Festival Events 2026

We brought back your favorite events and added some exciting changes for 2026!

JUMP TO:

Fri 9/04

Sat 9/05

Sun 9/06

Friday September 4, 2026

Utah Winery Founders' Dinner

NEW THIS YEAR!

Sponsored by the UTAH WINE TRAIL:

Come join us for a luxurious dinner with the men and women that own the wineries on the Utah Wine Trail and are the pioneers that started the modern wine industry in Utah. Share a meal, sip their wines, talk at leisure and hear their personal stories about how, and why, they answered the call to revive the once thriving Utah Wine Industry after its 150 year absence.

You will be greeted with appetizers as you arrive and invited to sip the wines specially selected for this portion of the evening. Relax and mingle as we take a few minutes to introduce the winery owners before we all sit down to beautiful surf and turf (or should be say Aqũa & terroir) meal of filet and lobster paired with more wines hand selected by the winery owners. Once dinner is done, you’ll enjoy a dessert table that encourages you to stretch your legs, enjoy some smooth jazz and visit with the winery owners, as well as some old friends and some new ones.

Secret Sip Society: A Festival Speakeasy

Arriving for the festival weekend but can’t get to the Founders’ Dinner? Come join I/G Winery’s mixologists and let them create the perfect 1920’s style cocktails in our little back yard speakeasy: a fun nod to the speakeasy era. Ask them to curate the ultimate cocktail made from Utah distilleries and see which one you like best. This is the perfect way to relax and unwind after the drive from Salt Lake, Las Vegas or where ever you’re coming from. There will also be some small bites compliments of Zest & Vine.

No ticket required, just be sure you find yourself behind I/G Winery around 7:30pm in order to join the fun. And don’t forget to bring your fedora.

Saturday September 5, 2026

Tracing Utah's Wines back to their birthplace: A comparative tasting of four wines.

Join European Master of Wine; Sheral Schowe, owner of the Wasatch Academy of Wine as she creates another master level class on the world of wines and how Utah wineries are putting their own style on the grape varietals that have found their way here from around the world. Sheral always creates fun and educational courses that promise to teach you something you didn’t know about wines.

This year she will be talking and tasting you through four different wines from Europe as you compare them side-by-side to the same varietals grown here in Utah.

Sheral’s classes are another event that sells out each year so get your tickets as soon as they are available.

Popcorn and Wine Pairing

Always A Fan Favorite!

Consistently our most requested event; hosted by longtime friend of the Festival, (to say nothing of Utah’s most entertaining wine instructor), Jim Santangelo, owner of the Wine Academy of Utah. Jim will walk you through this fun and frolicking wine pairing, using fresh popcorn in some fun flavors.

Be prepared to be absolutely amazed by what wine and popcorn can do together.

You Be The Judge (The Wine Judge)

This is the one and only wine competition in which professional judges will taste and rate Utah wines, but we have added a twist. You’ll sit with a professional judge, learn how they critique a wine, and then provide your own rating on each wine.

You’ll get your own score sheet, and rate the various wines in the competition right along with the pros. When all the wines are scored, the wineries will receive gold, sliver and bronze medals from the professionals but they will also receive the People’s Choice awards based on how their wines were scored by the other judges like you. If you have ever wanted to be a wine judge and have a say in how wines are rated, this is your chance!

Beehive Cheese Company, and Digby’s market will be providing a small pallet cleanser but we recommend having a hearty lunch before you arrive.

Terroir to Table Dinner

Join us for a unique dining experience under the open sky at Cedar’s famous Red Acre Farm CSA. The dinner will also include wine from local Utah wineries paired to perfection with the farm fresh cuisine prepared by Red Acre Farms owner and its Chef Sarah Patterson who will create the menu with ingredients dictated by what they have freshly harvested there at the farm.

There will be appetizers and hard ciders before we gather for a farm tour. Then, a sit-down dinner will be served family-style (or farm-style) and showing off the wonderful freshness and flavors of Red Acre. Discussion and questions from the guests will be encouraged and a tour of the farm is available if you would like to join the tour.

This is the dinner with a bushel-load of loyal fans that return every year, so if you want in, it is best to get tickets early.

The Odyssey: A Classic Greek Dinner

NEW THIS YEAR!

Step into a world where strangers become friends and friends are treated like family at the Odyssey Greek Dinner. Hosted by Chef and owner Aaron Diamond in the warm, open-air embrace of the East Patio and Lawn, this evening begins by honoring the classic Greek tradition of Filoxenia—the “love of the stranger”. As vintage Greek records spin softly in the background, you will indulge in a vibrant, heavy hors d’oeuvres experience designed for mingling and sharing. Guests can explore a lush Mediterranean grazing table and sample classic bites like spanakopita, dolmathes, and keftethes, all while watching chef Aaron prepare fresh chicken souvlakia at a live, interactive grilling station. Paired with refreshing meads and wines from Utah winemakers, it is a relaxed, celebratory prelude to an unforgettable night.

As the sun sets, the journey transitions into the rustic elegance of the Main Barn Hall for an intimate, communal feast. Seated at long, family-style tables enveloped by the soft melodies of a live guitarist, you will share a meal deeply rooted in heritage. The dinner features a crisp Greek Village Salad tossed in house-made Diamond Family dressing, followed by a spectacular main course of tender roasted lamb, lemon potatoes, and roasted Mediterranean vegetables sourced directly from the farm. Throughout the meal, wine host Jim Santangelo will guide you through thoughtful wine pairings and information about the winery from which it came. Interspersed throughout the dinner will be personal family stories and the cultural secrets behind each recipe are shared to enrich every bite as shared by Chef Aaron.

