38th Annual Telluride Wine Festival: Overview, 6/27 – 6/30

12 Jun 38th Annual Telluride Wine Festival: Overview, 6/27 – 6/30

Telluride + great wines & food, the ultimate pairing. The 38th annual Telluride Wine Festival takes place Thursday, June 27 – Sunday, June 30. Tickets/passes are on sale now here. View schedule here. 

Mountainfilm and Telluride Bluegrass are festivals for folks. Both have reputations for a welcome-to-the-neighborhood feel. But the Telluride Wine Festival? Isn’t it all about a sleek, well-heeled fraternity, people who inhale audibly at the mere mention of the word “Bordeaux” paired in the same sentence as the words “Chateaux Lafite Rothschild.”

Them, not us?

Short answer: Not really.

The lowdown on this purportedly highbrow event is this: educational seminars, wine pairing dinners, Reserve and Grand, the 38th annual, Wine Festival has something for everyone. It is an intimate, four-day dive into wine and food for wine connoisseurs as well as grape newbies.

This year Wine Fest celebrates Colorado with local favorites, among them: Red Fox Cellars, Four Leaves, Vinne Ferra, Chill Switch Winery and The Storm Cellar. Select Wineries: Alpha Omega Collective, Aratás Winery, Bodega de Edgar, Carpenter Wine, Belharra, Canard, Chateau D’Esclans, J. Lohr Vineyards and Wines, Llamas Family Wines, Kinsella Estate, Oakville East Exposure, Tamber Bey Vineyards, Thirty Seven Winery, 2Hawk Winery, Turnbull, VGS Chateau Potelle, Zinke Winery, and two Champagne Houses–Laurent Perrier and Freixenent-Mionetto.

The list of Telluride Wine Fest 2019 presenters includes:

Bryan Dayton, Mixologist and restaurant owner in Denver/Boulder, voted “most-inspired bartender” and his chefs from Acorn, Ian Palazzola and Corrida chef Amos Watts.

Chef Bernard Guillas, The Marine Room, La Jolla, CA.

Tim Hanni, author, “Why You Like the Wines You Like”

Christopher Sawyer, World-renowned wine writer, international judge and “Sommelier to the Stars.”

Charlie Arturaola, World-class sommelier, corporate wine director, teacher, mentor, blogger and film star, awarded the esteemed title of ‘Wine Communicator.”

Bob Bath, Master Sommelier, wine educator for Alpha Omega Collective.

Chef James Reaux, Celebrated chef and restaurateur, Chophouse Restaurant, Hayesville, North Carolina.

Chef Will Nolan, Viceroy, Snowmass Restaurant.

Chef Nathan Dirnberger, CEO, Pineapple Republic, a hospitality company.

“What sets the Telluride Wine Festival apart is the emphasis on wine education and introducing wine consumers to world-class brands, winemakers, vintners, star chefs, and culinary delights rather than focusing on trade like other wine events. Telluride is also the oldest wine festival in the state,” explains Jill C. Brooke, festival coordinator.