For food and wine lovers, this festival’s just for you

Attention, all wine lovers: The 2015 Kapa­lua Wine and Food Festival is right around the corner, from June 11 to 14.

This remarkable extravaganza is in its 34th year of bringing together superstar sommeliers, winemakers, chefs and food and wine lovers for a weekend of culinary and oenological magic.

I am always thankful to see such big talents come to the islands to share their artistry and expertise. There’s a difference between tasting a wine and tasting a wine with the winemaker, who shares stories about how the wine got from the vine into the bottle.

Host and master sommelier Michael Jordan has assembled this lineup: Mia Klein (Selene), Pam Starr (Crocker & Starr), Chris Carpenter (Lokoya), Philippe Melka (Melka), Dan Kosta (Kosta Browne), Daryl Groom (Groom) and David Long (David Arthur), just to name a few.

This year I will be moderating two panels:

» "Zinfandel — America’s Grape Variety" 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. June 13) will provide the inside scoop on what’s happening today with this long-standing grape variety.

It features Fred Scherrer (Scherrer), Mike Officer (Carlisle), Matt Trevisan (Linne Calodo) and Jeff Stewart (Hartford family).

» "West Coast Game Changers" (3:30-5 p.m. June 13) will feature true game changers of the contemporary California wine scene, giving the audience an insider’s edge.

Panelists include sommelier Rajat Parr (Domaine de la Cote), Gavin Chanin (Cha­nin), Matt Dees (Jonata) and Eric Johannsen (Carneros Hill and Champ de Reves).

Similarly, the Star Chef cooking demos are meant to provide an understanding of each dish prepared, from the selection of product and each cut of the knife to the cooking and artistry of the actual plating.

Learn from luminaries Charlie Palmer of Aureole and Michael Mina of Michael Mina restaurants, and taste each dish they prepare.

These activities are just a taste of what’s in store. For a full schedule of events, visit kapaluawineandfood.com.