Crested Butte Wine & Food Festival

Crested Butte Wine & Food Festival is an annual food and wine festival held each July in Crested Butte, Colorado — a multi-day celebration that has been a summer staple in the Gunnison Valley since 2008. Organized by the Crested Butte Center for the Arts, the 2026 edition runs July 13–18 and spans 6 days of programming that brings together chefs, winemakers, brewers, distillers, sommeliers, and spirits experts in the heart of the West Elk Mountains.

The Grand Tasting serves as the festival's signature event, offering attendees an entire afternoon of unlimited tastings of over 200 wines and spirits in a single session. Beyond that centerpiece, the festival runs a full slate of programming: Tour de Fork Dinners pair multi-course meals crafted by featured chefs with boutique and elite wines; educational seminars cover culinary, wine, and spirits topics led by industry experts; Pop-Up Tastings take place at local Crested Butte restaurants, bars, and tasting rooms with guest bartenders and sommeliers; and Foraging Hikes add an outdoor dimension to the culinary programming. The Arts Ball rounds out the week with live performances, an exquisite dinner paired with fine wines, and a live auction featuring rare experiences.

The festival is produced by the Crested Butte Center for the Arts, which has operated in the region for over 30 years and relies on a dedicated volunteer base to run the event. The Crested Butte Wine & Food Festival was originally founded by Jeff Hermanson of Denver-based Larimer Associates and launched in 2008. After a one-year pause in 2012, it resumed in 2013 under a partnership between Larimer and the Center for the Arts. Patron passes are available for purchase through the festival's official website; individual ticket prices for specific events had not been publicly listed at time of publication.

Crested Butte sits at roughly 8,900 feet elevation in Gunnison County, Colorado, outside any established wine AVA — the festival draws wines from producers across the country rather than a single local region. July timing aligns with the town's peak summer season, when wildflowers are in bloom and mountain access is at its most reliable, making advance lodging reservations advisable for anyone planning to attend the full 6-day program.