Malibu Food & Wine

Malibu's coastline transforms into a three-day celebration of California wine and cuisine each September, bringing together acclaimed vintners, celebrated chefs, and the community that has made this beach town a year-round food and wine destination. The Malibu Food & Wine festival runs Friday through Sunday on September 18–20, 2026, with programming that layers grand tastings, seated dinners, and curated activations across the weekend rather than compressing everything into a single crowded afternoon. What sets this festival apart from other Los Angeles County wine events is its deliberate pacing. Friday opens with early admission and more intimate tastings, Saturday serves as the main event with full general admission programming, and Sunday closes the weekend with final tastings and dinners. Attendees can choose single-day passes or commit to a full weekend pass that covers all three days, and ticket tiers are structured around experience depth — General Admission for open tastings, Early Admission for longer time on the floor, and a VIP Seated Dinner tier for guests who want a formal chef-led meal paired with featured vintners. The festival is genuinely family-inclusive, which is rare in the wine festival world. While the tasting experience is reserved for guests 21 and older, the event offers deeply discounted tickets for ages 12–20 and 4–11, and children under four attend free. That makes Malibu Food & Wine one of the few destination-scale wine festivals in California designed to accommodate parents who don't want to leave the kids at home for the weekend. Proceeds benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Malibu, the nonprofit that runs after-school and summer programs for local youth. Because the festival is built as a fundraiser rather than a purely commercial event, ticket revenue flows directly back into community programming — a structure worth knowing if you're weighing this against for-profit wine events on the same weekend. Single-day General Admission starts at $199 for adults, Early Admission at $275, and VIP Seated Dinner at $599. Full weekend passes range from $525 (GA) to $1,198 (VIP Seated Dinner across all three days). Kids 12–20 are $70, 4–11 are $30, and under 4 are free. Tickets typically go on sale in May.