Overview: The 2026 edition of the New York City Wine & Food Festival is set to take place from Oct. 14 to Oct. 18 at the Seaport, with signature events located at the Rooftop of Pier 17. High-profile figures including Sylvester Stallone and Bryan Cranston are scheduled to appear alongside Machine Gun Kelly for a mix of alcoholic and non-alcoholic programming.
The Full Story
Star Sylvester Stallone is slated to attend a dinner that is part of the fest to tout his Carbonadi Italian Vodka brand. The event will take place at top chef Andrew Carmellini’s Seaport restaurant Carne Mare. Bryan Cranston will be at tasting events to promote tequila from the Dos Hombres brand that he co-founded with his “Breaking Bad” co-star Aaron Paul. Machine Gun Kelly, the artist formerly known as Machine Gun Kelly, will host one of the festival’s first-ever non-alcoholic events.
The sober musician and founder of pop-punk-inspired 27 Club Coffee will host a Sunday morning non-alcohol “Morning Buzz” walk-around with a brunch vibe. Lee Schrager serves as chief communications officer at Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, which is the exclusive provider of wine and spirits for the festival. The festival — based at the Seaport for its second year as part of a multi-year deal, with signature events at the Rooftop of Pier 17 — will be held from Oct. 14 to Oct. 18, with private dinners along the way.
Famed TV personality Rachael Ray will co-host this year’s “Blue Moon Burger Bash” event with comedian, actor and podcaster Bert Kreischer. Former cast members of the Real Housewives of New York City, Luann de Lesseps, Dorinda Medley, and Kelly Bensimon are also slated to attend a steak and whiskey event. James Beard Award-winning top chef Kwame Onwuachi will also host a late night “New York After Dark” event, inspired by his forthcoming cookbook, “All Hours.”
Brand & Industry History
The festival started 19 years ago as a one-night dessert festival called Sweet, followed by years at the Chelsea Market before they outgrew the space. After one year in Brooklyn in 2024, they returned to Manhattan last year. It is a big year for Schrager, who is also chief communications officer at Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits. His South Beach Wine & Food Festival celebrated its 25th anniversary in February. He’s also a partner in a new festival in Europe. The Gstaad Wine & Food Festival will debut next June, with Schrager serving as “operations consultant.”
What This Means
“People are drinking less. Especially younger people and we always try to do things to follow the business, and follow the trends,” Schrager told Side Dish. “We are a wine and food event, and these [non-alcoholic] events have plenty of food but no wine,” he added. “There are people who just don’t drink, so why lose out an audience that is pretty popular out there.” The festival’s first-ever non-alcoholic dinner takes place Oct. 17, hosted by James Beard Award-winning chef Jonathon Sawyer, chef partner at Kindling in Chicago, and Gautier Coiffard, co-founder of Brooklyn-based hotspot L’Appartement 4F.
Consumer Takeaway
The goal this year is to sell $3 million worth of tickets, said Schrager, and organizers are “three-quarters of the way there as most of the tickets sell in the last two weeks.” The festival boasts 300-plus chefs and more than 50 events, from small private dinners to large tastings with live music. Attendees can expect offerings from celebs and some non-alcoholic fare at the Seaport/Pier 17 location.
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