Fair To Introduce Wine Festival and Competition

DEL MAR, CA — The inaugural San Diego County Fair Commercial Wine Competition & Festival will premiere on Saturday, June 9, in the Paul Ecke Jr. Flower and Garden Show. This new Fairtime festival will celebrate one of the fastest growing and leading agricultural crops in San Diego County, viticulture.

Professional vintners in San Diego County may register by mail or online. Information and the online application is at www.sdfair.com/entry. The discount entry deadline is Friday, February 24. Final entry deadline is Friday, March 9. (There is no limit of entries per entrant.)

Judging will take place in a closed session on March 31 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Additional Wine Festival information, registration and rules are also available at the Fair’s website. (Amateur adult winemakers can compete in the
Homemade Wine Competition. Entry information for that competition will be available in late February or early March.)

The summer of 2012 will take San Diego County Fair fans "Out Of This World" to the stars, planets and beyond. Every day at the Fair will be filled with discovery and mystery of the outer limits. The Fair will explore man's history and fascination with space and space travel starting with the ancient astronomers, to the NASA program and the future of space exploration.

Is anyone out there? The Theme exhibit will delve into the unexplained and unexplored. Enter the realm of science fiction, UFOs and other evidence of life beyond earth. Universe Invited!

The 2012 San Diego County Fair will run for 24 days opening Friday, June 8, to Wednesday, July 4. The Fair will be closed the first three Mondays, June 11, 18 and 25.

The San Diego County Fair is the largest annual event in San Diego County and the sixth largest fair in the United States, drawing more than 1.4
million visitors annually. The 2011 Fair broke an all-time attendance record for the third year in a row with a grand total of 1,412,113 guests.

The 22nd District Agricultural Association is a State of California agency that owns and operates the Del Mar Fairgrounds, Surfside Race Place, Horsepark Equestrian Center and the Del Mar Golf Center. The 22nd DAA produces five events each year: The San Diego County Fair, the Del Mar National Horse Show, Professional Bull Riding (PBR), The Scream Zone and Holiday of Lights. The Fairgrounds hosts more than 350 events annually, the largest of which is the live horse racing meet each summer, which is operated by the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club for the 22nd DAA and the State of California. For more information about the Fair, go to the Fair website, www.sdfair.com/.