Third Annual “Women Winemakers Dinner” in Solvang, California, Benefitting the Women’s Fund of Northern Santa Barbara County, Continues to Expand Event Offerings and Roster of Participating Food and Wine Talent
February 5, 2019 – Solvang, CA – On Friday, March 8, 2019, in celebration of International Women’s Day, the third annual Women Winemakers Dinner showcasing the winemaking talents of nearly two dozen Santa Barbara County women winemakers, will be held in the Santa Ynez Valley wine country destination of Solvang, California. The charitable event, which runs in its entirety from 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM at K’Syrah Catering & Events (www.kscateringandevents.com) will, for the third year, benefit the Women’s Fund of Northern Santa Barbara County. Tickets to the March 8 event are currently on sale, at womenwinemakersdinner2019.eventbrite.com.
Last year’s sold-out event format accommodated a larger number of would-be guests via a wine tasting tent reception, prior to the seated dinner portion of the evening. In a return effort to grant guest access to as many of the participating winemakers as possible, this year’s event will feature an extended tent reception duration, in addition to providing different levels of options for participation and support.
International Women’s Day has been celebrated worldwide since 1909, with a focus on working women’s achievements and issues. In a working environment that sees about 10% of the global wine industry as female winemakers, Karen Steinwachs, co-founder of the annual Women Winemakers Dinner, said, “Santa Barbara County boasts a much higher percentage of women winemakers than most places in the world, with nearly double the average.”
The March 8 event will bring together a solid sampling of the County’s female winemakers in a show of support for each other, and other working women, world-wide; those who toil and labor while honing and elevating their craft in their workplace, while also balancing work-lives with family and community service.
More than 20 female winemakers will be joined at the March 8 event by some of the Santa Ynez Valley’s leading culinary ladies, the latter of which are collaborating to create a four-course, sit-down dinner to pair with some of their winemaker colleagues’ wines. In addition to the seated dinner portion of the night, this year’s event will once again feature a tent on a closed-to-traffic street in front of K’Syrah’s downtown Solvang venue. Housed inside the tent, 20+ women winemakers who will be on-hand to pour tastes of their wines and talk with event guests, during a pre-dinner tasting reception (5:30 PM to 7:30 PM), to include passed appetizers and a cheese table.
Participating winemakers and wineries confirmed to date include Karen Steinwachs, Buttonwood Farm Winery & Vineyard; Alison Thomson, Lepiane Wines; Adrienne St. John, Rideau Vineyard; Angela Soleno, Turiya Wines; Brit Zotovich, Dreamcôte Wine Co.; Helen Falcone, Falcone Family Vineyards; Kat Gaffney, Spear Vineyards & Winery; Sarah Holt Mullins, Rancho Sisquoc Winery; Marisa Matela Beverly, Bevela Wines; Sandra Newman, Cebada Wine; McKenna Giardine, E11even Wines; Gretchen Voelcker, Luna Hart Wines; Anna Clifford and Jill DelaRiva Russell, Cambria Wines (all additional participating winemakers/wineries, TBA).
Chef Brooke Stockwell, Executive Chef at K’Syrah Catering & Events, will be joined in the kitchen by other female culinary talent along the lines of past years’ participants, such as baker Amy Dixon of The Baker’s Table in Santa Ynez; Theo Stephan, owner of Los Olivos’ Global Gardens; Chef Cynthia Miranda from The Lucky Hen Larder, of Santa Ynez; and TV celebrity Chef Pink, Chef de Cuisine at Root 246 in Solvang. The 2019 event’s Santa Ynez Valley chefs and food crafters will be announced as the event nears.
A VIP-level ticket for this year’s event will include both the tasting tent and the seated dinner, where guests will be treated to wine pairings by, and conversation with, an exclusive selection of some of Santa Barbara County’s female winemakers, who will also be announced in the coming weeks. A dessert reception will follow the seated dinner, where guests may continue to mingle with the winemakers.
Proceeds from the March 8 event will benefit the Women’s Fund of Northern Santa Barbara County, a giving circle where individuals combine their money and/or time so that they can have a bigger impact on the causes most important to them, than they would by individually donating. In the past three years, the Women’s Fund of Northern Santa Barbara County distributed $140,000 in grants to organizations serving women, children, the arts and the community.
Tickets for the March 8 event are available at womenwinemakersdinner2019.eventbrite.com. Tasting Tent Tickets (5:30 PM-7:30 PM), which include appetizers and wine tastings, are $50.00 per person (plus tax and on-line processing fees). VIP Tickets for the March 8 event, which include the tasting tent and the seated, four-course dinner with wine pairings, are $125.00 per person (plus tax and on-line processing fees; VIP level ticket seating is limited, advance ticket purchase is required).
The March 8 Women Winemakers Dinner will be held at K’Syrah Catering & Events’ venue located at 478 4th Place, Solvang, CA 93463. Free street parking is available in the area, as well as free public lot parking directly adjacent to the venue.
For more information about the March 8 Women Winemakers Dinner, please contact Anna Ferguson-Sparks, Stiletto Marketing, at 1.877.327.2656 or info@stilettomarketing.com.
