Update March 2023:
The Taste of Vail is April 5-8, 2023. It is considered one of the nation’s premier food and wine festivals, however, that’s not the reason you should go. Here’s why you should attend the Taste of Vail this year.
1. Pick your own adventure at the Taste of Vail
You get to pick and choose what to do. It’s like a Pick Your Own Adventure Game for foodies and wine lovers. The signature events are Debut of Rosé, Niman Ranch Pork Challenge & Apés Tasting (formerly The American Lamb Cook-off), The Mountain Top Picnic and The Grand Tasting. You can attend all four or simply cherry-pick the events you’d like to attend.
See the full schedule and start planning your Taste of Vail adventure today.

2. Learn stuff at the Taste of Vail
In addition to the four signature events that will tickle your taste buds, there are a variety of seminars to attend. Plus, this year, there’s All Things Tequila In One Bottle: Penta Tequila seminar. I am aware this tequila is not wine, however, Ryan is a bit of a tequila connoisseur, so this should be a good one.
I am personally excited about the Three Ways To ROSE seminar, by a female winery maker from the Willamette Valley in Oregon. They will bring back A Taste of Colorado Wine, which I highly recommend. It was my favorite seminar last year. You can also learn about various types of wines or wine regions, caviars, wine glasses or join in an in-depth discussion about the wine industry.
See the schedule of this year’s seminars here.
3. Meet the winemakers at the Taste of Vail
Nearly 30 chefs and 30 countries are going to be represented at Taste of Vail this year and it gets better (if that’s even possible). One thing that sets this event apart from others is that you literally rub shoulder with some of this country’s top winemakers.
RELATED: Five Reasons to Love Vail
If this sound intimidating, it isn’t. When I attend each year, I find every winemaker to be approachable and more than willing to chat about their wine. These folks are not wine snobs, they are wine lovers and there’s a big difference between the two. In the past, I have found that the best place to shoot the breeze with winemakers was at The Mountain Top Picnic.
4. There is so much wine at Taste of Vail (so, so much)
With more than 50 of the country’s top wineries bringing all their wine to Vail, the town becomes an ocean of wine during this festival. I triple dog dare you to try to taste them all.
5. The food at Taste of Vail
Vail is a foodie’s delight and you won’t find a bad meal in this town. More than 30 of Vail’s restaurants participate in this event. That means a delicious morsel is always just a food station away.

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Perhaps the sixth reason would be that the Taste of Vail is in Vail and this place rocks. While best known for skiing, Vail has an amazing food scene. It makes a great weekend getaway even if you aren’t a skier. Be sure to read my post, “Things to do in Vail when you’re not skiing“ before you head up.
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