The magical evening concludes on the West Patio under soft lighting for dessert and social hour. Here, you can linger and connect over traditional Greek pastries—including rich, sweet baklava—accompanied by coffee service and premium cocktails (purchased separately) and dessert wines presented by IG Winery.

Each guest will receive a special take-away: The Diamond Family Cookbook; created by Heather Hill Farm & Farmhouse Kitchen, ensuring you can recreate the magic of the evening at home. Blending elevated yet approachable cuisine with deep cultural storytelling, this dinner is a true celebration of authenticity, hospitality, and charm.

Whiskey and Cigar Social (B.Y.O.C. – Bring Your Own Cigar)

Come join I/G Winery’s mixologists and let them to pour the perfect bourbon, scotch or rye whiskey, to pair with your cigar. You can also ask them to curate the ultimate cocktail that will be the perfect way to relax an unwind from all the days events. This is the best place to celebrate the start of Festival Weekend. There will also be some light snacks compliments of Beehive Cheese Company and Digby’s Market. No ticket required, just be sure you find yourself behind I/G Winery around 9pm in order to join the fun. And don’t forget to bring a cigar (or two)

Sunday September 6, 2026

Sunday Brunch

Come get your Sunday started with a light brunch paired with wine spritzers, Mimosa’s or a Bloody Mary, as the staff at I/G Winery does a quick demonstration of how they make their fantastic Bloody Mary drinks.

This brunch is just a light recharge before jumping into all the great events on Sunday.

Epicureans On The Edge Picnic

NEW EVENT & LOCATION!

Follow the winding curves of Dalton Wash Road in Virgin to Black Sage, where the mesas rise, the desert quiets, and an unforgettable brunch experience awaits. Hosted by Chef Charles Parcell, this intimate gathering invites guests to explore bold Appalachian-inspired cuisine through a refined, thoughtfully curated menu rooted in whole-animal cooking and seasonal ingredients.

The experience begins with an abundant gathering board (cheese, meat, fruit), artfully composed and designed for leisurely connection, before unfolding into a family-style brunch that celebrates both rustic tradition and elevated technique. Expect inspired dishes such as banana bread French toast, buttermilk biscuits with housemade cultured butter and jams, house-cured ham, old fashion crepples, seasonal quiche, and Appalachian-style cast iron potatoes, and other chef-driven creations that showcase depth of flavor, craftsmanship, and a sense of place.

Throughout the morning, guests will discover the artistry behind whole-animal utilization, the heritage and storytelling woven into Appalachian cooking, and the surprising harmony between brunch fare and Southwestern Utah wines.

Ciders, Meads, & the Non-Grape Wines of Utah

NEW DAY & TIME!

Explore a world of wine beyond the grapes. Join Utah fruit wine and mead makers Jay and Lori Yahne, of The Hive Winery & Spirits Company, for an in depth look at the incredible versatility and complexity of meads, hard ciders and wines made from some of your favorite fruits.

Come learn about the differences in meads (wine made from honey) and hard ciders and how different/or similar wines made from currants, peaches or even pears are from their grape wine cousins. Forget what you think you know about those cheap, sweet versions you may have tried in the past; instead come prepared to try these types of wines when they are created by professional winemakers.

The Grand Dinner

Prepare your palate for the crowning jewel of the Utah Wine Festival—the Grand Dinner.

This exclusive evening invites you into a world of culinary whimsy and sensory wonder from the mind of Chef Kevin Jerrold-Jones. Each course is a theatrical masterpiece designed to enchant, beginning with an amuse-bouche of a delicate borage blossom frozen in passion fruit gelee. From there, you will journey through avant-garde creations like “The Ice Fish”, featuring stuffed ahi tuna paired with a breathtaking trio of savory ice creams—and a vibrant, flame-kissed peach intermezzo that perfectly primes your senses for the spectacular main event.

The magic deepens with “Smoke Follows Beauty,” an exquisite dish of tender, braised Wagyu beef over velvety parsnip puree with garlic sautéed spinach, presented beneath a dramatic, aromatic smoke bubble. served with sun-dried tomato pesto, wagyu demi-glace and pickled red onions. The evening culminates in table side wizardry with the “Fire Fairy’s Orb,” a decadent chocolate shell melted before your eyes with flambé absinthe to reveal rich chocolate cake, house-made marshmallow, and salted caramel ganache. Complete with sophisticated passed appetizers and a luxurious parting gift of white chocolate, apricot, and pistachio, this dinner is far more than a meal—it is an unforgettable gastronomic fairy tale. As if this were not enough, each course is perfectly paired with wines produced by some of your favorite Utah Wineries.

Tickets are strictly limited for this ultimate celebration of wine and cuisine; secure yours tonight to ensure your place at the table.

Final After Dark Nightcap & Cigars

Come by the winery after your weekend of fun and debrief with a cocktail or a glass of wine and bring your cigar. Talk to friends and compare notes, remember the fun and the laughs, and start making your plans together for next year’s festival.