The early bird gets the worm – or in this case, the paella and wine! The inaugural, sold out SD International Paella & Wine Fest took place yesterday from noon to 6pm at Embarcadero Marina Park South. Thirty-some booths prepared and served various versions of the rice and seafood dish, with a number of wineries from Baja to Napa represented, offering tastes including some wines made with grapes from France & Spain. Because paella is not a fast food, at any given time a number of booths were not serving; instead, new pans of paella were on the fire. Eatdrinkbaja was excited to see Tijuana’s venerable Chiki Jai represented, but sad to be faced with an empty paella pan once we got to the head of the line. Prettiest paella? Booth 29, Los Azafranes, decked out with whole octopus and flower-like bell peppers. Haven’t heard yet who the celebrity judges chose as winners. BUMMER: some wineries didn’t bring enough product; Valle de Guadalupe’s Las Nubes was one of a few that were OUT as early as 2pm. Best wines in our book?  Both from Napa – the Delgadillo 2006 Cab Sauv (retail: $85!) and the Encanto Cab Sauv (retail: $75) were superb. But also enjoyed tastes from the Valle’s Lomita (love the Pagano), Baron Balche & Monte Xanic. Kudos to the SD Regional Chamber for bringing a Paella Fest to SD; I’m confident they will learn from this year’s experience and tweak to improve next year!