A celebration of wines and good food, the 28th annual Seeing Red Wine Festival will usher in fall with a curated set of events to delight your palate and senses.

Bud & Alley’s Waterfront Restaurant will festive kick off the four-day festival by hosting the highly-anticipated Vintner Dinner. This year’s Seeing Red Vintner dinner will be held throughout Bud & Alley’s Waterfront Restaurant on Thursday, November 8, 2018. A reception begins at 6:30 p.m. and dinner follows at 7 p.m.

Executive Chef David Bishop, who marks 11 years at Bud & Alley’s this year, will create a special four-course sea and farm-to-table harvest dinner paired with wines selected by Steven Lohr, CEO of J. Lohr Wineries.

In 1972, at the age of 10, Steve helped his father, Jerry Lohr, plant their first vineyards in Greenfield, in the Arroyo Seco appellation of Monterey County. From that point through high school, he often spent weekends working with his father in the vineyards and learning about winegrowing, which fostered his lifelong passion for viticulture.

After graduating from Stanford University with degrees in civil engineering and economics, Steve split his time between winegrowing, and designing and building high-end custom homes on the San Francisco Peninsula.

In 2003, he began to devote his full energy to J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines as the company’s Vice President of planning & development. In 2009, he was named Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer for J. Lohr Vineyards, and for the next four years oversaw the management and development of J. Lohr’s vineyards in Paso Robles, Monterey County and St. Helena.

Today, Steve continues to champion J. Lohr’s position as an industry leader. From the winery’s pioneering work in the area of viticultural research to its unveiling of the largest photovoltaic solar tracking array in the wine industry and its many industry and appellation-based policy initiatives, Steve works locally, nationally and internationally on behalf of his family’s winery and the broader wine industry.

Featured Lohr wines will include:

2016 Flume Crossing Sauvignon Blanc, Arroyo Seco, 2016 Arroyo Vista Chardonnay, Arroyo Seco, 2013 Highland’s Bench Pinot Nior, St. Lucia Highlands, 2014 Tower Road Petit Syrah, Paso Robles, 2014 J Lohr Signature Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles.

“Hosting special dinners like this personifies our mission of celebrating good food, good people and good times,” said Bud & Alley’s founder/owner Dave Rauschkolb. “This annual event is particularly special to us, because it was one of those organic events that took hold and the wine festival grew from there. For all of us here at Bud & Alley’s it’s all about gathering together and eating wonderful food and drink with great family and friends.”

The winner dinner is $195 per person and includes tax, fees, gratuities. Space is limited and reservations are required.

To reserve your place at the 2018 Seeing Red Vintner Dinner, call Bud & Alley’s Restaurant directly at 850-231-5900.

After the Vintner dinner, the event continues through the weekend. The Al Fresco Reserve Tasting is on Friday, Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. on Seaside’s Lyceum Lawn. Saturday, Nov. 10 the Grand Tasting is from 1 to 4 p.m. throughout Central Square in Seaside.  Sunday, Nov. 11 wraps up the weekend with a Celebration of Bubbles, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. in Ruskin Place. A portion of this year’s proceeds will benefit the Seaside Neighborhood School and the Seaside Institute.

Purchase tickets to each individual event online at seeingredwinefestival.com.

Here’s a timeline of the events scheduled during the festival:

Bud & Alley’s Wine Dinner Ft. J. Lohr
Thursday, November 8, 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Seeing Red Wine Festival festivities kick off Thursday, Nov. 8 with the Vintner’s Dinner at Bud & Alley’s restaurant featuring Steve Lohr from J. Lohr.

Reserved Seating now available, please email [email protected] or call 850-231-5900

Gulf Coast to Table Dinner – Ruskin Place
Friday, November 9, 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Friday brings an exciting, new-to-Seaside event—a farm/Gulf-to-table, sit down dinner featuring an elegant evening of locally sourced offerings paired perfectly by an excellent culinary team and complemented by live music under twinkling stars in Seaside—an exclusive event not to be missed.

The chef team will be Chef Jim Shirley and his James Beard House culinary team and Executive Chef Zachary Keaton of Bud & Alley’s Pizza Bar. Dinner will include seafood offerings, please contact the festival regarding any food allergies.

Grand Tasting – Downtown Seaside & Ruskin Place
Saturday, November 10, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Seaside’s Central Square will come alive with quality wines for tasting curated by Seaside’s own restaurants and eateries, hand-selected food offerings chosen by Seaside’s popular and well-known local chefs, as well as live music, and the opportunity to purchase wines on site.

VIP Attendees will have access to the VIP Tent starting at 12:30.

Celebration of Bubbles Brunch – Ruskin Place
Sunday, November 11, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Sunday wraps up the weekend with a Celebration of Bubbles, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. in Ruskin Place. Sparkling wine enthusiasts will explore Champagne, Cava, Prosecco and more, alongside a perfectly paired menu from Chef Jim Shirley.

A portion of this year’s proceeds will benefit the Seaside Neighborhood School and the Seaside Institute.

To learn more or to purchase tickets, visit Seeing Red Wine Festival.