Delicioso Cinco de Mayo Pig Roast!

Join Gravenstein Grill for a very special Cinco de Mayo Pig Roast on the patio – featuring a whole hog from Sebastopol’s Leland Street Farms! Chef Bob Simontacchi & Sous Chef Misael Aguirre will be preparing an array of traditional Mexican side dishes to go along with the delectable pork.

In addition the amazing food, there will be an outdoor craft tequila & mexican beer bar & live music – it’s a can’t miss party in West Sonoma! TICKETS are limited, so book now to save a spot!

Sunday May 5th, 5:30-8:30pm at Gravenstein Grill
8050 Bodega Avenue, Sebastopol
707-634-6142

WOW Sonoma: Celebrating Women, Wine & The Future of the Industry

You may have caught my Inside Sonoma column in the April/May Somm Journal titled Rising Representation (page 28): Whether you did or not here is the unabridged version with more bang for your bottle, so to speak!

W.O.W.!

Which came first: Women’s History Month or International Women’s Day? The answer is not as important as the fact that the accomplishments of women are now being celebrated every day of the year. This is especially true in the wine industry where women play much more important roles than ever before as grape growers, winemakers, and proprietors. What connects these spirited individuals is not just their love for wine, food, fun and their drive to succeed in this ever-expanding industry, but also a shared desire for equality in the workplace.

In 2017, Amy Bess Cook took these thoughts to mind when she began developing the Women-Owned Wineries of Sonoma County project (WOWSonoma.com) to celebrate the uniqueness of 50 local entrepreneurs and unsung wine heroines through storytelling, support, and commerce.

Founder of WOW, Amy Bess Cook!
Founder of WOW, Amy Bess Cook!

To gather data and winery contacts,  Cook worked with Dr. Lucia Gilbert, a professor emeritus of feminist psychology at Santa Clara University, who has spent thousands of hours studying women in the wine industry. Since the 1990s, reports have also found that the number of men and women graduating from the major viticulture and enology programs has been nearly even and in some schools there is even a higher percentage of female graduates over males. Therefore, the list of WOW members now includes over 550 women-owned wineries and women winemakers nationwide.

Granted, there is still a lot of disparity in the industry. For starters is the fact that women only represent 10% of the lead winemakers at the 4,000+ wineries that are currently operating in California. While only 4% are owners of wineries, most are producing small boutique brands which are beginning to catch the interest of a growing number of sommeliers, wine retailers and general consumers searching for wines with more unique characteristics, personalities, and direct connections to the winemakers and women owners behind the labels.

Not surprisingly, the highest percentage (12 to 14%) of these rising entrepreneurs are located in the North Bay. As a result, Cook has been able to work directly and promote exciting new brands that have been emerging in the American wine scene over the past year.

“To me, this project has become a full manifestation of change in the industry that will benefit from increasing sales and awareness of wines made by women, but also providing a platform to address imperative issues and inequities that requires a true team effort,” says Cook.

Shauna Rosenblum of Rock Wall Wine Company.
Shauna Rosenblum of Rock Wall Wine Company.

In February, to celebrate the one-year anniversary and achievements of this provocative business model, members of the WOW movement gathered at the “Here’s To Her” Dinner: a feast, fete and informative discussion emceed by Beck Hopkins of Folio Fine Wine Partners and hosted by culinary entrepreneur Sondra Bernstein, Chef John Toulze, and her staff at Salon D in Sonoma.

Among the featured winemakers was Shauna Rosenblum, who joined forces with her father, the “King of Zin” Kent Rosenblum, to start the Alameda-based Rock Wall Wine Company in 2008. Although she was already winemaker and business partner before her father’s death last year, Rosenblum said she felt like a kid trying to gain peoples respect over the first eight years. To hold strong and ascend to the “O.G. level” over the past four years, Rosenblum put her focus on creating an impressive series of wines she wanted to drink.

“If you are having fun with what you are doing nobody can stop your shine,” says Rosenblum, whose 2017 Rock Wall Sparkling Rose, one of the five sparkling wines that make up nearly half of the 6,000 cases the winery produces each year produced , was served at the during the opening reception at the dinner.

Gifted winemaker Katy Wilson of LaRue Wines in Sebastopol, says she experiences inequality when men address other men in the group rather than speaking to her directly, especially when she is the person responding and they continue to speak to the men in the group. She also finds that both men and women tend to use a man’s last name when making an introduction and then introduce her simply as “Katy”.

“You have to encourage yourself to keep your spirit up and driving your points home through the quality of the finished wines you produce,” says Wilson, who provided the   LaRue 2015 Pinot Noir from the Rice-Spivak Vineyard in the Sonoma Coast that was served with the first course of the dinner.

Jennifer Reichardt, whose Raft 2017 Sangiovese from Butte County was paired with the Liberty Duck from her family’s farm in Petaluma, has battled against being stereotyped as young, cute and immature. All this while cutting her teeth delivering her family products to top restaurants in the Bay Area and working harvest for top producers in Sonoma County, Chile and Australia before launching the Raft Wines brand in 2016. This dedication and focus has paid dividends with the demand and production of her wines increasing from 300 to 1,000 cases over a three-year period.

“While growing up around wine helped elevate my interest in working with grapes,” says Reichardt. “Making my own wine and owning the label helps me avoid being controlled by rank and file, as well as making the styles of food-friendly wines I want to be known for making.”

