BY GABE SAGLIE   |   MARCH 4, 2025

“Santa Barbara has always been more of a maverick type of region,” winemaker Karen Steinwachs tells me. “And that certainly has helped female talent to flourish.”

Steinwachs and I are discussing the remarkable number of women winemakers in the area, a cohort which has grown solidly over the decades. These days, female leadership drives some of Santa Barbara’s favorite brands like Carhartt, Zaca Mesa and Story of Soil, as well as many of the region’s newest viticultural endeavors, including Provignage, Pars Fortuna, and Mi Casa. It’s an impressive representation, especially when compared to the global wine industry of female winemakers accounting for about 10% of lead winemaker roles. 

Steinwachs herself has been an important player in the Santa Barbara wine scene for close to 25 years, at brands like Foley, Fiddlehead, and Buttonwood. She is currently producing about 500 cases of pinot noir, chardonnay, gewürztraminer, and pinot gris each year under her Seagrape Wine Co. label. When I tactfully ask if being female brings something special and unique to the wines she makes, she –  with comparable tact – reminds me that “Mother Nature is a girl!” and suggests that a feminine approach is about “less brawn, more brain.”

She adds: “We tend to be detail-oriented people, we pay so much attention to each wine! And we’re also such a community! We just reach out to each other when we need help – no ‘mine is bigger than yours’ kind of thing!”

This love and appreciation for all things female will be on full display during the Women Winemakers and Culinarians Celebration taking place across the Santa Ynez Valley March 6^th through the 9^th. Four days, four unique events, with the festival’s “Grand Tasting” ($149) – a three-hour early afternoon fête at 27 Vines Vineyard that’ll star more than 35 women winemakers – coinciding with International Women’s Day on March 8^th. The worldwide observance was launched in 1909 to spotlight working women’s achievements.

This annual celebration launched several years ago, but it’s on firmer footing now, thanks to the recent formation of a nonprofit 501(c)3 foundation to spearhead it. Steinwachs serves as president, with actor-turned-vintner Sunny Doench Stricker pulling VP duties. Her wine brand, Future Perfect, with an eclectic tasting room in downtown Los Olivos, is inspired by “a culture of love, inclusion and bliss,” says the winemaker.

When I ask about her own inspirations as a female entrepreneur in Santa Barbara wine country, Doench Stricker points to several “epic male winemakers who’ve been so encouraging and who still champion how I make wine!” She gives a super enthusiastic nod to the way her mother raised her, though. “She always encouraged me to razzle dazzle, and to make sure everybody else is also shining, and to celebrate every day!” says Doench Stricker.

That ethos of support and recognition inspire the festival’s “Sips and She-Nanigans – a Sassy Soirée” event ($99) on Friday, March 7^th, complete with a red-carpet welcome at the Fess Parker Winery estate. “We’re going to honor gals we call ‘the wind beneath our wings,’” says Doench Stricker. “These are women who work in the food and wine industries but that we wouldn’t naturally hear about,” like behind-the-scenes line cooks and enologists. “These are women we depend on and who work tirelessly – passion is their power!”

The flashy food-and-wine party will also feature performances by two stand-up comediennes. 

The festival’s opening night affair will honor a Santa Barbara County legend, Lane Tanner, widely known as a pioneer. Her career launched in the early 1980s and has included stints with Firestone, Hitching Post Wines and, most recently, Lumen. Tanner has announced retirement from winemaking, moving on to consulting roles now. The “Lane Tanner Tribute Dinner (& Stories)” event ($125), slated for 5:30 pm on Thursday, March 6^th, will take place at the historic Zaca Creek property in Buellton.

The female feasting comes to an effervescent finale with the “Bubbly Bash” ($135) on Sunday, March 9th, from 9:30 am to noon, at Vega Vineyard & Farm. A variety of what some are dubbing ‘breakfast wines’ – lots of sparklers – by labels like Loubud, Camins 2 Dreams, Amber Rose, Seagrape and Future Perfect will be poured, with gourmet brunch fare by Vega Vineyard’s chef, Louise Smith.

The festival features a charitable angle, too. Last year, it raised $20,000 for She Raised Her Hand, which benefits women veterans. This year will see two Santa Barbara County-based beneficiaries: the NatureTrack Foundation, which provides accessibility to nature and travel for people in wheelchairs, and Mo’s To-Go, offering kitchen skills training and work opportunities for people with disabilities.

Two local winemakers who recently passed away, Kris Curran and Angela Soleno, will be recognized in memoriam.

And among Steinwachs’ closing remarks, a resolute invitation for the rest of us: “Men are more than welcome, of course!” See you there!  

For your tickets, go to www.sbwomenwinemakers.com

Charitable Wine Industry Event Helps to Kickstart Efforts for the New Organization’s Mission to Provide Opportunities for Women to Find Community, Purpose and Strength in their Identity as Veterans

May 1, 2024 – Santa Ynez, CA – Wednesday through Sunday, March 6 through 10, 2024, more than 30 women winemakers and nearly twenty female food-world counterparts gathered for good during the seventh annual, newly-renamed, Santa Barbara County Women Winemakers & Culinarians Celebration (www.SBWomenWinemakers.com), held in the Santa Ynez Valley wine country towns of Santa Ynez, Los Olivos, Solvang, and Los Alamos, California.

