Hawaii Food & Wine Festival

Hawaii Food & Wine Festival is an annual food and wine festival held each fall across three Hawaiian islands — co-founded by two James Beard Award-winning chefs and now in its sixteenth year. The 2026 edition runs October 16–17 on the Island of Hawaii, October 23–25 in Kaanapali, Maui, and November 5–8 on Oahu, spanning three weekends and drawing talent from across the globe. The festival is the signature program of the Hawaii Ag & Culinary Alliance, a nonprofit that has contributed more than $5.2 million to culinary education, sustainability, and agricultural initiatives since 2011.

Hawaii Food & Wine Festival brings together more than 200 internationally renowned chefs, sommeliers, mixologists, wine and spirit producers, and culinary personalities across 11 events per festival cycle. Co-founders Roy Yamaguchi and Alan Wong — both James Beard Award recipients — shaped a defining rule: every participating chef must feature at least one locally grown, raised, or caught ingredient. That requirement connects the festival directly to the 85-plus local farms, ranches, and seafood suppliers the festival has sourced from since its 2011 launch. Events range from grand tastings and wine dinners to cooking demonstrations, educational seminars, and one-of-a-kind excursions across the islands.

The 2025 festival drew 5,006 total attendees and involved more than 200 culinary student volunteers, reflecting the festival's dual role as a public event and a working platform for culinary education. Ticket purchases directly support the Hawaii Ag & Culinary Alliance's programs, including scholarships for culinary professionals and agricultural education for children. Since 2011, the festival has generated $26.5 million in direct visitor spending across Hawaii. Ticket pricing for 2026 had not been announced at time of publication; check the official website for updates as individual island events are released.

Hawaii does not have a federally recognized American Viticultural Area, but the islands support small-scale viticulture alongside a broader culture of locally sourced food and drink. The festival's wine and spirit producers represent international appellations, paired deliberately with Hawaii-grown ingredients — making the experience as much about agricultural identity as it is about the pours themselves.