Overview The California Wine Festival is a touring wine weekend that sets up in Southern California beach towns, each stop pairing a Friday-night Sunset Rare and Reserve Tasting of hard-to-find trophy wines with a Saturday afternoon tasting overlooking the beach. In 2025 each stop poured close to 250 wines from more than 70 wineries beside 30 fine-dining restaurants, gourmet food companies and lifestyle exhibitors, and the series ran in Dana Point, Carlsbad, Santa Barbara and Huntington Beach. It was founded in 2004, and 2025 was its 22nd year. A portion of net proceeds goes to a local charity at each stop; the 2025 partners were Golden Rule Charity, the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County and Sandy Feet OC. On site The Friday tasting runs 6:30 to 9 p.m. at a resort hotel: in 2025, the Laguna Cliffs Marriott, Park Hyatt Aviara, the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort and the Paséa Hotel and Spa. It opens with a sparkling-wine reception, then pours tasting-room exclusives and limited-production wines while regional chefs pass hot and cold appetizers and a band plays; guests come in resort wear. Saturday's Beachside Wine Festival runs 1 to 4 p.m., from noon for VIPs, in 2025 at Sea Terrace Park in Dana Point, Chase Palm Park's Great Meadow in Santa Barbara and the resort grounds in Carlsbad and Huntington Beach, with regional craft beer, cheeses, breads, olive oils, shellfish and chocolate beside the wine, a live band, and chef demos. Audience Many guests travel in and stay over. At the 2025 stops, 47 to 69 percent of visitors came from more than 25 miles away, the high in Santa Barbara, and 34 to 43 percent paid for lodging, for an average of two nights. Out-of-town guests spent $330 to $425 a head during their stay, not counting the room. The top visiting states ran from Arizona, Oregon and Texas at Dana Point to Colorado, New York and Nevada at Carlsbad. Brand presence Corporate sponsors host their own hospitality pavilions at the Saturday festival, up to about 20 by 60 feet for the title sponsor, whose name goes into the event title, and take table space at the Friday tasting. Smaller levels buy an exhibit booth on the Saturday site. Every level puts a logo across the festival's print, online, program and poster promotion, a campaign that starts six months out, and an ad in the on-site program; upper levels add a co-branded e-blast and placement in the monthly newsletter. In-kind product can be combined with cash to reach a higher level.