Taste Of Vail Is The Best Way To Enjoy The Final Days Of Ski Season

Ski season is nigh and if you are planning for 2025 consider visiting in early April— temperatures soften, the sun stays out a bit longer and if you are in Vail Valley it’s a great time to celebrate the resort’s culinary scene at Taste of Vail. You’ll still get some time on the slopes but instead of the usual après ski, visitors instead have their pick of wine and cocktail seminars, specialty dinners and walk around tastings as well and an annual chef’s competition.

Taste of Vail takes place across five days across the best of Vail Village. The big tasting events—Best of the Event Grand tasting and Après Tasting, are great opportunities to taste through a variety of wines and chef bites—but the one most people make time for, the Mountaintop Tasting, has the best views in Vail, and you’ll need the chairlift to get there. Hosted at 10,350 feet above sea level is a showstopper experience with it spectacular vistas An all-weather event, snow or shine, but if you prefer the great indoors there are many other options on offer during the event.

Last year’s offerings included a Sturia caviar seminar, a wine panel on German’s Burgundian varieties led by Master Sommelier Jesse Becker, library tasting of iconic Napa wines, wine dinners with vintners such as Andy Peay of Peay Vineyards and Peter Mondavi of Charles Krug—even a cocktail seminar for a change of pace.

The Saturday Best of the Best tasting is an excellent opportunity to explore the wines of smaller, lesser-known brands. Overall, Taste of Vail features a broad offering of small-production family-run wineries that guests would have little chance of discovering elsewhere—boutique wineries such as St. Innocent, J. Dirt Wines and Moshin Vineyards—hold court at the grand tasting with owners and winemakers in attendance. Who better to answer your wine questions than the person who made it? You’ll also get exposed to some of Vail’s best local restaurants who are on hand to serve up bites—the crispy pork belly with jalapeno mayo and an apple salsa from Flame, or a beautiful “snowman” dessert from Vail’s only Michelin-recommended restaurant Sweet Basil.

The annual chef’s competition brings out some of the best Vail has to offer—with a few out-of-towners tossed in. Chefs are given parameters around a dish each year and asked to prepare eight plates for judges to assess in a blind tasting (guests can participate as well in the People’s Choice tasting). Mountain Standard, a legendary woodfire-focused restaurant in Vail Village, took home last year’s win in the Taste of Vail Chef’s Challenge with their decadent short rib dish (you’ll find a similar riff on the winning dish on the Mountain Standard menu year-round.)

This year’s event takes place April 2 -5 and will feature experiences such as the Debut of Rose Tasting, a tasting featuring over 100 various rose wines. And, the all-day Apres Tasting featuring 22 chefs and guest chef tastings along with over 55 wineries, beer and spirits. Top off the good wine, food and company with a sunny t-shirt weather ride down the slopes before the season ends for good.