Seeing Red Was Invented to Fill a Quiet Seaside. This Year, Saturday Is the Only Door Left Open.

"One to bring in potential homeowners and customers to our small, quiet town – a wine event!"

That line comes from the Seeing Red Wine Festival's own history page. It describes the early days of Seaside, when only a few houses stood along 30A and the town's merchants met to plan an event that would bring people in. Bud & Alley's co-founder Scott Witcoski named it. He had designed a large poster that was mostly red, and the name "Seeing Red" seemed to fit it.

The festival returns November 5 through 8, 2026, for its 34th year. It was started to fill a quiet town. By mid-October this year, the ticket portal listed six of its seven ticket options as waitlist-only. If you live in Seaside or nearby on 30A and haven't bought tickets yet, Seeing Red 2026 is mostly one afternoon: the Saturday Grand Tasting in Central Square.

What the Merchants' Idea Grew Into

The first year was a small, grassroots event. The festival now calls itself a nationally recognized wine event. The 2026 brands and vendors list shows how far it has come from a merchants' poster. It includes Covert Estate, Lemelson Vineyards, Copain Wines, Robert Biale Vineyards, Julien Fayard Wines, Daniele Conterno, Jackson Family Wines, Chris Hamilton Cellars, Blue Rock Vineyard & Winery, WillaKenzie, Thompson 31Fifty, T. Berkley Wines, Nicholson Jones, Phipps, Purple Corduroy, Violet Vines, Good Clean Wine, Grapejuice Group and DiBacco Imports.

Seaside's local restaurants still anchor the weekend. The Vintner's Dinner, which opens the festival, takes place at Bud & Alley's, the restaurant whose co-founder named the event. Seaside's listing for the Grand Tasting says the food will come from local chefs, "including those in Seaside."

Because the festival started in town, all of it still takes place on Seaside's own lawns and in its square.

How the Week Looked in Mid-October

Here is the 2026 schedule with prices and status. Venues and times come from Seaside's event listings. Prices and status come from the festival's BigTickets portal as of mid-October. Listed prices are face value. The portal adds a fee at checkout.

The Al Fresco Reserve Tasting is the high-end evening of the weekend. Winemakers and vintners pour vintage and reserve wines on the Lyceum Lawn, with food and live music. In the Battle of the Somms, two Master Sommeliers pair wines with a multi-course menu, and guests vote for their favorite pairings. The ticket portal's description puts the Battle at the OBE Pavilion from 10 a.m. to noon. Seaside's own listing says Daytrader and 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., so check your ticket for the venue. The Sunday Celebration of Bubbles closes the festival. It pairs Champagne, Cava and Prosecco with brunch dishes from Chef Jim Shirley.

Ticket status can change before November 7. People drop off waitlists and plans change. The table shows how things stood in mid-October, and it may not match what the portal shows later.

The Bundles Are Gone, and the Math Shows What They Saved

The portal also sold two-day passes. Both were waitlist-only by mid-October.

• Friday/Saturday General Admission, $650 face. It covers the Friday Al Fresco Reserve Tasting and Saturday general admission to the Grand Tasting. Bought separately, those cost $450 and $300, or $750. The bundle saved $100.
• Friday/Saturday VIP, $900 face. It covers the Friday tasting and Saturday VIP entry to the Grand Tasting. Bought separately, those cost $450 each, which also comes to $900.

Both are single passes. You keep them after Friday and show them again on Saturday, and each scans once per day. The Sunday brunch is not part of either bundle. The portal says Celebration of Bubbles tickets are limited, sold separately, and not included in General Admission or VIP packages.

So the only pass that came with a discount is gone, and the brunch could never be added to one. What remains is a single $300 ticket for Saturday afternoon.

Saturday, November 7, From Market to Glass

Seaside's August 12 fall guide lists the Seaside Farmers Market every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through the fall. On November 7, the festival schedule overlaps with it:

1. 9 a.m. The Saturday Farmers Market opens.
2. 10 a.m. The Battle of the Somms begins at Daytrader Tiki Bar & Restaurant for ticket holders.
3. 12:30 p.m. VIP guests check in at the Central Square VIP lounge for exclusive food and beverage tastings.
4. 1 p.m. The market's listed closing time and the opening of the general admission Grand Tasting.
5. 4 p.m. The Grand Tasting ends.

The festival describes the Grand Tasting as its main event. Central Square fills with wines poured by winemakers and vintners from around the world, food from local chefs, and live music. If you have a general admission ticket, the day can run from the market into the tasting with no gap. If you don't, plan for the square to be in festival use from midday until 4 p.m.

Seaside has a habit of adding to an anchor it already has. Its Friday nights grew the same way after the Tuesday market ended for the season, as we wrote in our look at how Seaside's week rebuilt itself around Friday. Seeing Red's Saturday is built on top of a market morning that already brings the town together.

The days before and around the festival have their own listings:

• Wednesday, Nov. 4. Sounds of Seaside has Max McCann from 4 to 6 p.m., the evening before the Vintner's Dinner.
• Fridays at 7 p.m. The fall guide lists Central Square Cinema on Fridays at 7 p.m. through the season, which includes the festival's Friday.

A Check Before You Go After Isaias

Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin around 9:30 p.m. on Friday, October 9, as a Category 2 storm, according to the governor's office. On October 13, 30A.com reported that most restaurants, cafés and stores along 30A had reopened, though some still had limited menus or services. It advised readers to call ahead.

In mid-October, the festival homepage and ticket portal were still showing November 5 through 8 with tickets on sale. Before you head to Central Square, check seasideseeingred.com and Seaside's event calendar for the latest on the festival, the Saturday market and the Friday cinema. The Wednesday after the festival, Seaside's calendar lists Flow Tribe for Sounds of Seaside on November 11.

If Seeing Red weekend has you thinking about how a Seaside home fits the town's calendar, or what changes when you go from visiting the festival to hosting guests for it, Bellville Team would be glad to talk it through over coffee in Central Square or a call. You can also browse our Seaside neighborhood guide. Start Your Coastal Journey.