Beginning on April 27, Florida Winefest & Auction will celebrate its 16th year with four intoxicating days of connoisseurs and casual drinkers mixing at The Ritz-Carlton in search of the next great grape-and the cuisine to go with it. At the end of the festivities, Winefest will have added a considerable amount to the $5 million it has already donated to children's charities in Sarasota, which has made it the singe largest fund raiser for our city's disadvantaged youth.

But it's not only a good cause, it's a great time, with events, experiences and flavors to suit every palate-and purse. Organizers deliberately make this an inclusive, communitywide celebration, and guests range from big-league investors who fly in for the chance to bid on rare vintages and deluxe travel packages to those who are just learning that tannins have nothing to do with Florida's UV index. It doesn't matter if you can't tell a cab from cuvée; the real challenge is sorting through all the choices to find the events and experiences you'll most enjoy.

To help you, we asked longtime fans and some well-placed insiders for their personal bests and favorite fun at the festival. Here's a quick course in getting the most out of this year's festival, themed "The Gifts of the Vine."

AT FIRST BLUSH

Winefest is really a series of events, including winemaker dinners, a wine-tasting brunch, food and wine seminars, a gala dinner and a fabulous charity auction. This year, 65 vintners from as far away as Australia will be pouring their wines for some 6,000 guests. Last year, 700 people attended the five-course Friday gala dinner and dance. The Saturday tasting lunch-featuring a world of wines and food from top restaurants around the state, in booths spread throughout the hotel-and the afternoon charity auction drew 800.

Tickets for these events run from $65 to as high as $500 per person-which is what guests will pay this year for dinner at the Lakewood Ranch home of Joan and Walt Flowers, where wines from their Flowers Vineyard in California will accompany a multicourse extravaganza prepared by star chef Jeffrey Strauss of San Diego's ultra-hot Pamplemousse.

But the most popular event is the least expensive. According to executive director Sandy Loevner, who's been with Winefest since its inception in 1990, 2,000 people attended last year's leisurely alfresco wine tasting on St. Armands Circle, known as Sip & Shop. Tickets cost a mere $15 per person.

And guess how it all started? Some sought-after wines do run out during the Friday and Saturday events, but there's always lots of good stuff that isn't consumed. "Whatever's left is what we have at Sip & Shop," says Loevner. "That's why that event was invented-to save the vintners return trips to ship the wines back home."

GOING GLOBAL

In recent years, Winefest has become a nationally known event that draws lots of out-of-town visitors. "Last year I didn't see a familiar face in the crowd," says Sarasota food and style writer Marsha Fottler.

She may be exaggerating, but the out-of-town contingent is definitely growing. They come from Chicago, Dallas, Washington and beyond, says Loevner. Some may have a Sarasota home or friends here, but others learn about the event from such publications as Wine Spectator or Wine News, which donate big ads to the event each year. The highest bidder at last year's auction was a Canadian, and no one at the festival office had ever met him before.

Look for more visitors this year. "We market it to outside people to make it a destination event," says Loevner. "We fill every hotel room in town. Restaurants fill up, houses are bought, condos are bought."

When guests come from far away, Loevner and her staff make it a point to keep them happy. "Hours and hours are spent on seating [for the gala dinner]," she explains. If a man from New Jersey orders a ticket, for example, staff will call him to learn more about his background and interests. "Maybe he has a second home on Longboat, so we'll make sure he sits with people from Longboat Key," she says.

DINNERS TO SAVOR

By far the hottest tickets at Winefest are the 30 or so winemaker dinners on Thursday night. At these events, a well-known vintner selects and pours the wines, and top local chefs create a menu to match them. Many of the dinners take place in top local restaurants; others are hosted by local luminaries in their homes-Stanley and Janet Kane's Siesta Key residence or Vern and Sandy Buchanan's Longboat home, for example. But such high-profile dinners sell out quickly-usually within 24 hours. Indeed, competition for the vintner dinners is so intense that you have to indicate your first, second and third choice when you sign up.