Four sessions of wine tastings, seminars and paired dinners are heading to The Ahwahnee in Yosemite National Park this November, bringing California vintners to the historic hotel's dining room before the resort shifts into its famous holiday dinner season. The event, called Vintners' Holidays, runs November 8 through November 20, 2026, and splits into four separate multi-day sessions that each feature a gala dinner.
What's Included in Each Session
According to travelyosemite.com, Vintners' Holidays invites guests to join California's top vintners for wine tastings, conversations and a Meet the Vintners reception. Each session package includes exclusive seminar tastings and a five-course paired gala dinner; the 2026 dinners are scheduled for November 10, 12, 17 and 19, one day before each session's listed departure date. The site notes that the wine seminars are also open to the public since they take place in public space. Evan Goldstein, a Master Sommelier, moderates Sessions 1 and 2, while Quinton Jay moderates Sessions 3 and 4.
Lodging is handled separately from the tasting package, the same source notes, with guests needing to book accommodations on their own. Packages are available at The Ahwahnee itself, as well as at Yosemite Valley Lodge and Curry Village, according to winery Senses' event page for the gathering.
Tablas Creek Brings Rhône Whites to Session Three
Session 3 runs from Sunday, November 15, through Wednesday, November 18, and features Tablas Creek Vineyard proprietor Jason Haas. Per tablascreek.com, Haas is set to join guests at the historic Ahwahnee Hotel, with a 1 p.m. seminar devoted to the rare white grapes of the Rhône Valley, explored through the winery's Esprit de Tablas Blanc. Tickets for that session are listed at $298.57 for adults and $149.29 for children, per the winery's site.
Session 4 also features Hardy Wallace of Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah!, according to travelyosemite.com. As NBC Los Angeles has reported, Jason Haas is expected to visit The Ahwahnee to discuss wine as part of the program.
Senses, Ridge Vineyards and Other Sessions
Session 2, scheduled for November 11 through 13, brings in the winery Senses alongside J Vineyards, Rombauer and Silver Oak, according to senseswines.com. That session includes tasting seminars on November 11 and 12, two overnight stays, a reception and a five-course dinner in The Ahwahnee's dining room, with Christopher Strieter, one of Senses' three founders, set to pour and talk through the wines at both the seminars and the dinner.
Session 4 brings in Shauna Rosenblum, vice president of winemaking at Lytton Springs, according to ridgewine.com, tying the Ridge Vineyards family of labels into the lineup. Session 1, which opens the run on November 8, rounds out the four-session calendar, though full winery details for every stop have not all been independently confirmed.
Setting the Stage for Bracebridge
Vintners' Holidays wraps before The Ahwahnee turns its attention to its best-known holiday tradition. The Ahwahnee Hotel was completed in 1927, and the Bracebridge Dinner originated that same year as a Yuletide celebration envisioned by Yosemite Park and Curry Company president Donald Tresidder for the hotel's grand dining room, according to bracebridgedinners.com. That source also notes the dinner was suspended during World War II and resumed in 1945 as its popularity grew.
For wine enthusiasts looking to visit Yosemite Valley before the Bracebridge crowds arrive, Vintners' Holidays offers a chance to pair a stay at one of the park's lodging options with a calendar of tastings, seminars and dinners across four sessions running November 8–11, 11–13, 15–18 and 18–20.
