Wine is fine and makes Napa shine, but this weekend in the valley it’s all about the mustard.

Thousands of food and wine lovers will descend on Napa Saturday and Sunday to experience part of the 15th Annual Napa Valley Mustard Festival.

This weekend’s signature event, the Marketplace, will bring some of the valley’s most talented chefs, winemakers and musicians to the grounds of Copia.

“People come from all over the world this weekend to showcase their work, lots of local businesses as well,” said Pat Summers, producer of the festival. “It’s just a great weekend.”

According to Summers, the festival first started in Napa in 1994 as a way to keep tourists coming into the valley during traditionally slow months.

The festival begins in mid-January and ends later this month. Summers said that Napa County awarded the Mustard Festival a grant this year to help facilitate events that stimulate tourism in the valley.

Summers says visitors have come to recognize that visiting in the off-season has its advantages.

“It’s not so congested like it is during the summer so it’s become a very popular time of the year, but it’s still more relaxed (than the summer months),” she said.

Napa is known for grapevines and wine, and the weedy mustard plant is not much on visitors’ minds.

But this time of year it’s common to see golden mustard flowers blooming in vineyards throughout the valley, Summers said.

“The mustard is blooming in the vineyards,” she said. “It was planted by the Franciscan padres when they first explored the Napa Valley. The festival was built around the beauty of mustard in the vineyards.  We tie that in to mustard as a condiment.”

At the Marketplace, gourmet mustard recipes from all over the world will be available for sampling.

Other highlights include food, wine and art exhibits; demonstrations by Silverado Resort Executive Chef Peter Pahk and others; and concerts by Maria Muldaur, Norton Buffalo and Pride and Joy.

For more information visit www.mustardfestival.org.