Another dinner attendee was Brenae Royal, a spirited viticulturalist, who puts her passion into managing and curating the glorious vines at the legendary Monte Rosso Vineyard overlooking Sonoma Valley and other admirable E. & J. Gallo properties in Sonoma County.

“To me, harvest is like sending the kids off to college,” says Royal, in reference to the 2014 Louis Martini Cabernet Sauvignon from Monte Rosso that was that was served with Chocolate-Dipped Figs at the end of the meal. “You’ve done everything you could to get them there. Now it’s up to the people around them (the winemakers) to help take them go to the next level.”

While it’s been a natural fit to elevate her game to meet the need of the winemakers she works with, the harder part of the job has been to have people accept her as a minority and a woman.

“At the end of the day I’m a farmer. So the fact that I am a woman of color is completely irrelevant. Thus, I’m not looking for notoriety, but to get the respect from my male counterparts in the industry,” she says.

In the end, Hopkins says these stories of ingenuity, determination and tolerance are important lessons to share with the with the wine industry as a whole. “If you are afraid to speak up, then how are people going to follow you?” asked Hopkins. “Instead, it’s about being passionate, efficient and standing tall as a close knit community.”

Petaluma Gap’s Battle of the Sexes Takes to the Airwaves

This just in from the Petaluma Gap!  Continuing a tradition started at last year’s Sonoma County Barrel Auction, a men’s and a women’s winemaker teams from the Petaluma Gap American Viticultural Area (AVA) will compete to create the most coveted and unique lot of Petaluma Gap Pinot Noir that expresses the distinct terroir of Sonoma County’s newest AVA.

Dueling Winemakers
Erica Stancliff & Tom Gendall
go on KSRO’s Vintners Vibe, April 11

Representing the women are Erica Stancliff (Trombetta Family Wines), Kerith Overstreet (Bruliam Wines) and Ana Keller (Keller Estate) with a ten-case auction lot called “Aura,” named after the Goddess of the Wind. The men’s lot, called “Zephyros,” the name of the God of the West Wind, is a collaboration from Tom Gendall (Cline Family Cellars), Evan Pontoriero (Fogline Vineyards), Justin Seidenfeld (Rodney Strong) and Shane Finley (Thirty-Seven Wines).

The women’s team outperformed the men at last year’s auction with their lot selling for $14,000 while the men’s lot raised $9,000, but the men have declared themselves ready for a rematch. “I will let the wine speak for itself,” says Gendall confidently. “The wines were all stunning and the final blend really shone through as the best expression from all four sites. Beautiful, delicate aromatics with bright red fruits, great structure and mouth-watering acidity on a very long finish with well-integrated spice and savoriness. It really is a once-in-a-lifetime wine, and we are very excited to show it off.”

Hear what Erica Stancliff has to say about the women’s blend and the distinct vineyards it’s sourced from when she and Tom Gendall meet on KSRO’s Vintners Vibe talk show on Thursday, April 11 at 4:30 PM, 1350 AM | 103.5 FM radio. Six individual wineries are also offering up “Never Before, Never Again” Pinot Noir wines from the Petaluma Gap including Cline Family Cellars, Guarachi Family Wines, Fulcrum Wines, Keller Estate, Schermeister Winery and Sojourn Cellars. Interested trade buyers can taste all the wines at a preview event at Grand Cru Custom Crush on May 2.

The Fifth Annual Sonoma County Barrel Auction, presented by Sonoma County Vintners, will auction off to trade buyers more than eighty lots of “Never Before, Never Again” wines from diverse Sonoma County regions on May 3, 2019 at MacMurray Estate Vineyards.

Make your way to Rosé at Gravenstein Grill on April 18th!

Join us for the first event of Gravenstein Grill‘s second annual Summer Wine Series for a taste of the AMAZING new Rosé releases by Sonoma County wineries!

On April 18th, from 5:30-7:30,  enjoy sips and appetizers with these participating wineries; Radio-Coteau, Kokomo Winery, Papapietro Perry Winery, Balletto Vineyards & Winery, Talisman Wines (Official Fan Page), Claypool Cellars, ACORN Winery, Rodney Strong Vineyards, Jigar Wines, The Larsen Projekt, Muscardini Cellars, Halleck Vineyard, RED CAR WINE and many more stylish producers of dry pink wines!

All for $25: Get your TICKETS!

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There will also be live music in outdoor on our Grove Patio, so come ready to eat, drink, mingle and have a great time in West Sonoma Wine Country!

 

Winemaker Galas in April, during the El Dorado Passport Weekends!

The Annual El Dorado Winery Association’s Passport Weekends includes two added adventures in taste, the Winemaker Galas!  Each of the Galas take place on the Passport weekend’s preceding Friday evenings, April 5th and 12th at Mercedes-Benz of El Dorado Hills from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Experience the great wine and food from this region in an intimate setting:  Guests will rub-shoulders with the winemakers themselves from C.G. Di Arie Vineyard & Winery, Mediterranean VineyardsBumgarner WineryFenton Herriott Vineyards and many more of the region’s winemakers will be on hand as well pouring specially selected, rare and reserve wines from their cellars that are not generally available for the public.

Delicious food to pair from  top regional restaurants presenting hors d’ oeuvres to pair with the evening’s selection of wines.  Placerville’s Farm Table, and Heyday Café, plus El Dorado Hill’s C Knight’s Steakhouse, Milestone, and the new, Osteria Moto, to drop a few names.

A silent auction of limited hand-picked offerings and live music will cap the evening off.  Tickets are $85 per person for either of the two Friday events.  Purchase them HERE!!!

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