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Big Sur Food & Wine Tickets on Sale—and Selling Like (Mini Blini) Hot Cakes

Even though tickets just went on sale a week ago tomorrow, Big Sur Food & Wine has already sold out two of its events.

Tickets have already gone bye bye for the rambling, private-residence-wandering Magical Mystery Tour and Hiking With Stemware on the Rancho Rico/Chappellet property, thanks in part to calls coming from North Carolina, Texas, Alabama and Arizona.

“It just goes to show that despite the downturn, there are still people who wish to travel for unique experiences amongst the company of friends, old and new, and to see Big Sur in a light that is exceptionally elusive, especially when you're talking about being on rare, private properties,” BSF&W big Roquefort Toby Rowland-Jones says. “I actually have a feeling that we could expand this event, somehow by almost double, and we'd still have a sell-out! Trouble is, so few rooms here are available.”

It also goes to show how real the familial feeling and sky-scraping flavors can be down South. As I wrote after last year, "There was a rare feeling permeating every bottle, smile and snack at the extensive lineup that constituted the second annual Big Sur Food & Wine this weekend past: a kind of camaraderie that comes from close affiliation with our area’s tastemakers and an abiding affection for the goods they give us."

Gifted and gregarious wine minds like (from left, Gary and Rosella Franscioni and Gary Pisoni) are a big part of that. Click here for a list of the Justins, Bonny Doons, ROARs and other 2011 participating wineries.

So are only-on-the-South-Coast artisans like former Esalen master chef Charlie Casio, who did this remarkable goat cheese on his own land.

And wine-friendly chefs who know wine-friendly foods, like Mundaka's Exec Chef Brandon Miller.

The Grand Tasting was a particularly robust value a year ago. The panels were packed. The opening and closing blowouts were beauties.

This year more fresh fun is already cooking. One of the new events: Swine and Wine.

"Jonathan Roberts aka PigWizard, will be doing a demonstration of how to butcher a pig, on the stage at Henry Miller Library," Rowland-Jones says. "We will have about 10 wineries, four chef stations, music and wild shenanigans. A lot of people have already signed up for this already, and we'll sell this out at 150 guests..."

For tickets call 869-1341 or visit www.bigsurfoodandwine.org.