Here Are the Events You Can’t Miss at This Year’s Taste of Vail

If après-ski is the party you enjoy after a day of skiing, what do you call the party at the end of the ski season?

In the Vail Valley, one strong contender is the Taste of Vail. The 34-year-old food and wine festival takes place April 2–5, just two weeks before Vail Mountain’s projected closing day of April 20.

“It’s a grand finale that brings together an adventurous, food-loving community to celebrate in a way that only Vail can offer,” says Angela Mueller, executive director of the event for the last 13 years. “Taste of Vail stands apart because it’s more than just a food and wine festival. It’s a four-day celebration that highlights the very best of Vail’s culinary, wine, and iconic mountain lifestyle.”

This year’s event will host more than 50 winemakers from around the world. They’ll unveil their vintages during tastings, seminars, and pairing events both on and off the mountain. Many of Vail’s top restaurants and chefs are set to participate as well with cooking competitions, dinners, and other culinary events.

While many Coloradans associate après-ski with shot skis and Chambongs, Taste of Vail is all about whiling away the hours over several glasses of good wine. Of the participating wineries, the vast majority are U.S. producers, primarily from California—but there are also vintners from Oregon, Washington, and New York. Internationally, noted wine regions in France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain are represented.

But what’s more interesting than where the wines are from is who they send to represent the brand. “Unlike many festivals where distributors pour on behalf of wineries, Taste of Vail requires that a winemaker, owner, or an integral team member is present to personally share their wines with guests,” says Mueller. “This creates a deeper, more intimate tasting experience.”

The result is a good turnout from smaller, family-run wineries rarely found at similar food and wine galas. Festival events are scattered at venues throughout the town and even up on the mountain and require a separate registration for each one (although multi-event passes are also available), which can make navigating the schedule a bit challenging for the uninitiated. Luckily, we’ve done the research. Read on for the events you shouldn’t miss.

Debut of Rosé

• Where: Donovan Pavillion; 1600 South Frontage Road West, Vail
• When: April 2 from 3–6 p.m.
• Cost: Tickets start at $71

Rosé is often the first varietal offered in a wine flight, so it seems appropriate that this tasting of more than 100 rosés from around the world kicks off Taste of Vail. Go easy, though; remember the altitude and the three days of wine ahead of you.

Sonnenalp Opening Wine Dinner

• Where: Sonnenalp Hotel; 20 Vail Road, Vail
• When: April 2 from 2–6 p.m.
• Cost: Tickets start at $189

The festival’s opening wine dinner spans five courses (highlights include pasta aglio e olio, tempura barramundi, and bison tenderloin), each prepared by a different guest chef and paired with a specific wine—Colorado’s viticulture is represented by Denver-based Carboy Winery. While chefs from across the U.S. will be in attendance, local talent includes Irma Barrera and Joshua Marshall of the Sonnenalp, Alex Seidel of Denver’s Mercantile, and Jesse Maxwell of Vail’s Strubel.

Après Tasting & Chef Competition

• Where: The streets of Vail
• When: April 3 from 3–6 p.m.
• Cost: Tickets start at $114

The streets of Vail close to cars so that visitors can stroll a variety of sampling booths from participating wineries, distilleries, and breweries. Additionally, 22 chefs will compete in a culinary challenge, after which attendees vote for the People’s Choice award.

Mountaintop Tasting

• Where: Eagles Nest, accessible from the Eagle Bahn gondola base
• When: April 4 from noon–2:30 p.m.
• Cost: Tickets start at $295

Drinking wine in ski boots…what could go wrong? Vail’s Eagle’s Nest, at the top of the Eagle Banh gondola line, is the venue for this scenic sipping event at 10,350 feet. Attendees don’t need a ski pass to participate (the gondola and foot paths created just for the event are the flatlander’s friend). Bring an appetite, since there will be plenty to eat from the country’s culinary masters to go with a generous selection of international wines.

Best of the Best Grand Tasting

• Where: The Hythe; 715 West Lionshead Circle, Vail
• When: April 5 from 5–8 p.m.
• Cost: Tickets start at $325

The festival’s grand finale pulls out all the stops with a wealth of both food and wine. This is the big event that draws food and wine lovers from all over the U.S.—skiers or not. It’s also indoors, for those who prefer room temperature to the unpredictable great outdoors.

If you’re afriad you’ll get FOMO, splurge for the four-pack (from $885) that includes all of the above except the Sonnenalp wine dinner. New this year are VIP add-ons for both the four-pack and Debut of Rosé tastings. These “elevated experiences” include exclusive reserved seating with private chef service and premium wine selections, among other perks.

To take full advantage of the presence of notable winemakers, Taste of Vail offers several seminars to deep dive into the various wine regions attending. They include a side-by-side comparative tasting of bottles from Spain’s Ribera del Duero region and California’s Napa Valley, as well as regionally specific explorations of Paso Robles, Napa Valley, and Oregon’s Willamette Valley.

And stress not, ski bums. Mueller says the festival schedule is designed with you in mind. With a little advance planning, you can enjoy it all.

“Lifts open at 8:30 a.m., so if you’re up early, you can get a solid morning of skiing or snowboarding before transitioning to wine tastings,” she says, recommending an early beeline to the Back Bowls and then working your way toward the frontside (or just doing laps on Chair 4). The festival has even added a guided snowshoeing experience along Grouse Creek Trail on April 3, complete with a wine tasting (of course) and locally made eats.