Sante' South Wine Festival

Sante' South Wine Festival is an annual food and wine festival held in Jackson, Mississippi — a charitable event that has raised more than $1.5 million to date for The MIND Center at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The festival draws over 1,200 attendees and features more than 120 wineries and distributors, with a Grand Tasting that showcases over 500 wines across the event grounds.

The festival is structured around several distinct tasting experiences. The Grand Tasting gives attendees direct access to winemakers and vineyard representatives presenting their offerings. A dedicated VIP Tasting Room offers rare and limited-production wines alongside live jazz performances from local artists including Barry Leach and Raphael Semmes. A specialty Champagne Tasting area focuses on sparkling wines from around the world, and expert-led wine seminars run throughout the event for attendees at any experience level. Sante' South Wine Festival is a multi-format event featuring over 500 wines, more than 120 participating wineries, and structured educational programming, held annually in Jackson, Mississippi.

Food is a central component of the festival, with local Jackson restaurants providing pairings throughout the grounds. Participating restaurants have included Table 100, Amerigo, Tico's Steakhouse, and Anjou. The combination of food, wine education, and live music makes the event a full-day program rather than a single walk-around tasting. Ticket details and exact dates are not yet confirmed for the upcoming edition; prospective attendees should check official festival channels for pricing and scheduling updates before planning travel.

Jackson sits outside Mississippi's nascent wine country, meaning the festival draws primarily from national and international producers rather than a single regional appellation. This broad sourcing is reflected in the 120-plus winery count and the dedicated sparkling wine section representing producers from multiple countries. The charitable component — benefiting neurological research at a major academic medical center — has been a consistent part of the festival's identity, with cumulative donations exceeding $1.5 million across the event's history.