Only three more weeks until the 2011 Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta, a five-day celebration of food and wine running from September 21st to 25th.  Hopefully, you’ve already bought your tickets (as many of the individual events are sold out already) but if not, you can purchase them here.  For the sold-out events, you may still be able to find tickets through EBay or Craigslist or somewhere else.

We love the Fiesta, especially the Grand Tasting.  You can read our review of the event and recommendations here.

If you are going this year, we wanted to help you plan your strategy for the Grand Tasting on September 24, 2011 because with 165 wineries and restaurants to choose from, you’re going to need a plan.  Below are our suggestions for the wineries you should focus on. 

At the 2011 Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta, Don’t Miss These Ten Wineries If At All Possible:

Archery Summit (Dayton, Oregon)

Casa Lapostolle (Santa Cruz, Chile)

Clos du Val (Napa, California)

Domaine Chandon (Yountville, California)

Gruet Winery (Albuquerque, New Mexico)

Joseph Drouhin (Beaune, France)

Penfolds Winery (Nuriootpa, Australia)

Rubicon Estate (Rutherford, California)

Steele Wines (Kelseyville, California)

Tablas Creek Vineyard (Paso Robles, California)

Another Ten We Highly Suggest You Hunt Down:

Domaine Serene (Dayton, Oregon)

Duckhorn Vineyards (St. Helena, California)

Grgich Hills Estate (Rutherford, California)

Montes (Curicó, Chile)

Penner-Ash Wine Cellars (Newberg, Oregon)

Sbragia Family Vineyards (Geyserville, California)

Schug Carneros Estate (Sonoma, California)

Silver Oak Cellars (Oakville, California)

Sokol Blosser (Dayton, Oregon)

Terrazas de los Andes (Mendoza, Argentina)