IN THE NEWS [Santa Maria Times] Record crowd turns out for Buellton’s annual wine, chili fest

Santa Maria Times | Lisa Andre | March 19, 2025
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A record-breaking 2,000-plus attendees turned out Sunday for Buellton’s annual Wine & Chili Festival at Flying Flags RV Resort, where vintners, food trucks, live entertainers and eager competitors in the salsa and chili contests lined up for an afternoon of fun.

Andres Nuño, co-owner of En Fuego Events, event host, confirmed this year’s attendance numbers that beat last year’s St. Paddy’s Day-themed event of 1,800 guests.

“It was our largest turnout in the history of the event!” he said of Sunday’s festival. “We had over 2,000 total guests on site.”

Wine lovers from near and far sampled from a collection of area wines, craft beers, seltzers, ciders, and spirits and were invited to participate in the annual chili cook-off and salsa-tasting contests.

Despite cloudy skies that threatened a damp event, Nuño reported an increase in competitors as well.

“We also had our highest number of cooks (39) who submitted over 45 entries for best Red Chili, Chile Verde and Salsa,” he said.

Rounding out the day were performances by Jared Nels and Sound Investment, and live music by DJ FIU.

Winners for the judged and “People’s Choice Awards” ribbons are as follows:

People’s choice winners: 

Food: Red chili – Flying Flags RV Resort; Chili Verde – Firestone Walker Brewing Co; Salsa – Firestone Walker Brewing Co

Beverage: Red Wine – Sapien; White Wine – Brick Barn Winery; Alternative Alcohol – Rock 12 Distillery; Brewery – Firestone Walker Brewing Co

Booth Showmanship – Hoyt Family Vineyard

Judged winners:

Chili Verde – Champion: Oak & Fire; runner-up: Firestone Walker Brewing Co.; Honorable Mention: Savina’s Homemade Tamales

Salsa – Champion: Savina’s Homemade Tamales; Runner-up: 559 Honey Company; Honorable Mention: Santa Maria Tri Tip

Red Chili – Champion: Oak & Fire; Runner-up: Flying Flags RV Resort; Honorable Mention: Lido’s