North Carolina Wine & Beer Festivals to Put on Your 2023 Calendar

North Carolina has more craft breweries and brewpubs than any other state in the American South—380, to be exact. Plus, it ranks 10th in the country for wine production, housing a whopping 200 wineries and 400 vineyards.

Suffice it to say, North Carolinians like their booze—especially when it’s paired with live music, scrumptious bites, specialty vendors, live performances, and more. 

Here are 14 beer and wine festivals across the state to check out in 2023. 

High Country Beer Fest

Where: Boone

When: August 26

Cost: $50

At the 6th annual High Country Beer Fest, 42 breweries from all over the state will pour 2-ounce cold ones all day long. In addition to beer sampling, there will be live music, fermentation seminars, and food for purchase. To make transportation easy, shuttles will transport festival-goers to and from the ASU campus parking and the fairgrounds.

Note: This event is just for folks 21 and older, so leave your kids and dogs at home.

Mecktoberfest

Where: Charlotte

When: September 15-17 and 22-24

Cost: Free

Photo courtesy of The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery & Biergarten via Facebook

Every autumn, The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery goes all out for Oktoberfest. The award-winning, Charlotte-based brewery and biergarten serves authentic German food, hosts live outdoor music, and puts on stein-holding contests. The party takes place over two different weekends, from 11 a.m. on Friday to 10 p.m. on Sunday. 

WoodMill Winery’s Fall Wine Festival

Where: Vale

When: September 23

Cost: Free

Photo courtesy of WoodMill Winery via Facebook

There’s no better way to get into the fall spirit than sipping wine in the midst of a vast, color-shifting vineyard. From 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sept. 23, the stunning WoodMill Winery will have 60 craft vendors, several food trucks, and complimentary wine samples for attendees. Plus, the winery is offering some wicked deals on bottles just for the occasion.

Charlotte Wine & Food Festival

Where: Charlotte

When: September 30

Cost: $39-$75

Photo courtesy of Drink Eat Relax Events via Facebook

The annual Wine & Food Festival is all about drinking, eating, and relaxing with family and friends. This year, there will be more than 100 international wines, beers, and spirits in addition to local food trucks and live music. If you want to take the experience up a notch and snag a VIP ticket, you’ll get access to the Champagne Lounge, a bottle of wine from the event’s curated selection, an extra hour of sampling, a souvenir glass and bag, free water, and special washrooms. Fancy. 

North Carolina Muscadine Festival

Where: Kenansville

When: September 30

Cost: Children 6-20, $5; adults, $20-$25

Photo courtesy of NC Muscadine Festival via Facebook

Muscadine is a grapevine that’s native to the southeastern United States—particularly the coastal plains of North Carolina. The North Carolina Muscadine Festival, held at the Duplin County Events Center in Kenansville, celebrates the area’s rich muscadine history. There will be local wines, live music, delicious food, and two interesting contests: tailgate decorating and amateur wine-making. Do you have what it takes to win?

Triangle Oktoberfest

Where: Cary

When: October 6-7

Cost: $25; kids 15 and under are free

Photo courtesy of Triangle Oktoberfest via Facebook

Although the 2022 Triangle Oktoberfest got canceled due to Hurricane Ian, the event is back with a bang in 2023. Purposefully sandwiched between Raleigh’s Bluegrass Festival and the state fair, North Carolina’s biggest Oktoberfest celebration is sure to draw in thousands of visitors from the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area.  

Some of the contests will include stein holding, yodeling, hammer strikes, and wiener dog races All proceeds from the family-friendly event benefit Meg Smile Foundation and other charities. 

Tour de Fat

Where: Asheville

When: October 7

Cost: Free

Photo courtesy of New Belgium Brewing – Asheville (Asheville, NC) via Facebook

If beer and bikes are two of your favorite things, Asheville’s annual Tour De Fat is the event for you. Classified as the “world’s greatest costumed bike parade,” the event—which originated at the original New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado—will be held on Oct. 7. Following the leisurely ride around town, festivalgoers head back to the brewery to enjoy live music (Pimps of Joytime is headlining), food trucks, and beer aplenty.

Don’t forget to bring your bike lock and wear a wacky outfit.

Yadkin Valley Grape Festival

Where: Yadkinville

When: October 21

Cost: Free admission; wine tasting, $20-$25

Photo courtesy of Yadkin Valley Grape Festival via Facebook

The 19th annual Yadkin Valley Grape Festival is an all-day event that features wine from more than a dozen Yadkin Valley vineyards, live entertainment, food, and more. If you purchase your wine-tasting ticket (which, by the way, will get you unlimited samples) in advance, you’ll get a $5 discount.

Raleigh’s International Wine Festival

Where: Raleigh

When: October 21

Cost: Free

Photo courtesy of Visit Raleigh

Head on over to Raleigh’s City Plaza from noon-8:00 pm on Oct. 21 for beer, vendors, performances, wine pairing, and more.

A whopping 25 international wine suppliers from more than 17 countries will be in attendance. There will also be an LED dance party, which will be especially fun for those who purchased and made good use of their wine-tasting punch cards … hint, hint. 

Voracious & Rare Beer and Wine Festival

Where: Wilmington

When: October 27

Cost: $30-$80

Photo courtesy of Carousel Center via Facebook

The Voracious & Rare Beer and Wine Festival acts as a precursor to the next event on the list. While the Carousel Center Beer and Wine Festival is for anyone, this evening event is particularly for the beverage explorers and aficionados—though designated drivers still get discounted tickets. 

Tickets—which are very limited—include appetizers, samples, and live music. It’s the ideal date night, if you ask us. 

Carousel Center Beer and Wine Festival

Where: Wilmington

When: October 28

Cost: $30-$55

Photo courtesy of Carousel Center via Facebook

Described as North Carolina’s “beer event of the year,” this annual festival benefits the local Carousel Child Advocacy Center. The 2023 event will take place at the Live Oak Pavilion in Wilmington’s Riverfront Park and will include live music, tasty treats, and tons of breweries. 

Unless you’re underage and/or opt for the designated driver ticket option, you will receive a cup upon entry, which you can use for unlimited samples.

North Carolina Wine Festival

Where: Cary

When: October 28

Cost: $35-$75

Photo courtesy of North Carolina Wine Festival via Facebook

The North Carolina Wine Festival is one of the longest-running events on this list, as it’s been happening annually for more than 20 years. While a general admission ticket gets you access to vendors, live music, food, and samples, VIP ticket holders will also have more space, a special luncheon, and premier wines and cocktails. 

Outer Banks Brewtag

Where: Nags Head

When: October 28

Cost: Free

Photo courtesy of OBX Brewtag via Facebook

This is a far cry from your average beer festival. It’s loosely modeled after the global Red Bull event called “Flugtag,” which means “flying day” in German and involves contestants building human-powered airborne machines. At OBX Brewtag, however, contestants compete against one another to find out who can launch an empty keg the farthest. A wee bit different, but still massively fun.

In addition to the competition, there will be live music, a beer garden, and a kids’ zone. 

Highlands Food & Wine

Where: Highlands

When: November 9-12

Cost: $270-$2,100

The last big North Carolina beer and wine event of the 2023 calendar year is Highlands Food and Wine, which the event website describes as “an Elevation Celebration with 4 days of culinary delights paired with delectable wines, spirits, craft beers, and exciting alcohol-free beverages, all to the tune of world-renowned musical performers.” 

This premier, multi-location event has quite the price tag, but tickets come with tons of perks—especially when it comes to food and wine (shocker). It’s time to bring out your bougie side.

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