“Women Winemakers Celebration: A Toast to Women in Wine and Food” to be held at New Los Olivos, California Hospitality Property, Mattei’s Tavern, Auberge Resorts Collection
February 16, 2023 – Los Olivos, CA – On Sunday, March 12, 2023, in delayed honor of International Women’s Day, the sixth annual Women Winemakers Celebration showcasing the winemaking talents of more than 30 Santa Barbara County women winemakers will take place in the Santa Ynez Valley wine country destination of Los Olivos, California. The charitable event, which runs from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM, will be held at the newly-opened Mattei’s Tavern, Auberge Resorts Collection, a historic hospitality property reborn for modern-day travelers. The Santa Barbara County Women Winemakers Celebration will once again benefit a regional nonprofit, with event proceeds from the 2023 gathering donated to The Rainbow House Inc, the first LGBTQIA+ community resource center in the Santa Ynez Valley. Tickets to the March 12, 2023, event are currently available at https://2023womenwinemakers.
“When we launched this celebration in 2017, we never imagined that it would gain ground in the manner that it has. The support that our community displays to our women winemakers through this event is greatly appreciated and so very important. Knowing that we’re all in this together and being able to, in turn, show that support to other causes in the region, is what makes this event so pertinent,” said Santa Barbara County woman winemaker, Karen Steinwachs, part of the all-female Women Winemakers Celebration event production team and co-founder of the annual celebration.
Steinwachs continued, “Now in our sixth year, the 2023 Women Winemakers Celebration will feature more women winemakers than at any of our past events. We have more than 30 ladies pouring on March 12. We’re also holding the event in a new ‘home,’ a spectacular new hospitality venue, The Inn at Mattei’s Tavern, Auberge Resorts Collection, which has welcomed us all with open arms.”
The sixth installment of the annual celebration will once again be a daytime happening, an intimate, alfresco wine tasting reception complete with elevated hors d’oeuvres. The three-hour wine and food tasting reception (11:00 AM to 2:00 PM) will boast 30-plus Santa Barbara County women winemakers, the largest number of female winemakers that this event has featured to date, all of which will be on-hand to pour tastes of their wines and talk with event guests. Passed and stationary appetizers will be offered by their female counterparts in the Santa Barbara County food world, while live music by Arwen Lewis will add to the event’s convivial ambience. Also returning to this year’s event, will be the popular “Estrogen Collection” wine bottle opportunity drawing.
International Women’s Day has been celebrated worldwide since 1909, with a focus on working women’s achievements and issues. In a working environment which sees about 10% of the global wine industry as female lead winemakers, Santa Barbara County continues to see a much higher percentage of women winemakers than most regions in the world – with nearly double the average and growing each year, as is evidenced by this year’s Women Winemakers Celebration winemaker event roster.
The March 12 event brings together the varied 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.
Participating winemakers and wineries confirmed to date include:
Karen Steinwachs, Seagrape Wine Company; Lane Tanner, Lumen Wines; Kathy Joseph, Fiddlehead Cellars; Brooke Carhartt, Carhartt Family Wines; Brit Zotovich, Dreamcôte Wine Co.; Sonja Magdevski, Casa Dumetz Wines, Clementine Carter, The Feminist Party; Alecia Moore, Two Wolves Wine; Alison Thomson, Lepiane Wines; Mireia Taribó & Tara Gomez, Camins 2 Dreams; Sandra Newman, Cebada Wine; Gretchen Voelcker, Piazza Family Wines and Luna Hart Wines; Laura Roach, Loubud Wines; Dana Volk, Dana V. Wines; Jessica Gasca, Story of Soil; Angela Osborne, A Tribute To Grace Wine Company; Wynne Solomon, Peake Ranch Winery; Rachel DeAscentiis, Say When Wine; Samra Morris, Alma Rosa Winery; Alice Anderson, âmevive; Magan Eng, Kunin Wines; Megan McGrath Gates, Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards; Kristin Bryden, Zaca Mesa Winery; Amy Christine, Holus Bolus & The Joy Fantastic; Gretchen Rogers, Amiga de la Vina; Emmy Fjerstad, Forsu Wine Company; Claire Wilson, Provignage; Sunny Doench Stricker, Future Perfect Wine; Allyson Bycraft, Babcock Winery & Vineyards; Marlen Porter, Amplify Wines; Roxie Ward, Butternut Wines (Miller Family Wine Company); Anna Clifford, Cambria Wines, Nielson Wines, Final Girl Wines; Jill DelaRiva Russell, Cambria Winery (all additional participating winemakers/wineries, TBA).
The women winemakers will be side by side at the March 12 event with some of Santa Barbara County’s leading culinary ladies, the latter of which will also be present to chat with guests and showcase their edible contributions to complement their colleagues’ wines.
Culinary talent for this year’s event will be organized by Brooke Stockwell, Executive Chef, Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Café, and will include Rhoda Magbitang, Executive Chef, The Inn at Mattei’s Tavern; Erica Velazquez, co-chef/co-owner of Solvang’s Ramen Kotori; Golzar Barrera, owner of Santa Ynez Valley’s All Purpose Flower; Janelle Norman, owner and cheesemonger at Solvang’s Cailloux Cheese Shop; Sarah Price, owner/operator of Lompoc-based Sassafras Mobile Food Truck and Restaurant; Melissa Scrymgeour, chef/co-owner, Clean Slate Wine Bar; Laura Newman, co-owner of Los Olivos’ Lefty’s Coffee Co.; Kimberly Zimmerman, owner, The Juicy Life; Lisa Thompson, chef at Global Gardens; Tracy Fleming, owner/baker, The Bakery Farmstand; Shanté Norwood, owner/baker at Té’Stees Cupcakes; and treats- and truffle-maker Jessica Foster of Jessica Foster Confections. Foodie donations will be made by Theo Stephan, owner of Global Gardens, and Shawnda Marmorstein, owner, Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Café and Café Farm. Additional event chefs and participating food businesses will be announced over the next few weeks.
Tickets for the March 12 event, which is sponsored in part by Visit the Santa Ynez Valley and The Inn at Mattei’s Tavern, Auberge Resorts Collection, are available at https://2023womenwinemakers.
The Inn at Mattei’s Tavern, Auberge Resorts Collection (2350 Railway Ave, Los Olivos, CA 93441), is conveniently located in the heart of the Santa Ynez Valley. Event parking information will be distributed to all ticketed guests prior to the event date.
For more information about the March 12, 2023, Women Winemakers Celebration please contact Anna Ferguson-Sparks, Stiletto Marketing, at 1.877.327.2656 or info@stilettomarketing.com.
About The Inn at Mattei’s Tavern, Auberge Resorts Collection
Set on a historic piece of land populated with old-growth palm trees and just 2 hours from Los Angeles by car, Mattei’s Tavern originally served as a popular stagecoach stop considered the social center of the Santa Ynez Valley through the 1930s. Opening again with its history celebrated and upheld in every detail old and new, the property has been sensitively reimagined by renowned design firm AvroKO. The Inn at Mattei’s Tavern, Auberge Resorts Collection will feature 67 luxury guest rooms and cottages that blend the simplicity of modern farmhouse design with the eclectic style of nearby ranch life. The Inn will feature 5 unique food and beverage venues highlighting the Central Coast’s sea and land, an outdoor pool with a welcoming poolside bar, cabanas and firepits, a signature spa in partnership with Jenni Kayne’s Oak Essentials, and modern indoor-outdoor event spaces that perfectly suit weddings and other gatherings that desire a sophisticated, country-inspired setting. For more information, visit https://aubergeresorts.com/
