Reviewed by: Lacey Spear
5 reasons you can’t miss the Crush Wine + Food Festival
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Save the date for a glass-raising event in the Rocket City as the 9th Annual Crush Wine & Food Festival comes to Big Spring Park in Huntsville Sept. 23. This is an event that has become bigger and more popular with each passing year, and you will not want to miss the expanded 2023 version.
The Crush Wine & Food Festival is quickly becoming one of the premier wine and food festivals in the South. This year will be even bigger and better.
As always, Crush Wine & Food Festival will showcase wine from all over the world, delicious food trucks, live music and grape-stomping. However, this year, the festival will feature a range of exciting new attractions, including celebrity chef demonstrations, hands-on classes and even a silent disco stage!
And, you can use the promo code “Bham” to take $10 off every ticket!
Here’s why you shouldn’t miss this year’s Crush Wine & Food Festival:
Read more: 5 reasons you can’t miss the Crush Wine + Food Festival1. Wine + now spirits, too!
As the Crush Wine & Food Festival approaches a decade of showcasing the best of wine and food for the Huntsville masses, this year’s festival will showcase spirits and beer, too.
This expansion will give festival-goers an elevated experience where there is something for everyone.
2. Celebrity chef tastings
The Crush Wine & Food Festival is perfect for wine lovers, but it’s also a fabulous event for foodies. This year, multiple celebrity chefs will be on hand to give festival-goers the chance to see up close the artistry and skill these chefs demonstrate with every dish they prepare.
Food tastings are available throughout the park and are included in the cost of your ticket. Any of the gourmet specialty food vendors do offer small free samples of their products as well so you can taste before you buy.
Among the chefs that will be present at the festival are Pete Blohm and Bruce Kalman.
Blohm has made appearances on various Food Network shows, including Diners, Drive-ins and Dives; Guy’s Big Bite; Guy’s Grocery Games; and Food Truck Wars with Tyler Florence.
Kalman is a James Beard-nominated chef and Chef-Owner of Soulbelly BBQ in Las Vegas. He’s also the mastermind behind BK Brinery, an artisanal pickle company.
You may have seen Kalman on popular TV shows like Bravo’s Top Chef, Food Network’s Chopped and Beat Bobby Flay, and Esquire Network’s Knife Fight.
You can purchase tickets for single day passes or for the entire weekend.
3. Grape stomping + silent disco
The festival is really just an all-out fun event with a variety of ways to enjoy yourself amid the culinary delights, including grape stomping (so much fun!) and a live DJ hosting a silent disco!
If you have never taken part in a silent disco, it is almost as much fun to watch as it is to participate. Dance to music with headphones on, while those around you cannot hear a thing. It’s incredibly entertaining!
4. Great partners + entertainment
Not only have several members of the Huntsville business community partnered with the Crush Wine & Food Festival, but some fabulous displays, entertainment and demonstrations are part of the weekend as well.
Some of those special guests include:
- Ally Duncan (Sugarpusher)
- Chef Rene Boyzo (Fusion BBQ)
- Juice (legendary Huntsville musicians)
- Chef Steven Goff (Tastee Diner, Asheville, NC)
- Kristen & Andy Bernard (Cotes de Femme)
Check out tickets + bundles for the week’s events online.
4. It’s become widely revered
Folks throughout the state and beyond have taken notice at how amazing the Crush Wine & Food Festival has become. In fact, the Southeastern Tourism Society included it in its Top Twenty Events list, it topped Drinkstack’s Top 5 Wine festivals in Alabama list, and the “Wine Festival Not to Miss” in Alabama by Carpe-Travel.
“Presented by Homegrown Huntsville, and widely known as Alabama’s first state winery competition, Crush Wine & Food Festival is a must for wine lovers.”
Elaine Schoch, Carpe-Travel
This festival has not only become a Huntsville tradition, but also a regional and nationally revered event for wine lovers and foodies alike. And it gives wine enthusiasts outside of the Rocket City the chance to come into our town and see what we are all about.
And since Huntsville is less than two hours from Birmingham and Nashville, and only about three and a half hours from both Memphis and Atlanta, getting to the festival is an easy day trip.
5. Tickets are all-inclusive
The best part is that all of this we mentioned is included in the cost of the ticket to the event. Your ticket gets you access to all the tastings — wine, spirits and food — and the cooking demos, silent disco and entertainment.
Like we said, this has become an immensely popular event, so you are going to want to make sure to get tickets before it sells out. Tickets start at $85, and vary depending on what kind of experience you want to have at the event — VIP, weekend passes, single day passes, etc.
So don’t wait! Make plans for the 9th Annual Crush Wine & Food Festival now!
Are you excited to go to this event? Buy your tickets for the Crush Wine and Food Festival today!
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