For a town as food and wine rich as San Francisco is, the city has few large public celebrations of its qualities as a world-class culinary destination.

Most food and wine events in San Francisco tend to be single-event, large public tastings, where attendees can wander around, sampling food or wine from an array of purveyors and producers. Such events are great, but they’re not the best showcase for the breadth and depth of the talent and resources that San Francisco has in either the food or wine department.

Enter the “SF Chefs. Food. Wine” event coming up in about three weeks. For four days, San Francisco is turning Union Square into an epicenter of epicurean delights. Cooking demonstrations from some of the city’s top chefs, wine seminars, grand tastings, special dinners, an urban barbecue, and more will demonstrate the city’s prodigious talents in food and wine.

I can’t do the jam-packed schedule of fabulous events much justice in this limited space, so you can peruse it on your own, but I should point out a couple of events that Vinography is involved with. First, I will be the moderator of a panel tasting called “Dynamic Biodynamic Wines,” taking place on the afternoon of Friday August 7th. Come join me to taste through a few biodynamic wines and talk with the winemakers who made them about why they have chosen an approach to winemaking that combines the strictures of organic farming with a heavy dose of new-age mysticism, and see if you think the wines are better for it.

I’ll also be a panelist for “Knock Your Sakes Off,” a tasting and educational session on sake that will be held on the afternoon of Sunday August 9th. I’ll be chatting with sake importer Ed Lehrman and Master Sommelier Kieth Goldston about sake’s increasing presence on some of the best wine lists in the world. And if I know Ed, there will be some seriously good sake to drink while we chat.

The whole event benefits four local charities, and ticket prices range from $40 to attend the Chocolate tasting, to $700 for the whole weekend and gala dinners, and lots of levels in between. They may also be still accepting volunteers, a good route for locals who want to get in on the fun, but might not be able to justify the cost of a ticket.

I hope to see you there.

SF Chefs. Food. Wine
August 6-9, 2009
Union Square and Surrounding Areas
San Francisco, CA 94108

Please see the event web site to purchase tickets and for more information.