Beer, Wine and Mead in a Botanical Garden — and the Cheaper Ticket Ends Saturday

Overview

The 12th annual NovemberFest is on Saturday, November 7, from noon to 4 p.m. at Alta Vista Botanical Gardens in Vista.

Craft beer, wine and mead, in a hillside botanical garden, with unlimited tastings and a souvenir glass included.

Mead is the unusual part. Beer-and-wine festivals are everywhere; a tasting event that puts mead on equal footing is not — and Vista happens to be the right place for it, given what's grown around there.

Here's the money, and there's a deadline on it this weekend.

Buy before October 31 and it's $50, or $45 if you're a member. After that it's $55 and $50 at the door.

That's two days to save five dollars. Not a fortune, but the early-bird window at $45 has already closed, so this is the last discount available.

What the ticket includes:

• Garden entrance
• Unlimited tastings
• A souvenir glass

What's There

Craft beer, mead and wine, with tastings, live music, food, craft booths and raffles.

Music: DMP's 80s Resurrection.

Food from four vendors:

• Amigos de Vista Lions Club BBQ
• Cocina Del Carmen
• Pizza Sensei
• Sticky Chicken

It's presented jointly by the Amigos de Vista Lions Club and Alta Vista Botanical Gardens, so the Lions Club running the barbecue is not a coincidence.

Two Rules That Matter

This is a 21-plus event, firmly. Their words: "Must be 21+ to attend. No children or dogs are allowed at this event."

And the gardens are closed to the public that Saturday. The whole site is given over to the ticketed event.

So if you were planning a general garden visit on November 7, go a different day — and if you want to bring children or a dog, that's a different day too.

About the Gardens

Worth knowing for any other Saturday, because the gardens themselves are a genuinely good and cheap outing.

• General admission is $5 for non-members, $3 for children aged 3 to 12, and free under 2
• 1270 Vale Terrace Dr, Vista, CA 92084 · (760) 945-3954
• Photography sessions are $50, covering the photographer plus two guests

What's planted there is a serious collection for a small garden — an Australian garden with eucalyptus and a rock billabong, California natives, a prehistoric cycad garden, a rare fruit garden with cherimoya and sapote, heritage roses, a Mediterranean garden with olive and fig and a grape arbour, a culinary herb garden, a medicinal herb garden, a labyrinth ringed with rosemary and lavender, a children's garden and discovery trail, jungle shade gardens, and upper and lower ponds joined by a waterfall.

There's also a ceremonial garden with a turtle pond and a memorial gazebo, used for weddings.

One caution on hours: their site publishes two conflicting versions. Call before you drive. They do note that from November 2 the gardens close at 4:30 p.m. with the clock change.

How to Go

• When: Saturday, November 7, 2026, 12–4 p.m.
• Where: Alta Vista Botanical Gardens, 1270 Vale Terrace Dr, Vista, CA 92084
• Tickets: $50 general / $45 member through October 31 · $55 / $50 on the day
• Includes: garden entrance, unlimited tastings, souvenir glass
• 21 and over only. No children, no dogs
• The gardens are closed to general visitors that day
• Book through their ticketing page

Good to Know

• Buy by Saturday the 31st and save $5. The early-bird tier has already gone.
• Members save another $5 at either tier — worth checking if membership pays for itself.
• Try the mead. It's the thing you can't get at every other tasting festival.
• Four hours, noon to four. Eat there — four food vendors, including the Lions Club barbecue.
• 21-plus, no exceptions, and no dogs.
• Don't plan a garden visit that day — it's closed to the public.
• Come back another Saturday for $5. The gardens on an ordinary day are excellent value.
• November 7 is a very busy Saturday in the county — see below.

Why It's Worth It

A tasting festival in a botanical garden is a better format than a tasting festival in a field, and this one has been running twelve years, so they've worked it out.

Four hours, unlimited pours, a glass to keep, 80s covers and a Lions Club barbecue, on a hillside in Vista with cycads and heritage roses around you. For fifty dollars that's a well-judged afternoon.

Buy the ticket before Saturday night.

One scheduling note: November 7 is the busiest Saturday in our calendar this autumn. The Olivenhain Arts & Crafts Fair runs 9 to 3 about twenty minutes away, which pairs neatly with a noon-to-four tasting — craft fair first, then NovemberFest. The Ramona Art, Wine & Music Festival is also that day, 11 to 5, and so is the Mount Soledad Veterans Day ceremony at 11.

For more things worth doing, browse our events calendar.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Alta Vista NovemberFest? Saturday, November 7, 2026, from noon to 4 p.m.

Where is it? Alta Vista Botanical Gardens, 1270 Vale Terrace Dr, Vista, CA 92084.

How much are tickets? $50 general or $45 for members if you buy by October 31. On the day it's $55 general and $50 for members. The early-bird tier at $45 closed in September.

What's included? Garden entrance, unlimited tastings and a souvenir glass.

What's being poured? Craft beer, mead and wine.

Can I bring children or a dog? No. The event is 21 and over, and the organisers state that no children or dogs are allowed.

Is there food? Yes — four vendors: Amigos de Vista Lions Club BBQ, Cocina Del Carmen, Pizza Sensei and Sticky Chicken.

Can I visit the gardens normally that day? No. The gardens are closed to the public for the ticketed event.

What does it normally cost to visit the gardens? $5 for non-members, $3 for children aged 3 to 12, free for under-2s.

Who runs it? The Amigos de Vista Lions Club together with Alta Vista Botanical Gardens.