Winery Big Beef Challenge Teams

Is your winery chef King of the Grill? Are you up for the challenge and willing to let the public decide? Wine Country Big Q is Sonoma County’s Premiere BBQ Event. Sonoma County is a mecca of great food and world-class wine and until now has had very little barbecue influence. We invite you to join us in this one day of showcasing great barbecue and the wines that complement barbecue. The Winery Big Beef Challenge is a competition to find the best tri tip barbecue in Wine Country prepared by local winery and grape grower teams. The winner of the Winery Big Beef Challenge will be determined during the Public Tasting by the team with the highest number of votes received. In addition to tri tip sampling each winery or grower team must provide wine for sampling made by their winery or made from grapes they farm or own.

 

General Information and Requirements:

Registration

  • In lieu of a registration fee you are asked to provide your own tri tip meat and at least 2 cases of barbecue friendly wine for sampling. We are working on securing sponsors that may be willing to provide meat at a reduced price. Please notify contest organizer if you are interested.
  • Teams will receive an information package via mail upon acceptance of your entry.

 

Awards

The Winner of the Winery Big Beef Challenge will receive a trophy and bragging rights!

 

Public Tasting/People’s Choice Sampling

  • A REQUIREMENT of this competition is to provide sampling to the public. It is important that we educate the consumer and therefore we need this to be a public tasting. At this point we expect 1,000+ consumers and ask that each team provide at least 500 total samples.
  • Each tri tip sample should be a two (2) ounce portion.
  • Each wine taste should be at least a one (1) ounce pour. We recommend that the wine you pour be paired with the food you are serving. More than one varietal may be poured.
  • The Public Tasting will begin at 1 pm. Please contact contest organizer if you need volunteer assistance for the Public Tasting.
  • Tasting tickets will be included in the ticket price and sold at the event. Tickets are $2 each. Teams will turn in their tickets at the end of the event and will receive a 50% payback on beef samples about 30 days post event.  Tickets are only redeemable for food and beverage samples.
  • Each guest at the Public Tasting will receive three tokens, one each to be used for voting for their favorite KCBS barbecue meat, Winery Big Beef Challenge tri tip and Firehouse Bold Bean Challenge chili.
  • Teams may sell merchandise (t-shirts, bottled sauce, etc.) for cash – not tickets (tickets are for food and beverage samples only).
  • Paper napkins, forks, spoons and sample cups will be provided. Any other item needed to serve the public must be provided by the team.
  • All Sonoma County Health Department requirements must be followed. Click here for the health department’s recommendations. No permit is required.

 

Space

  • Each team will be allocated a 15 feet wide by 20 feet deep space on lawn. Additional space is available for an additional charge. Contest organizer reserves the right to assign spaces. Need more space – please contact contest organizer.
  • Pits, cookers, props, trailers, tents or any other equipment including generators, may not exceed the boundaries of the team’s assigned cooking space.
  • Each cook team must have an approved fire extinguisher on site.
  • Receptacles for ashes will be available for dumping hot ashes at the end of the contest. Please dump hot coal only in the marked receptacles.
  • Please provide your own trash receptacles for your booth. Dumpsters will be conveniently located for trash dumping.
  • Cook sites will be supplied with 20 amps of electricity; additional power can be obtained at an additional rate. Generators may be permitted with prior approval. Water sources will be available.
  • No pets permitted in the food booth, except service animals.

 

“WINERY BBQ TEAM” APPLICATION 
Click here for the health department’s recommendations.