Overview The Kapalua Wine and Food Festival is a four-day wine weekend at Kapalua Resort on Maui, built on seminars led by Master Sommeliers and winemakers and closing on a Grand Tasting Gala at The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua, where hundreds of rare and hard-to-find wines are poured under the stars. It began in 1981, and 2026 was its 45th year; the festival bills itself as the longest-running wine and food festival in the country. Kapalua Resort covers 22,000 acres and holds The Ritz-Carlton and Montage Kapalua Bay among its hotels. On site The weekend opens on Thursday with a VIP welcome and trade networking. Friday through Sunday run tasting seminars, celebrity chef luncheons and demonstrations, a signature winemaker and chef dinner, private winemaker dinners and a Sunday brunch to close. The gala is a walkabout in the Aloha Garden Pavilion's Canoe Hale: Kapalua and Maui restaurants cook, premium spirits partners mix cocktails and mocktails, and Petrossian caviar sits beside Maui Gold Pineapple, Surfing Goat Dairy and Kuia Chocolate. In 2026 the program also carried a pickleball tournament poured by Whispering Angel, a Death and Co mixology pop-up and a sunset barbecue on the Beach House Lawn. All events are 21 and over. Audience The festival says 60% of its guests come from the mainland or abroad, and the dress codes tell the rest: resort casual for seminars, elevated resort wear for the gala. Wine and food enthusiasts share the weekend with trade purveyors and brand people, and national food, wine and travel press come to cover it, with Forbes, Wine Spectator, Robb Report and Conde Nast Traveler among past attendees. Talent and Influencers Past winemakers include Pierre Seillan of Verite, Giorgio Rivetti of La Spinetta, Bo Barrett of Chateau Montelena, Heidi Peterson Barrett, Philippe Melka and Tim Mondavi; past chefs include Charlie Palmer, Nancy Silverton, Michael Mina, Hubert Keller, Ming Tsai and Cat Cora. The 2026 bill had Maneet Chauhan, Antonia Lofaso and Bryan and Michael Voltaggio in the kitchens, a seminar paying tribute to Jean-Charles Boisset, and Master Sommeliers Steve Poe and Michael Jordan. Chef Edgar Ortiz of Taverna won Best of the Fest in 2026. Track record USA Today readers voted it the best food and wine festival in the country in 2020. The festival counted 32 press placements and 61.8 million media impressions for 2025. Kelly Knox of Southwest Airlines community outreach: "Southwest has been a proud sponsor of Kapalua Wine and Food Festival for five years. We've been able to grow awareness of our brand through pre-event digital assets and creative on-site activations." Proceeds fund scholarships in the University of Hawaii Maui College culinary arts program, along with Lahaina recovery groups and the Puu Kukui watershed. Brand presence Partnerships are built one at a time rather than sold off a fixed rate card: presenting positions on individual events, product integration and sampling, hosting and hospitality, and trade programming. In 2026 Southwest Airlines sponsored the Grand Tasting Gala as official airline, The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua was host hotel, and Petrossian served caviar on the gala floor; the House of Suntory, FIJI Water and Peroni were among the other 2026 partners.