Bubblyfest By The Sea

BUBBLES BY THE SEA…
My childhood memories of Pismo Beach is that of riding ATVs (all terrain vehicles) along the beautiful beige and sandy dunes of this beach lined city. What a pleasant surprise to find myself back in Pismo, not with sand in my face, but in heels, a dress and bubblies in hand!
What an absolutely fabulous time we had! Thanks to Unilocal,my husband and I enjoyed an amazing getaway which happened to coincide with our anniversary weekend! At Bubblyfest By the Sea, we enjoyed endless pours of this «liquid gold» in an array of colors ranging from porcelain, alabaster, chiffon, golden, honey, blush and rose. With over 60 vendors and growers from near and far, it was the perfect venue in discovering so much that is out there.
This second annual event took place at the SeaCrest Oceanfront Hotel. Being guests at this lovely hotel made parking for the event easy and convenient. We parked, checked in and off we went, to splurge and overindulge in food and bubbly.
Our day started on the rooftop patio of the hotel, exclusive for VIP ticket holders. This very intimate setting with great views and comfortable lounge seating had a nice selection of reserve bubblies just for us. As with wine tasting, we started off with pours of dry bubblies, then ventured to a sweeter variety. Our hostess made sure we had everything we needed and had lunch delivered to us. After lunch, a DJ spun some tunes and champagne buckets lay in front of us, completely at our disposal and for our pure enjoyment.
But wait! This VIP pass wasn’t all of it. Behold a plethora of vendors downstairs! Yes, the rooftop patio was exclusive and serene, but it was time to venture out into the masses! Adjacent to the pool and in the garden area of the hotel were tents set up housing all of these wonderful food and bubbly vendors. Some of the unique bubblies we sampled were infused with almond and peach/mango…delicious! The samplings of food included farm to table caterers who provided fresh strawberries, an assortment of cheeses, ceviche, olive tapenade, mac and cheese, brownies, cookies, Muffin Goddess muffins and pink cake pops.
If you enjoy sparkling wine, or would like to experience bubbly overload, mark your calendar for October 6 – 8, next year. If you can’t wait an entire year, plan to attend one of their upcoming pop-​up events: San Francisco on, April 9, and in Los Angeles on, June 2, 2016.
Our objective for the weekend was definitely to have a great time, and with that, having discovered new tastes and blends, made for the perfect weekend, marked with great memories. As a result of the numerous and very generous pours, I found my favorite bubbly du jour… IVY from France. A light, slightly sweet sparkling wine made from the Muscat grape.

This event would of been a five star event if we would have been given the lunch that was billed as a part of our VIP ticket
and we were also told we could park at the Mare Calendars lot, instead when arriving they had the parking blocked off and a attendant telling us we had to park in a dirt lot down the road, which was a bummer as the car was just washed that morning. So luckily we arrived a little early so we could park and walk to event. We were directed to a rooftop of the SeaCrest hotel which encompasses a beautiful beach view. We enjoyed some wonderful pours of champ and sparkling wines for about a hour. There really wasn’t a host to give us an invite to the lunch so we went down stairs to a beautiful well planned out event. The apps were very nice and the weather was perfect. I would love to comeback next year but don’t think I will fall for the VIP hype.

I was fortunate enough to be the one and only Unilocal winner for the Bubblyfest ’15 VIP package. I am super thankful we were able to do this for our Anniversary! It was a superb event at the SeaCrest hotel by the beach. My husband and I had a great time! Sparkling Wine times 60 different samples plus being so close to the beach plus jumping in the pool/​spa afterwards?! = awesome! The package included a free night at the hotel so we were able to do it all. The catered lunch for the VIP lounge was late but we were able to tracking it down and get our lunch at the main event. The views were swoon worthy, the people were great, the planned seminars and of course how to saber a bottle was all very informative. Thanks Unilocal and thanks to all the peeps at Bubblyfest that made our visit very enjoyable.

This was the first time I heard about such an event. Thanks to Unilocal and my wife, who won the tickets, we spent an absolutely perfect weekend in Pismo Beach.
Let me summarize by saying that if you love the bubbly drink, you have to come to this event. I have never seen so many vendors of local, national and oversea growers/​vendors gathered at one place to let us sample their finest. We were privileged to partake of the VIP Grand Tasting. We started off with a private tasting of four vendors with pretty much unlimited pours of their bubbly in a private roof top area, an hour before the main event. We were then treated to a catered lunch of chef salad and BLT with homemade potato chips.
The main event was held in the grassy patio area of the hotel facing the Pacific Ocean. With 60 growers/​vendors, there was enough alcohol to give everyone a very happy bubbly buzz! But lest not forget the growers/​winemakers who poured and answered questions about their products. We were introduced to a few who we will be buying from in the very near future!
On top of the bubbly, Field to Table was there feeding us cheeses and delicious appetizers. The weather was perfect, the alcohol was flowing, the people were friendly and everyone was having a great time. The event was well organized. We will be back next year!