ep·i·cu·re·an (noun) — a person devoted to refined sensuous enjoyment, especially one with a discriminating taste for fine food and drink.
Three days. The country's most talked-about chefs. An epicurean weekend of collaborative dinners, winemaker tastings, and sunset parties you won't find anywhere else. This is the Central Coast's newest culinary celebration — intimate, unprecedented, and happening only here.
September 18–20, 2026
The Ava Hotel · Paso Robles
Paso Robles has always known how to grow something extraordinary. This September, The Ava Hotel is turning the harvest season into an epicurean celebration — three days of chef collaborations, winemaker tables, sunset parties, and once-a-year dishes you won't find on any menu before or after this weekend.
This isn't a wine tasting with a nice dinner attached. It's a fully-hosted culinary weekend built around the region's best chefs, its top wineries, and a hotel that knows how to make a celebration feel effortless. Come for one dinner, or come for the whole harvest — either way, you'll leave with a waitlist for next year.
Inaugural year. Limited packages. Once the 2026 harvest is in, this exact lineup doesn't happen again.
Every great festival needs a home base. Book your stay at The Ava Hotel and choose how deep into Epic Fest you want to go.
The Essentials
Book the room, live the weekend. Every Hotel guest enjoys a curated lineup of Epic Fest weekend experiences included with their stay — the Harvest Opening Party, sunrise yoga, and relaxing afternoons by the rooftop pool, wine in hand. Add on other signature events to make the weekend your own, from check-in to check-out.
Most Popular
This is the package built for people who came to eat. For $580 in F&B value on top of your stay, you're locked into the weekend's two signature meals — an intimate tasting menu from Chef Julian Asseso and a seat at The Harvest Table, our multi-chef collaborative dinner — plus the Opening Party, core weekend programming, and an included Elevated Brunch. It's the whole story of Epic Fest, told through food.
$580 in F&B value included.
Ultimate Experience
For the guests who want the whole weekend, no exceptions. VIP unlocks everything in Epic Fest, then adds both mornings of Elevated Brunch, the after-hours Leo Leo & Dessert experience, and full access to every reserve-only moment — including the kind of late-night, small-room gatherings that don't make it onto a printed agenda. VIP inventory is limited by design.
$980 in F&B value included. Only a handful of rooms at this tier.
Three days, one unforgettable rhythm: mornings to recover, afternoons to explore, and evenings built around a table you'll be talking about for years.
Friday — The Welcome
Start the day exploring the vineyards that make this region famous, with guided visits to Niner, Justin, and Clos Solene. By afternoon, settle in for the Trade & Winemaker Tasting on Pine Street — complimentary for every hotel guest, and the easiest way to meet the people behind the bottles.
As the sun drops, the Harvest Opening Party takes over the Esperanza Rooftop — live DJ, mariachi, golden light, and a crowd that's just getting started. Then slide into an intimate tasting menu from Chef Julian Asseso at EMRE, before the night winds down with Leo Leo & Dessert on Pine Street — a reserve-only nightcap for our Epic Fest and VIP guests.
Saturday — The Main Event
Ease into the day with rooftop yoga, then an Elevated Harvest Breakfast built for a long day ahead, included for VIP guests. From there, choose your own adventure: a Farm Tour or a Daou/Booker tour — or just claim a lounge chair at the Pool Hangout and let the day come to you.
Then, the moment the whole weekend builds to: The Harvest Table. Our chefs come together for one collaborative, multi-course dinner at EMRE — the kind of meal that only happens when this many kitchens agree to share a room. Reserve early; this is the seat everyone wants.
For those staying up: Harvest Reserve returns for a second night, this time with tarot readings over a glass of port — an Epic Fest tier exclusive.
Sunday — The Send-Off
One more sunrise, one more stretch, and then the softest landing of the weekend: a Garden Brunch at EMRE with a roaming harvest beverage cart working the tables. No rush to check out — let the weekend end the way it started, unhurried and full.
Epic Fest is built on a single idea: put the region's best chefs in the same kitchen and see what happens. This year's lineup:
Riccardo Bilotta
RIDER, known for his fearless approach to shared plates and open flame.
Kevin Martinez
Solea, rounding out the lineup with coastal Spanish influence.
Tim
Pastry Chef, closing every meal with the desserts and sweets that end the weekend on a high note.
Everything you need to know before you book — what's included, our cancellation policy, and what to do if the Central Coast decides to throw us a curveball on weather. First-time festival? We've got you.
