Gastrovino Todos Santos 2019

Good morning, today I want to take you to live the amazing experience I had the pleasure of enjoying this past weekend in Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, only 66 miles away from Royal Solaris Los Cabos.

The 8th edition of the Gastrovino Festival, and what would that be you may ask yourself, well it's very simple it's a festival of Vineyards and Restaurants from the Zone.

This Festival was held from May 17 - 19 in Todos Santos, a small town, that has a 40 % community of people from the USA and Canada.

As you know the best zone to cultivate wine is the Californias, either is in the USA or in Mexico, there are literally hundreds of vineyards, that create the most delicious wines in the world, either is red, white, Pink wine or frutal, you can find them all.

Well the Gastrovino allows you to taste them all in one place, and I'm going to tell you a bit more about what I enjoyed over the weekend at the festival:

Friday, May 17th

The kickstart of this Festival was a VIP sunset party for all the Winemakers and chefs that were invited to present their products on the weekend, and they were taken to the Mirador Restaurant with exceptional guest Chefs Frankie Terzoli & Marina Garnica who prepared a special culinary dinner for them, while they enjoy a selection of Mexican Wines.

Saturday, May 18th

Saturday the event also started before sunset with a very cool concept, the attendance was given a local map of the Restaurants that participated, who were paired with a local Wine cellar company, to make specific dishes that combine with their wines, over 10 restaurants were visited in the Gastro -tour.

Since not all the people could be in a restaurant at the same time, each group of people visited one. In the end, everyone gathered at the Hotel California emporium, for the party, continue having some more wine, and enjoy the night with the music over a full moon.

Sunday, May 19th

The closing of the event came on Sunday, on Todos Santos Main, just in front of the church, The doors open at 2 pm, where over 1200 people gathered to enjoy the culinary delights of over 30 local restaurants and a couple from Los Cabos and El Triunfo and almost 20 winemakers from the region, the entrance fee was only $40 and as I told you, well worth it, first they gave me an engraved 18 oz. cup of wine, where we can enjoy the testing, then a card, with 7 free samples of wines, and 5 free samples of food.

The Whole plaza was surrounded by different expositions, either food or wine, no specific order, where you could enjoy delights form pastries and cheeses, to Pizzas, sushi, Paellas, and Bbq.

Theme

Everything revolved around a Circus Atmosphere with a photo booth, performers and colorful decorations, the show was called the circus of Senses, where the performers and musicians enlighten the mood of this carnival and festivities overall. The cast was from Fabula Danza, and the music by Todos Santos Jazz Band.

The wineries that attended where :

Alximia, alegravida, cava maciel, Clos de tres cantos, El Cielo, vinart, tres pies, Xecue, Valle vino girl, vinos shimul, cataviña, Sala Finca vive, rancho la venta, solar fortun, md vinos, Casa de Piedra, Besame mucho. Aborigen vinos, And a beer company Baja Brewing Co. who was also a sponsor.

The Restaurants : Derek´s sushi, don Sanchez , El Che, el refugio, Gallo azul, mirador by guaycura, Jazamango, Tre galline, hotel california, la casita, Landi´s , la santeña , las tres virgenes, pura vida, steinbeck´s, la copa todos santos inn, romantic pizzeria, bleue, la jardinera, lucky23, santos pecados, Benno, la palapa del sabor, Luz Azul ostiones, Aguacate Fish, El huizache,taller 17 , el minero del triunfo.

Silent Auction

Each Year there is a Silent Auction is done, to gather funds for different organizations, this year the money gained is going to the Padrino children's foundation.

In this auction, you could find different art pieces, done by painters there, or donated by the various Art galleries from town.

The After Party was done at the Skybar at Hotel Guaycura with a Live DJ, and the festivities of the people dancing the night away.

Without a doubt this is a Festival worth going to, as you can learn a lot about wines, and meet some cool people in the process, also taste the culinary delights that's Todos Santos has to offer, and really close by the Royal Solaris los Cabos hotel, as its only an hour long drive, hope to see you next year in the Gastrovino Festival.