The Wine Cheese & Bread Faire

This was an awesome event, one of the best fairs/​festivals (well, related to drinking) I’ve attended. This year it was known as the Wine and Cheese Faire… the ‘Bread’ part was dropped from the title at some point. The pricing for admission was $ 25 pre-​sale and $ 40 at the door. The pre-​sale price is well worth the event… the $ 40 at the door, not so much. You get a cute Sugar Mill branded wine glass to use for the tastings. (Yes, a real glass. Not plastic.)
There were about a dozen wineries offering tastings, about 2 – 4 free tastings per person. Some wineries offered additional tastings with an additional tasting fee. Unless you’re a wine connoisseur, the additional fee is not worth it. You can just get in line again for the free tastings! Yay for large, indistinguishable crowds! There was also a large room dedicated to food, primarily cheese. This was my favorite part… tons of cheese varieties from different makers, cupcakes, scones, olive oils, etc. Most of the wine and cheese offerings took place indoors. In case you didn’t know, temperature controlled wine rooms are a good thing on a 90+ degree day.
In terms of food, the Culinerdy and Granola Girl trucks were parked out back by the lawn. There was a pop up restaurant (buffet style) put on by Culinerdy. It looked good but we were full from all the cheese.
I also attended a half hour ‘Wine 101′ course. Kind of cool… we got to try more wines and cheeses and learn a bit about them from a rep at a local winery.
The one slight disappointment about this event is that there weren’t enough wine/​cheese pairings. Most vendors either offered just wine or just cheese. You just have to figure it out on your own I guess. But other than that, totally looking forward to next year’s event.

We have so much fun going to events at the Sugar Mill. This is one of my favorites. All the cheese and other foods they were sampling was fantastic! The wineries were great to of course, especially Todd Taylor and Merlo Family Vineyards. My friend became a wine club member of them both. We will definitely be back next year!

Great way to try new wines, taste some good cheese, and enjoy a Saturday. The $ 25 ticket was worth every penny! Enjoyed the live music and all the vendors.

I love this place! So glad I got referred to come here! This is a very inexpensive way to spend my weekend:)

Second year going, this year was much more organized as far as table set ups.

THANKS TO Unilocal: Thank you fellow Unilocalers for not only telling me about the Old Sugar Mill in my quest to find wineries near Sacramento, but for also telling me about this festival through Unilocal events! This festival is hosted in the Old Sugar Mill, where there are eight wineries housed under one roof (heaven if you ask me!). I had an enjoyable experience filled with wine, cheese, and other tasty treats.
TICKETS: Next year, I plan to get my tickets online because you can save $ 5 (yes, I’ll be going back next year because I had a blast).
WINE: I arrived and received my complimentary tote bag and wine glass. Then, we walked around to nine featured wineries and tasted like crazy. These wineries included: Todd Taylor Wines, Three Wine Company, Merlo Family Vineyards and Rendez-​vous, Heringer Estates, Clarksburg Wine Company, Elevation Ten, Carvalho Family Wines, and Due Vigne di Famiglia. The tastings were plentiful with each winery offering a tasting of at least two featured wines (bigger tastings run around $ 5). The Frizzante from Due Vigne di Famiglia winery of Napa totally won me over and we snatched up a bottle (the sommelier told us to mix it with peach purée — sounds like a plan to me!).
CHEESE: After leaving the main building with the wineries, I bypassed the picnic area with live music and headed straight for the cheese building! My favorite of the offerings was the Point Reyes blue cheese and the Fiscalini white cheddar and Fiscalini grilled cheese sandwiches. That grilled cheese sandwich was the most decadent cheesy and buttery treat I’ve ever tasted! Minus one star though for all the flies that were landing on the cheese samples. Talk about unappetizing!
OTHER OFFERINGS: In addition to the cheese and wine, there were other delights too. I loved all the sweet samples, including rich dark chocolate, truffles, and macaroons. Samples of most were free. There were also food vendors and I devoured a delicious pizza margherita. You could say it was a day of overindulgence!
B&L: We ended our day with a mozzarella cheese demonstration from one of my favorite restaurants, Mulvaney’s at the B&L. They had a whole cheesy demonstration on preparing mozzarella and we sampled caprese salad. It was a great way to end the day and snag some more free cheese!

«Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.» If only I didn’t miss the hands on cheese making seminar… *sigh*
The event was hosted by the Old Sugar Mill. Tickets were $ 20.00 online or $ 25.00 at the door.
A commemorative wine glass was given to you at the door. I carried it with me from one winery to another. There were many wineries there and each winery had different bottles of wine for you to try. I even got to taste a wine straight from the barrel. (I was more interested in the cheese and salami platter next to it though.)
It was fun experience but I can’t seem to acquire the taste for wine. After several pours, I didn’t want to drink any more wine. I would’ve preferred to drink the water that was meant for rinsing the wineglasses instead.
Why did I attend this event if I don’t like wine? It’s because I love CHEESE! Outside the main building there was another building where all the cheese vendors were located. I tasted many gourmet cheeses. My breath was not at its finest, especially after some blue cheese. My favorites included various brie cheeses from Rumiano. I am a bit disappointed that I didn’t end up buying any. Should’ve, would’ve, could’ve.
There weren’t too many bread vendors but that’s ok as long as I got my cheese fix!
Other miscellaneous vendors were located inside the main building and outside in the grass area. I sampled some chocolate, nuts, and macrons. All of it was very good!
Overall, a fun time was had by all!