The Kapalua Wine & Food Festival is a great way to combine a beautiful travel destination with delicious food, the opportunity to drink fabulous wine and meet the chefs and winemakers behind it all. Through Real Food Traveler, I was fortunate enough to attend the 42nd annual edition of this iconic event. Here’s a glimpse into what it was like and why you’ll want to make plans to go in the future.

Save this article to Pinterest to help you make plans to attend next year’s Kapalua Wine & Food Festival in Maui. Images and graphic by Courtney Drake-McDonough, RealFoodTraveler.com.

 What to Expect from the Kapalua Wine & Food Festival

During a series of tasting and dining events, attendees learn more about food and wine and then put that knowledge to the test.

The host of the festival was Michael Jordan, MS, CWE – “Sommelier of the People.” Those credentials stand for Master Sommelier and Certified Wine Educator! He’s only one of 15 people in the world to hold both certifications. He’s a five-time Sommelier of the Year and veteran restaurateur who is so down-to-earth and warm, he removes any pretense of wine while simultaneously reveling in the wonder of it. He was a pleasure to be around at each event. His enthusiasm and love for the subject matter, and the people behind, it was contagious.

Michael Jordan, Master Sommelier and Certified Wine Expert, was host of the Kapalua Wine & Food Festival. Photo courtesy Kapalua Wine & Food Festival.

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The Wine and Winemakers:

There was a series of interactive tasting seminars, each with a panel of winemakers. Examples include:

“European Wine Tour’‘ with guests from three renowned international wineries: Château de Pommard in Burgundy, France; Cantine Bava in Piemonte, Italy and Gusbourne in Great Britain. The panel was made up of Master Sommeliers Josh Orr and Michael Jordan, Broadbent Selections’ Christopher Lavin who represented Gusbourne, and winemaker Benoit Dury from Château de Pommard.

“Ladies of the West” featured three top female winemakers from the west coast who showcased some of their wines from Napa Valley, Sonoma Coast, and Santa Ynez Valley. The panelists were Kristy Melton of Freemark Abbey, Cleo Pahlmeyer of Wayfarer, and Kathy Joseph of Fiddlehead Cellars.

“‘California Dreamin’ – The Brotherhood of Eternal Pino” was a panel of three winemakers who are known for their humility and kindness as well as their California wines. This panel was comprised of Greg Brewer of Brewer-Clifton/Diatom/Ex Post Facto, Jeff Stewart of the Hartford Family Wines, and James Ontiveros of Ranchos de Ontiveros and Native 9.

Daily wine tastings were part of the panelist seminars throughout the Festival.

“A Lifetime of Achievement with Pierre Seillan” was one of the first events and was very memorable. Seillan, whom I was completely unfamiliar with, I’ll admit, is an international winemaker who has made thirty different 100 point wines. What does that mean? Don’t worry, I had to look it up to be able to tell you: Wine Spectator magazine tasters review wines on a 100-point scale with 95-100 meaning its “Classic,” a great wine. Below that is “Outstanding,” “Very Good,” and “Mediocre.” So thirty 100 point wines is a huge accomplishment.

In the intimate format of the Kapalua Wine & Food Festival, you get to mix and mingle with the winemakers. I had the pleasure of sitting next to Mr. Seillan and his daughter, a famed winemaker in her own right, Helene Seillan, at the Kapalua Signature Winemaker Dinner, one of the events of the Festival. I also had the opportunity to meet other winemakers and sommeliers. It’s a very warm, approachable vibe.

Winemaker Pierre Seillan, accompanied by his daughter, also a winemaker, Helene Seillan, received an award for “A Lifetime of Achievement” at the Kapalua Wine & Food Festival.

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The Food, the Chefs, the Events:

There are several wine AND food events that happen throughout the course of the Festival, primarily paired dinners with specific winemakers. Each provided an opportunity to enjoy cuisine using locally-sourced ingredients wherever possible. Those dining opportunities occurred at various Festival events.

In addition to the seminars and wine and food pairing events that occurred throughout Kapalua, there were two events that were highlights of this year’s Kapalua WIne & Food Festival. The Signature Winemaker Dinner, was held in the Ulana Terrace restaurant within the Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua. I didn’t know who to “fan-girl” over more, the winemakers with whom I was dining and sipping or the chefs (TOP CHEF ALUMNI Edward Lee, Kelsey Barnard Clark, Sheldon Simeon, Master Sushi Chef Tsukasa Okino and The Ritz-Carlton’s own George Vanyi). Course after course, each chef introduced what they had prepared that had been expertly paired with one of the wines by winemakers in attendance, who also spoke. Those winemakers included Pierre Seillan representing his Verite wines, Greg Brewer of Ex Post Facto, Jeff Stewart of Hartford Court, and Cleo Pahlmeyer of Wayfarer Vineyard. It was an artistic, delicious, filling, and joyful dining experience.

Roasted Pork Belly with mushroom, barley, and prune mui by Chef Sheldon Simeon.

Host Michael Jordan, left, introduces winemaker Greg Brewer of Ex Post Facto at the Kapalua Signature Winemaker Dinner.

