One of the most popular mountain festivals in Colorado is the Breckenridge Wine Classic. The event is celebrating its 11th year in 2026 with three days of opportunities to enjoy food, drink (wine of course) in the great outdoors. Here is everything you need to know to prepare to go including our exclusive DISCOUNT PROMO CODE! Our thanks to the Breckenridge Wine Classic for partnering with the In Good Taste Denver blog to bring you this sponsored article.
Know-Before-You-Go to the Breckenridge Wine Classic 2026
WHEN: August 20-22, 2026
WHERE: Multiple locations in Breckenridge, Colorado
WHAT: The Breckenridge Wine Classic offers tastings, seminars, wine pairing gourmet lunches and dinners, demonstrations, hikes alongside winery founders and local celebrities plus grand tastings. It’s the world’s highest-altitude wine festival, at 9,600 feet, bringing wines and winemakers (including Food & Wine’s Winemaker of the Year) from Napa Valley to Tuscany and Paso Robles to the Andean foothills of Mendoza.
“One of the major differentiators that sets Breckenridge Wine Classic apart is the access. Guests are enjoying small-batch wines alongside the winemakers themselves, sitting down to menus that Hearthstone, Ember, Blue River Bistro and our other restaurants build from scratch for each pairing, and hiking the Tenmile Range with a sommelier in between. You can’t replicate that at sea level, and you certainly can’t replicate it at a tasting room,” said Kristen Slater, Breckenridge Wine Classic event director. “We are thrilled to bring Yonder Mountain to Summit County and kickoff the weekend with these Colorado legends.”
SCHEDULE AND OFFERINGS:
Thursday, August 20 – Wine Pairing Experiences
Small Producer Spotlight Wine Dinner: This five-course dinner from Hearthstone Restaurant, inside the 125-year-old Kaiser home, is expertly paired with a wine from Mending Wall Winery in Napa. The wines are from Thomas Rivers Brown, named Food & Wine’s Winemaker of the Year.
A Taste of the Rockies Wine Dinner: Local favorite, Carboy Winery provides the five-course dinner and pairs their own wines with it for this event. Learn what’s so special about producing wines at high altitude, reflecting the terroir of the Rockies.
King of Paso: JUSTIN Wine Dinner: This five-course meal is prepared by the culinary team at Blue River Bistro, three-time Best of Breckenridge winner, with wine pairings by JUSTIN Vineyard & Winery, a pioneering winery in Paso Robles, California.
Friday, August 21 – Concert, Grand Tasting and Wine Pairing Experiences
Concert:
Breckenridge Wine Classic is excited to feature a concert by Yonder Mountain String Band at the Base of Peak 9 at Beaver Run Resort. Doors open at 7pm and the show starts at 7:30pm so you can get up to the mountains after work and kickoff the wine weekend. The event is open to all ages. The group, a favorite for almost three decades, has a new studio album out (their twelfth), Good As True. Tickets: Starting at $45.
The Grand Tasting:
Enjoy more than 250 wines, nibbles from area restaurants and live music all while taking in gorgeous Colorado mountain views. Get to know new wines, food and the people behind them at Sessions on Friday, August 21 and Saturday, August 22.
Special activations during the Grand Tasting include the Bubble Bar (sip a range of sparkling wines from around the world), Two Truths & A Wine (test your knowledge in an interactive wine tasting) and Try A Trend (see what drinks are all the rage now).
Tickets: For both days, you can purchase Premium Access (one hour earlier than General Admission), Early Access (30 minutes earlier than General Admission) or General Admission which still gets you two full hours of sampling, nibbling and enjoying the live music and vibe.
Note: Purchase tickets early because the price increases in tiers as the event draws nearer. Payment plans are available, too.
Wine Pairing Experiences:
Wine & Wildflowers Hike and Lunch: One of the (many) perks of hosting the Breckenridge Wine Classic in Breck is the ability to combine a 3-mile guided wildflower hike and the spectacular views that go along with it, with fireside lunch at Spencer’s Steaks & Spirits and paired wines from DeLille Cellars.
Italian and French Fusion Wine Lunch: Enjoy the best of both countries with a three-course lunch prepared at La Française Bistrot, with both French and Italian wine pairings from Tellitalia Imports, a Colorado-based company.
Cabernet Uncorked: A Vertical Tasting Wine Dinner: Prospector Gastropub provides the five-course meal with pairings from Smoking Gun Wines’ acclaimed Cabernet Sauvignon. What’s a “vertical” wine tasting? Sampling the same wine from different vintages to see how it has evolved and how it affects each pairing. It’s a great way to elevate the education component of a wine tasting experience.
Italian Dreams Wine Dinner: a New American menu is provided by the culinary team from Ember. During the five courses, guests will taste wines selected and paired by Chief Sommelier Kellie Martin of SommSchool, a leading wine education specialist.
Saturday, August 22, 2026 – Grand Tasting continues and Wine Pairing Experiences
The Grand Tasting continues. See above for details.
Pinks & Peaks Hike and Lunch: After a guided 3-mile hike led by Kylie Bearse, FOX31 meteorologist and founder of The Approachable Outdoors, enjoy a three-course lunch prepared by the Executive Chef of Beaver Run, each paired with different varietals of rosé, each with individual production methods, selected by Kellie Martin of SommSchool.
Pizza & Pours Wine Lunch: Tin Plate Pizza provides a more casual and accessible introduction to pairings with a three-course meal featuring award-winning artisanal sourdough pizza with pairings of Argentine wines from Piattelli Vineyards, named to Wine Spectator’s Top 100.
BONUS: Maximize your festival experience with a free Wine Festival Guide from SommSchool. It includes expert tips for how to make the most of your experience at the 2026 festival plus tips for winning the “Two Truths and a Wine” Game at the Grand Tastings.
WHO IS BEHIND THE BRECKENRIDGE WINE CLASSIC:
Team Player Productions who is also behind the Vail Craft Beer Classic, Park City Wine Festival and other events.
Wineries featured at the Breckenridge Wine Classic include Foley Family Wines, Klet Brda Winery, Michael David Winery plus other drink offerings from Proverbial Spirits, Woody Creek Distillers and Curious Elixirs.
Restaurants offering a taste of the local food scene include Rootstalk Breckenridge, Blue River Bistro, Prospector Gastropub and more.
TICKETS AND DISCOUNT CODE:
So that you can pick the events that you’re most interested in, and to craft your own schedule, tickets for each event are available a la carte, by event and by day.
**DISCOUNT PROMO CODE: Use “ingoodtaste” at checkout to receive $10 off all tickets at all levels at checkout.**
LODGING:
Make a full weekend out of attending the Breckenridge Wine Classic with special rates from the featured lodging partner, Beaver Run Resort which is within walking distance of the festival. 
TIPS FOR MAKING THE MOST OF THE BRECKENRIDGE WINE CLASSIC:
– Get tickets early because they may sell out, especially some of the special events.
– Wear comfortable shoes
– Slather on the sunscreen and wear a large-brimmed hat
– Stay hydrated (and that means water!) because you’ll be at a higher altitude and in summertime
– Stay a while and spend some time in Breckenridge. See lodging information below.
– Kids are not allowed. This is an age 21+ event.
– Only service animals are allowed.
For more information about the Breckenridge Wine Classic, visit the website, here. And remember, use “ingoodtaste” at checkout to receive $10 off all tickets at all levels at checkout.
-By Courtney Drake-McDonough, Publisher & Managing Editor of InGoodTasteDenver.com