Natchez Food & Wine Festival, one of the most highly anticipated culinary events in Mississippi

• All along the Great River Road, renowned chefs, restaurateurs, vintners, and craft beer brewers descend on Natchez.

One of the most highly anticipated culinary events in Mississippi, the Natchez Food & Wine Festival attracts top chefs and restaurateurs from throughout the Gulf South.

Each summer, they gather in Natchez to stage multiple-course dinners in historic mansions, progressive dining events, gourmet tastings, and casual social occasions that make the most of the city’s spectacular riverside setting.

All along the Great River Road, renowned chefs, restaurateurs, vintners, and craft beer brewers descend on Natchez for the summer Food & Wine Festival.

Friday night offers a huge taster’s fair, “Tastings Along the Mississippi River,” with scores of regional chefs and restaurants participating (it always sells out). Top regional chefs stage elaborate feasts in grand Natchez mansions on Saturday night.

It’s a weekend-long chance to enjoy fine food, wine, and craft brews in Natchez—the oldest permanent settlement along the Mississippi River and home to more than five hundred antebellum structures.

Details for individual events are as follows:

Friday, July 25^th

• 6:30 pm–9:30 pm: Visit Mississippi Tastings Along the River, Natchez Convention Center – 211 Main Street. The popular “Tastings Along the Mississippi River” offers delicious tidbits by scores of local and regional chefs, paired with premium wine and craft beer tastings and live music in a casual atmosphere, at the Natchez Convention Center. Grab a glass and taste dozens of wines alongside delicacies by restaurants and chefs from around the region.

• 9:30pm – 11:30pm: VIP Chef’s After Party- $50 each-snacks, two drink tickets, and live music. Smoot’s – 319 N Broadway

Saturday, July 26th

• 11am and 1pm: Mixology at Smoot’s, $40 per person – 11 am will be hosted by Hallelujah Wine & Spirits and 1 pm will be hosted by Blue Chair Bay Rum

• 1:30 pm: Wine & Cheese Tasting at The Castle Restaurant on the grounds of Dunleith Historic Inn – 84 Homochitto Street. Hosted in a circa 1790’s building that once served as the plantation’s carriage house, this event brings experts from New Orleans’ St. James Cheese Company to lead an international tour into the world of cheese. Castle manager and cocktail consultant Ricky Woolfolk will oversee wine pairings. $70 per person

• 5 pm–7 pm:  Brats, Beer, and Bocce at Natchez Brewing Co. – 207 High Street. Serving up lighthearted bocce competition, craft beer, and grub at the Brewery at sunset with live music- $40 per ticket

• 5 pm–7 pm:  Bourbon and Blues-Big Muddy Inn – 411 N Commerce Street.
  Enjoy a bourbon flight and small bites with live music- $65 per ticket      

• 6 pm: Summer Camp Dinner at Church Hill Variety – Casual Dinner
  5-course small plate dinner with wine or cocktail pairings $100 each

• 7:00 pm: Invitation to the Natchez Table dinner will be held at Dunleith Historic Inn, offering multi-course menus with Winemakers presenting a pairing with each course

• 7:00 pm – Food is Art Dinner at Conde Contemporary Art Gallery-Chefs will prepare exquisite courses as participants dine in real real-life art installation inside the Gallery

Learn more and plan your visit to the Natchez Food & Wine Festival here.