(PD) - Near-perfect weather and temperatures in the low 80s greeted wine and food lovers from across the country to the Taste of Sonoma Saturday at the Green Music Center in Rohnert Park, where they noshed and sipped through a cross-section of fresh, Sonoma County bounty.

“The food and the wine are equally delicious, and it’s a great way to try everything,” said Christine Lotz of Chicago. “Of all the food festivals we’ve been to, this is the best.”

Attendance this year was 1,500, down from 2,000 last year, when searing temperatures peaked at 114 degrees and kept everyone as toasty as a barrel-aged chardonnay. Last year was also the first year the event was located at the Sonoma State campus, after being held for 10 years amid the rustic redwoods and vineyards of MacMurray Ranch in Healdsburg.