From the producers of DC Wine Fest, presenting The DC Wine & Food Festival

DCWFF'26

Inaugural / Volume 01 · Food Collabs × Wine Fest

— Ten food collabs, Friday night, in — WASHINGTON, D.C.

★ Friday · Oct 16, 2026 ★

📍 Union Market · Dock 5 · Washington, D.C.

A walk-up Friday night market in the plaza — ten one-time-only Food Collab booths from some of DC's hottest restaurants. Inside Dock 5, the Wine Fest Preview. Order at each booth. By 10pm, none of these dishes exist again.

See What's On Sale →

Founder's Hour + Wine Fest bundle · $49

Ten Food Collabs ● walk-up plaza ● 300 bites per booth ● Founder's Hour 5:30pm ● Wine Fest Preview Friday Dock 5 ● DC Wine Fest Saturday 2 sessions ● Volume 01 ● Ten Food Collabs ● walk-up plaza ● 300 bites per booth ● Founder's Hour 5:30pm ● Wine Fest Preview Friday Dock 5 ● DC Wine Fest Saturday 2 sessions ● Volume 01 ●

Volume One · The Format

Food Collabs × Wine Fest. One Friday night.

Ten booths in the plaza, walked at your pace, drink in hand. Each booth is an exclusive collaboration between two of DC's top operators — restaurants, spirits brands, or creators. Inside Dock 5, the Wine Fest Preview runs the same hours, ticketed. None of these dishes are on a menu before. None of them will be after.

Restaurant × Restaurant

Ten Collab Booths

Ten booths in the plaza, each an exclusive partnership between two of DC's hottest restaurants. Rasika × Rose's Luxury. Duke's × Anju. Actual rivals, one dish, one Friday night, order at each booth.

Plaza · Walk-Up

Walk up. No ticket.

Show up to the plaza, walk the floor, order what looks good. No cover, no wristband, no list. Each booth runs a 300-bite drop until it sells out.

5:30pm · Paid + Creators

Founder's Hour

Skip the line. A full hour of plaza access before the public — paid ticket or creator application. Drop-front pick of every booth before the city walks in.

Inside Dock 5 · Ticketed

Wine Fest Preview

An early-access preview of DC Wine Fest, inside Dock 5, the same hours as the plaza. 30+ wineries and spirits, meet the producers, taste Saturday's full pour list early. Saturday's all-day DC Wine Fest sold separately.

Inaugural Lineup · Featuring

The restaurants who set DC's table.

Six restaurants confirmed for the debut. Six more drop September 15.

Eater Restaurant of the Year

Dōgon

Salamander DC · Southwest Waterfront

Modern West African dining inside Salamander DC. The jollof program that put a new kind of African fine dining on every must-eat list in the city.

Michelin · ★

Rose's Luxury

Barracks Row

DC's first Michelin star. No-reservations institution since 2013. The blueprint for what an eat-out night in this city is supposed to feel like.

JBA Outstanding Restaurant · Semifinalist

Timber Pizza Co.

Petworth

Argentinian-DC wood-fired pizza. Charcoal sourdough that's been imitated across the city and never quite matched.

DC Institution · Since 2000

Johnny's Half Shell

Capitol Hill

DC's defining oyster house. A multi-decade fixture of the city's seafood economy. Building the rawer half of the night.

RAMMY · Restaurant of the Year

Rasika

Penn Quarter

The defining modern Indian restaurant in DC. Palak chaat is the city's most-photographed dish. Bringing it.

Washingtonian Hall of Fame

Maketto

H Street NE

Cambodian-Taiwanese all-day cafe, market, and restaurant on H Street. The original DC concept that everyone else has been quietly studying for a decade.

Six more restaurants revealed September 15 →

First Look · The Collabs

One booth. One dish.
Then it's gone.

Three of the ten confirmed collaborations. Each booth runs a single 300-bite drop. When it sells out, that's the entire historical record of the dish.

