Local wineries poured out their best to a sold-out crowd at the annual Legends of Wine event at the California State Capitol on Thursday night. 

It marks the official kickoff to Sacramento's month-long Farm to Fork Festival celebrations.

"What we do better than anybody else in this country is grow food. Fark to Fork celebrates that," said Mike Testa, president of Visit Sacramento. 

The first event of the festival raises a glass to our regional winegrowers and each pour brings with it local flavor. 

"It's beautiful. It's nice to drink wine at the capitol," said Jessica, who attends the event every year with her mother. 

"I'm used to Boeger Barbera so we went there first, but everywhere else has ben really delicious too," her mother Angel added. 

For Sacramento County, wine grapes were the top crop in 2024. 

"There's more than 200 boutique wineries in the Sacramento region, so this event celebrates that," said Testa. 

Turkovich Family Wines in Winters says this event helps put them on the map. 

"We get eyes from new people. We don't come out to Sacramento a lot, so it's a lot of fun," said Laura Acosta with Turkovich Family Wines. 

Feist Wines, nestled in a gold rush town, agrees. 

"You would think everyone would know with Amador being so close where we are, but they don't. This is a great place to showcase our wines," said Susan Feist, owner of Feist Wines. 

Those in the sold-out crowd of about 600 people were treated to a taste-test tour of the region's best wine. 

Right now, the spotlight is needed. 

"It's a well-known secret that our wineries have been challenged this year," said Testa. "We don't charge them to be here, obviously they pour their product. For a lot of the folks that are here as consumers, they don't know about these wineries, it's a great way to get introduced." 

Wineries in this day and age are adapting to decreasing demand for their product. 

"People are kind of taking a little break from alcohol and whatnot, but it seems to be picking up," said Christine Noonan of Edio Vineyards at Delfino Farms, located at Apple Hill in El Dorado County. 

"I think just the readjustment and the hardest thing for me to see is the growers having a hard time selling their grapes," said Feist. 

At Legends of Wine, the glass is always half full, as the event puts regional wineries on tap for success. 

This Sunday, the Farm to Fork festival will host the annual Tower Bridge Dinner. 

Later this month, starting Sept. 26, expect a big change for the Terra Madre Americas event, which will be hosted for the first time at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Downtown Sacramento instead of on the Capitol Mall.