EDIBLE: Remade Ventana and Big Sur Food & Wine help ring in another rebirth down south.

Only an occasional turkey vulture interrupts the endless blue above. Laughter catches a ride on marine-terrace winds. Newcomers do versions of OMG as they approach. The expansive patio at Ventana Big Sur – now reborn with stylish new geometric wood floors, shade structures, lounge areas and a long bar at its center – gives off a glow. Or maybe that’s the shimmering Pacific.

It’s three days after Ventana reopened to the public, and life is good in that way it seems only the South Coast can conjure with its alchemy of cliffs, horizon, sun, sea and sky. And food and wine.

The plate in front of me is striking, a mosaic of color and shape on a custom-made plate: salmon tartare interplays with small cubes of golden beets and cucumber, capers, trout roe and flourishes of fried dulse seaweed, which tastes like bacon as much as anything else ($19).

The crispy oyster lettuce wraps ($12) next to it are just as colorful, and their flavors harmonize more naturally – crunchy pickled carrot, cucumber, Fresno peppers, mint, cilantro and mango dressed with sweet chili aioli. The tuna crudo is delicious, albeit steeply priced for three small bites of sublime fish with smoked pineapple, yuzu “tobiko” and ginger-sesame vinaigrette ($19).

On the lunch menu there appear other temptations like coconut-broth Penn Cove mussels ($24); Gulf shrimp roll with “swamp dust” on toasted brioche ($28); a roasted salsify “farrotto” with local squid and ego seaweed ($25); and a burger ground with short rib, brisket and chuck that, from the number of plates going by, outsold all of them ($20).

Big Sur is also serving something else right now, particularly south of Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge, which opened two weeks ago after seven months of isolation following the Soberanes Fire (at the time the costliest the U.S. had seen) and record rains that followed (nearly 100 inches caused slides that broke the bridge and still block Highway 1 further south). It doesn’t appear on the menu, but it’s unmistakable: Big Sur is dishing a special sort of joy – with a fat dollop of gratitude and a generous drizzle of relief.

Those feelings were tangible along Highway 1, particularly at outposts like Nepenthe, where the mood was exuberant and the parking lot was packed. The organizers of Big Sur Food & Wine (some of whom work at Nepenthe) are among those serving and experiencing all three, as the road’s rebirth comes just in time for BSFW Thursday-Sunday, Nov. 2-5.

That’s doubly timely because BSFW is built to benefit Big Sur services, and those are as crucial as ever. Last year, its first year as a nonprofit, BSFW pulled in an admirable $25,000 for community schools, Soberanes Fire Relief, the Big Sur Health Center, Henry Miller Library and the Big Sur Fire Brigade. “With a year under our belt, we are in a great position to continue to help our community,” BSFW President Aengus Wagner says. “This year is important, not just to us, but our neighbors to the north and south.”

Events Director Elsa Rivera adds that their aim is to double Big Sur donations in year two. (All proceeds from the silent auctions, meanwhile, will go exclusively to Wine Country fire relief.) A rich event schedule will help make that happen, as will a decorated lineup of wineries, 60 all told, includingChappellet, Roederer and Roar – and the better-than-ever Ventana, as it hosts opening night.

Assembled chefs include Brad Briske (Home), Emanuele Bartolini (la Balena), Paul Corsentino (Ventana), Aaron Rayor (Cantinetta Luca), Justin Cogley(Aubergine), Ben Spungin (Sierra Mar, Manresa Bread), Todd Fisher (Seventh & Dolores) and Cal Stamenov (Lucia/Bernardus) – and restaurants including Carmel Valley Ranch and jeninni – and that’s just for the opening event.

Friday, the master of master somms, Larry Stone, anchors a winemaker panel. On its heels The Pinot Walkabout fills up Sierra Mar’s Chefs Garden at Post Ranch with superlative producers like Pisoni, Testarossa and Morgan, while resident Executive Chef Elizabeth Murray curates culinary talent. That night both a foodie-centric jam – “Return to the Big Sur Jazz Festival” (at the Henry Miller Library) – and the annual sommelier’s dinner (at the Big Sur Roadhouse) go down, the latter leaning toward lady sommeliers.

Saturday brings an invite-only Magical Mystery Tour and Hiking with Stemware at gorgeous Rancho Rico. “We’ve been practicing,” Wagner says, referring to the hike around the damaged bridge locals made for half a year.

Saturday night, Wine & Swine reinvigorates its rowdiness with a cast of wineries pouring, Fisher and Corsentino and more doing food, and The Carolyn Sills Band and Johnny Tsunami and the Shoulder Hoppers performing. Sunday wraps with a Walkabout Market Place at Loma Vista.

Specific event tickets run everywhere from $50 to $250 at bigsurfoodandwine.org. (Locals receive $25 off tickets by using “LOCALS” promo code.)

Inspiration to toast the coast and its resiliency will be in ample supply. “Being able to do the festival at all is a big reason to celebrate,” Rivera says. “Our motivation is to keep Big Sur strong, and also help wine people to the north.”

When Highway 1 closed, Ventana’s new managers took it as an opportunity to make the whole property nicer under the leadership of Alila Hotels & Resorts – not unlike locals who basked in the chance to travel Highway 1 more freely. That’s what Big Sur does: It survives along the edges and makes the most of things. Including the joy of having it back.