Each summer, the Terranea Food and Wine Festival returns, and on Sunday, July 26, from noon to 4 PM, Southern California's culinary talent gathers once more at the edge of the Pacific. The drive in sets the tone. The road climbs through Palos Verdes, curving past wind-bent eucalyptus and bluffs gone gold with dry summer grass, the city thinning behind you with every turn. Then the ocean arrives all at once, hammered silver to the horizon, Catalina adrift in the afternoon haze, gulls wheeling over the cliffs. Those who know the peninsula understand that some drives are their own reward. This one ends with a chilled glass in hand and salt on the breeze.
An Afternoon at the Food and Wine Festival
No itinerary. No seating times. Live music drifts across the lawn while chefs finish plates in front of you, a last flourish of olive oil, a scatter of sea salt, and winemakers pour from their own bottles, near enough that a tasting turns into a conversation. Ask the vintner what she opens at home. Circle back for the dish you cannot stop thinking about. Compare notes with the stranger beside you who has just found theirs. From noon to 4 PM, the sun stays high over the water, the music carries, and the only decision is which table to visit next.
Where the Coast Sets the Table
Tasting stations spread across The Meadows and Palos Verdes Terrace, white linens lifting in the sea air, glassware catching the afternoon sun, the sound of the surf beneath the hum of the crowd. This year's tables include:
- Mar'sel, Bashi, Nelson's, and Catalina Kitchen, Terranea's home tables, spanning California fine dining, coastal Japanese, and oceanside classics
- The Little Door, nearly three decades of French-Mediterranean cooking built on seasonal, organic ingredients
- Jame Enoteca, Chef Jackson Kalb's El Segundo spot for hand-rolled pastas and market-driven regional Italian fare
- ¡Jaime! Taqueria, Kalb's California-Mexican taqueria, house-made tortillas and inventive tacos
- The Rex, where Executive Chef Walter Nunez cooks USDA Prime and Japanese Wagyu over white oak fire alongside California coast seafood
- Bruxie, home of the original Fried Chicken & Waffle Sandwich and artisan custard shakes
Joining them: Saint & Second, Japonica, Sushi Petushi, Miller Butler, Chachi's, Slice & Pint, and Wild Roots. The plates lean on what California grows and catches: produce pulled from nearby fields, seafood thoughtfully sourced, each bite bright with the season. By late afternoon, the lawn has become a portrait of how Southern California eats at its best.
A Pour for Every Plate
The glass keeps easy company with the table. More than 30 wines, craft beers, and premium spirits circulate through the afternoon, and the names carry weight. Williams Selyem, the Russian River producer prized for its pinot noirs. Grgich Hills Estate and its Napa chardonnay lineage. Silver Oak and Caymus Vineyards, two of the valley's most recognized cabernet houses. Nolet's Gin pours beside sparkling selections from Freixenet x Mionetto USA, and Bulleit Frontier Whiskey holds down the brown-spirits end of the afternoon. Pinot glowing garnet in the glass, sparkling wine catching the light, a cold craft beer between tastings. Taste broadly or return to the pour you cannot leave behind. The day allows for both.
Make a Weekend of It
When the last pour is made, let the coast keep you a little longer. Wake to the sound of the tide against the rocks, walk the bluff trails while the marine layer burns off, find the tide pools at low water, or trade the tasting glass for a morning at the 50,000-square-foot spa. With nine restaurants and lounges across the resort, the culinary weekend continues well past the last glass.
Join us for the Third Annual Terranea Food and Wine Festival, an afternoon where the food, the wine, and the coastline arrive at their best together. Book a stay over the festival day and receive a special ticket rate, available to add when you reserve your room. Valid on new bookings only. Explore event details, participating partners, and reserve your spot here.
