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An Exclusive Food & Wine Fest in Kapalua

All festivals, regardless of purpose, put everything and everyone you want in one location. You get what you want, when you want it. You don’t have to wait, say, for your favorite bands to roll through town, because a good music fest will have booked them – just hopefully not at the same time. Hey, it happens.

Food and wine fests provide the same level of convenience and, yes, immediate gratification. Among other benefits, they save you from having to travel the country, and sometimes the world, seeking out your favorite wineries and eateries.  At a good food and wine fest, you can eat and drink your way around the world.

That’s exactly what the 32nd Annual Kapalua Wine & Food Festival allows guests to do. From June 6 to 9, the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua Resort will host a superstar lineup of chefs, sommeliers, cheese mongers, and wineries. Billed as one of the oldest events of its kind, the fest, which began in 1981, stands as a gourmand and oenophile’s dream. And it’s all in one place.

It’s also exclusive. According to the fest website, the guest list is limited to 3,500 “in order to maintain the highest quality and attract only an affluent audience. Consumers are able to sample the best wines and interact with prominent industry leaders in one of the most beautiful resort settings in the world.”

Four-day passes range from $675 to $750, and provide varying levels of access to its many participants, among them celebrity chef Nancy Oakes (Boulevard in San Francisco), master sommelier Chuck Furuya (D.K. Kodama and the DK Restaurants), and winemaker Michael Browne (Costa Browne Winery).