Palm Desert Food + Wine Fest Kicks Off This Week With Beer Tastings, Seminars

The Food + Wine Festival in Palm Desert, which starts Friday, will include craft beer tastings and seminars this year.

The festival runs through Sunday and coincides with the last two days of Fashion Week El Paseo. Both events are held on Larkspur Lane between El Paseo and Shadow Mountain Drive.

The Food + Wine Festival starts with a four-course luncheon Friday featuring James Beard-recognized chefs and wine pairings. The annual James Beard Awards are considered the food and beverage industry's highest honor.

Chef demonstrations and book signings, wine and beer tastings and seminars and "grand tastings" are Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday's grand tasting is themed "California Dreamin" and highlights local chefs, wineries and brewers. Sunday's grand tasting is "Brunch, Bubbles, and Brews." The grand tastings are $75 each and include chef demonstrations.

Breweries represented at the festival include local establishments Babe's Bar-B-Que and Brewhouse, Coachella Valley Brewing Company and La Quinta Brewing Company.

The festival benefits the James Beard Foundation, Les Dames d'Escoffier and the Culinary Institute of America.

For information, event schedule and tickets, go to http://palmdesertfoodandwine.com.

– City News Service.