Playing off the flavors of the popular southern cocktail, Chef Kelsey Barnard Clark created the “Bushwacker” dessert with Gianduja chocolate cake, coconut rum ganache, cocoa nib brittle and banana brown sugar ice cream.

The main event, returning for the first time since 2019, the beloved Grand Tasting Gala, was held in the Ritz-Carlton’s newly renovated Aloha Garden Pavilion. The covered, but open-air structure kept us sheltered but allowed for cooling ocean breezes. Guests got to enjoy premium wines from around the world and chatting with the winemakers (even more opportunities to connect with them), and to enjoy bites from award-winning Kapalua Resort restaurants including Banyan Tree, Cane & Canoe, Merriman’s, Plantation House, Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar and Taverna.

The crowd enjoyed food, drink, and dancing to live music at the Kapalua Wine & Food Festival’s Grand Tasting Gala event.

There were also specialty food purveyors including the famed Petrossian Caviar, Hua Momona Farms, Maui Gold Pineapple Company, Maui Cookie Lab’s mobile cookie cart, and Oysters Hawaii. It was a great way to get to know some of the local restaurants, taste foods that showed off some of the best ingredients from Maui’s purveyors.

Hua Momona Farms prepared this stunning carrot and dill sampling.

Petrossian Caviar’s table was extremely popular at the Grand Tasting. They also gave a very informative tasting/pairing seminar the next day.

Our VIP/4-Day Passholder level of tickets enabled us to take our plates and glasses out to the garden adjacent to the Pavilion.

Plentiful tastes of food and wine were delicious and in a beautiful setting during the Grand Tasting Gala at The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua.

The location:

First of all, Maui (fabulous), then, more specifically, at the world-renowned Kapalua Resort (beautiful), which is a neighborhood of restaurants, shops, lodging options, spas, golf, and more, all between the summit of “Pu’u Kukui in the West Maui Mountains, the Pacific Ocean, and two nature preserves. In particular, The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua, the gorgeous host resort, is a great homebase and, with most events happening there, very convenient. Read more about the property below.

Who should go?

Well, let me put some personal perspective to that question. Before attending the Festival, I knew only a passing amount about wine. I knew next-to-nothing about caviar. But I knew quite a bit about food.

I was at each event with people who knew less than me and definitely people who knew much more. But I didn’t feel intimidated at all and nothing felt “over my head.” The more I learned, the more I wanted to know. I took copious notes during the wine tastings, fascinated with the stories behind these winemakers and their wineries, and eager to keep what I was learning in mind for the future.

Hungry for more? See what it’s like to stay at The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua.

Where to stay when you attend the Kapalua Wine & Food Festival:

My husband and I literally said “Wow! Look!” to each other as we stepped out of our car at the resort’s entry that led across a spacious, and recently-expanded lobby/lounge area that extends straight through to magnificent views of a series of swimming pools, beautifully-manicured grounds, and…the big, blue ocean! When not at a Festival event, we spent a lot of time in that comfortable open-air lounge which felt more like a comfortable livingroom than a hotel lobby.

Every time I was sitting there, newly-checked-in guests would walk past me to take in the view and every single one of them, without fail, said, “wow!” just as we had. I’m sure that happens every single day.

With a view like this every day, staying at The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua was a dreamy place to stay while attending the Kapalua Food & Wine Festival.

The breakfast buffet at the Ulana Terrace restaurant also had a beautiful view to enjoy. The regular menu is available but we opted for the impressive breakfast buffet each day because I could have a little of all of my favorites including eggs, sausage, avocado toast-makings, bagels and lox, pastries, acai bowls, fresh fruit, coffee, tea, and juice. Be sure to try the favorite juice of the locals, POG which is a combination of passion fruit and orange juices and guava nectar. It’s pretty and delicious too.

The breakfast buffet at Ulana Terrace inside the Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua, offers a wide variety, including egg dishes, breakfast meats, oatmeal, avocado toast and even boa buns! Offerings change daily for the buffet. You can also order from the set menu.

There are several places to grab a bite or have a full-on meal at the Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua including Kai Cafe for to-go sandwiches, salads, baked goods and various drinks;  Alaloa Lounge for sushi and other nibbles; The Burger Shack, down by the water, famous for its mega-milkshakes; and Banyan Tree, a beautiful, partially-open-air restaurant where we had a wonderful, lingering dinner on our last night.

No matter what your level of wine or food knowledge is, the Kapalua Wine & Food Festival in Maui is an excellent way to have a great time in a beautiful destination while enhancing your knowledge and enjoyment of food and wine.

To learn more about the Kapalua Wine & Food Festival, held in June, visit their website.

And to learn more about the Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua, visit their website.

-Article and photos, except where noted, by Courtney Drake-McDonough, publisher and managing editor, RealFoodTraveler.com.

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Please note, RealFoodTraveler.com has partnered with the Maui Visitors & Convention Bureau and the Kapalua Wine & Food Festival to bring you this sponsored article.