No. 01 / 10 8 sec format

Johnny's Half Shell × Clase Azul

The Tequila Ceviche Shot

Chesapeake oyster, citrus-tequila broth, served in a single shot glass. One bite, one sip, one second.

300 served. Then never again.—

No. 02 / 10 aperitivo

Timber Pizza × Aperol

Aperol Spritz Flatbread

Sweet-bitter Aperol reduction, burrata, candied orange on charcoal sourdough. Aperitivo as the entire course.

300 served. Then never again.—

No. 03 / 10 east x cwlth

Duke's Grocery × Anju

The K-Town Proper Burger

Anju's gochujang glaze meets Duke's Proper Burger. Kimchi slaw, sesame brioche. East meets the commonwealth.

300 served. Then never again.—

Nine more reveals · September 15

Founder's Hour · 5:30pm Plaza Access

An hour with the booths,
before the city walks in.

Two ways in: buy a Founder's Hour ticket, or apply as a creator. Either way, you walk the plaza at 5:30 — a full hour before public entry. Full plates, full access, zero queue. Stay as long as you like after 6:30 when the plaza opens to everyone.

Tickets on sale now · Creator applications through September 1 →

01
Early floor at 5:30pmOne full hour before public entry · ten booths live · zero queue
02
Drop-front on every boothYou're at the front of every collab drop · pick of the night
03
Wine Fest Preview pourPaired pour inside Dock 5 before the public session opens · bundle ticket only
04
Content-ready lightingDesigned to be filmed · color-graded for the algorithm

Friday Night · Oct 16, 2026

The night, in order.

Three ways in, in order of when they start. The plaza is walk-up and free. Founder's Hour and Wine Fest Preview are ticketed — bundle them for the best value.

5:30 — 6:30pm

Plaza · early access

Founder's Hour

One full hour with the booths before the public arrives. Drop-front pick of every collab. Same room as DC's top food creators. Stay as long as you like after the plaza opens at 6:30.

$20

Get Tickets→

6:30 — 10pm

The Plaza · public open

Night Market with Collabs

Ten one-time-only collab booths from some of DC's hottest restaurants. Walk up, order at each booth, pay as you go. No cover, no ticket. RSVP optional.

Free

RSVP→

6:30 — 9:30pm

Inside Dock 5

Wine Fest Preview

Early access to all your favorite wines for Saturday's full fest. 30+ wineries and spirits, meet the producers. Last pour at 9:15. Bring your plaza dish in with you.

$45

Get Tickets→

Best Value · Saves $16

The Bundle

Founder's Hour + Wine Fest Preview. Both tickets, one wristband, from 5:30pm early access through Wine Fest last call.

$49

Get Bundle→

9:15pm · 10pm

Last call · close

Final pours, then it's done

Wine Fest last pour inside Dock 5 at 9:15. Night Market booths strike at 10. The collab dishes never come back.

—

Saturday · Oct 17, 2026

DC Wine Fest. The original.

The largest celebration of wine in D.C., going strong since 2015. 30+ wineries and spirits, food vendors all day at Union Market. Two sessions Saturday — pick your slot in the widget below.

DC Wine Fest® · Saturday Tickets Sat Oct 17, 2026 · Union Market

— Ten food collabs, Friday night, in — WASHINGTON, D.C.

Food Collabs × Wine Fest. One Friday night.

Ten Collab Booths

Walk up. No ticket.

Founder's Hour

Wine Fest Preview

The restaurants who set DC's table.

One booth. One dish.Then it's gone.

The Tequila Ceviche Shot

Aperol Spritz Flatbread

The K-Town Proper Burger

An hour with the booths,before the city walks in.

The night, in order.

Founder's Hour

Night Market with Collabs

Wine Fest Preview

The Bundle

Final pours, then it's done

DC Wine Fest. The original.

One booth. One dish.
Then it's gone.

An hour with the booths,
before the city walks in.