Hotel La Jolla at the Shores, 8110 Camino del Oro, La Jolla, CA 92037, 858-456-0600.

Fridays-Sundays
Enjoy two- and three-course afternoon tea service at The Grand Del Mar, complete with Bernardaud china and Italian linens. Offerings include tea sandwiches (egg salad and bacon; smoked chicken salad; smoked salmon and dill), balsamic mushroom tarts, scones (one traditional and one seasonally inspired flavor) and pastries, such as fruit tarts, orange madeleines, cherry bombs and éclairs. The menu also includes a selection of wines, including Billecart-Salmon, Rosé, Brut, Mareuil-sur-Ay; Dow’s Tawny 20 Year Old Port; and sherry and dessert wines such as A. Margaine, ‘Demi-Sec,’ Villers Marmery. Afternoon tea is served Friday-Sunday, from 2 p.m.-4 p.m. Tea service starts at $28 for two courses and $36 for three courses. For reservations, please call 858-314-1988. In the Library (adjacent to the Lobby Lounge), The Grand Del Mar, 5300 Grand Del Mar Court, San Diego, CA 92130, 858-314-1988.

Fridays
Enjoy appetizers and wine tastings each Friday night from 5:30 p.m.-8 p.m. at Wine Street. The charge is typically $20. For more information, visit www.winestreet.com. Wine Street, 6986 El Camino Real, Ste. D., Carlsbad, CA 92009, 760-431-8455.

Second Saturdays
Falkner Winery in the Temecula Valley has streamlined their wine appreciation program. A new, single wine appreciation class replaces their introductory and advanced classes and is open to interested individuals at all levels. The new class preserves the best features of the former curriculum, including information about wine tasting, wine production, wine and food pairing and wine quality determination. All classes include tours of the vineyard and production facility as well as comparisons of Temecula Valley wines with regions throughout California. The four-hour class, held the second Saturday of every month, begins at 10:30 a.m. Cost is $35 per person. To register, contact the winery at 951-676-8231 or visit falknerwinery.com. Falkner Winery, 40620 Calle Contento, Temecula, CA 92591, 951-676-8231.

Saturdays
Belle Marie Winery hosts free winery tours every Saturday. Tastings available; call 760-796-7557 or visit www.bellemarie.com. Belle Marie Winery, 26312 Mesa Rock Rd, Escondido, CA 92026, 760-796-7557.