The 2024 event stretch spanned five days and consisted of multiple winemaker dinners and wine tasting receptions; the new “Sips and She-nanigans – A Sassy Soirée” event at Fess Parker Winery; a sparkling Sunday brunch at Mattei’s Tavern, Auberge Resorts Collection; and the main wine and food showcase, a grand tasting held this year at private event venue, 27 Vines, in Santa Ynez. Portions of ticket proceeds from each of the ancillary events, as well as event proceeds from the Saturday, March 9, grand tasting at 27 Vines, raised $20,000 in charitable event proceeds for this year’s beneficiary, the new She Raised Her Hand initiative (www.sheraisedherhand.com), whose mission is to provide opportunities for women to find community, purpose and strength in their identity as veterans.

“We have a higher percentage of women winemakers here in Santa Barbara County than anywhere else, and along with our women chefs and food crafters, we have built a strong network in support of each other and others in our community. Each year, we use our annual celebration to raise funds for a charitable organization that all of the participating women elect,” commented Karen Steinwachs, co-founder of the annual Women Winemakers & Culinarians Celebration and owner/winemaker, Seagrape Wine Company.

The Women Winemakers & Culinarians Celebration, held each year on or near International Women’s Day (annually, March 8), has for the past seven celebrations donated event proceeds to a variety of Santa Barbara County non-profits, all aimed at aiding underserved groups within the region’s communities.

“This year, the new She Raised Her Hand initiative was overwhelmingly selected by the group. We are honored to help them get off the ground in their beginning stages,” Steinwachs continued.

The annual Women Winemakers & Culinarians Celebration brings together a varied sampling of Santa Barbara County’s female winemakers and culinarians in a show of support for each other, and other working women. Each year’s March event series features a growing count of women winemakers alongside some of the County’s leading culinary ladies. The March 9, 2024, grand tasting event at 27 Vines featured the highest number of participating women culinarians to date who, along with this year’s 30 women winemakers, entertained approximately 250 guests. Each year’s Women Winemakers Celebration grand tasting has sold out prior to that year’s respective event date.

The March 2024 events were heavily sponsored by a number of regional entities, the support from which allowed the Women Winemakers & Culinarians to donate the $20,000 sum to She Raised Her Hand. Along with donations from the event’s winemakers and culinarians, and a dedicated bevy of event volunteers, other notable 2024 event sponsors were: 27 Vines, Jump On The School Bus, Visit the Santa Ynez Valley, Allan Hancock College, Debbie Douglas Designs, Nick’s Production Services, Deborah Chadsey Photography, Craft & Cluster, Pacific HR, Inc, ForFriends Inn & Village, Melanie Davis Design, Inklings Printing Co., El Rancho Market, Santa Ynez Valley Elite Events, and Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Café and Café Farm.

Tickets for the 2025 Santa Barbara County Women Winemakers & Culinarians Celebration will start to be available in December 2024, for the event dates of March 6-9, 2025. All details TBA; please visit www.SBWomenWinemakers.com for updates. For more information about the March 2024 Women Winemakers & Culinarians Celebration, please contact Anna Ferguson-Sparks, Stiletto Marketing, at 1.877.327.2656 or info@stilettomarketing.com.

Women Winemakers & Culinarians Celebration 2024 participating winemakers and wineries:

• Karen Steinwachs, Seagrape Wine Company
• Lane Tanner, Lumen Wines
• Brit Zotovich, Dreamcôte Wine Co.
• Alison Thomson, Lepiane Wines
• Sonja Magdevski, Casa Dumetz Wines, Clementine Carter, The Feminist Party
• Mireia Taribó & Tara Gomez, Camins 2 Dreams
• Gretchen Voelcker, Piazza Family Wines and Luna Hart Wines
• Laura Hughes, Loubud Wines
• Dana Volk, Dana V. Wines and Happy Mommy Wines
• Jessica Gasca, Story of Soil
• Angela Osborne, A Tribute To Grace Wine Company
• Samra Morris, Alma Rosa Winery
• Alice Anderson, âmevive
• Magan Eng, Kunin Wines
• Megan McGrath Gates, Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards and Toccata
• Kristin Bryden, Zaca Mesa Winery
• Amy Christine, Holus Bolus and The Joy Fantastic
• Claire Wilson, Provignage
• Sunny Doench Stricker, Future Perfect Wine
• Allyson Bycraft, Babcock Winery & Vineyards
• Anna deLaski, Solminer Wine Co.
• Clarissa Nagy, Riverbench Vineyard and Winery
• Amber Hogan, Amber Rose Wines
• Kristin Harris Luis, Cote of Paint Wine
• Brittany Rice, Sunstone Winery
• Jill DelaRiva Russell, Cambria Winery
• Adrienne Rule, Rideau Vineyard
• Alisa Jacobson, Turning Tide Wines
• Angela Soleno, Turiya Wines
• Sarah Suput, Rock 12 Distillery
• Christi Heck, Lavender Oak Vineyard

Women Winemakers & Culinarians Celebration 2024 participating chefs, bakers, and female food crafters:

• Brooke Stockwell, Executive Chef, Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Café
• Erica Velazquez, co-chef/co-owner of Solvang’s Ramen Kotori
• Taylor Tate, executive pastry chef, peasants FEAST
• Joy Reinhardt, chef/owner, Ellie’s Tap & Vine
• Sarah Price, owner/operator of Lompoc-based Sassafras Mobile Food Truck and Restaurant
• Vilay Saikeo, chef/owner of Lompoc’s Savory & Sweet Eats
• Janelle Norman, owner and cheesemonger at Solvang’s Cailloux Cheese Shop
• Melissa Scrymgeour, chef/co-owner, Clean Slate Wine Bar
• Laura Newman, co-owner of Los Olivos’ Lefty’s Coffee Co.
• Amy Dixon, owner/baker, The Baker’s Table
• Kimberly Zimmerman, owner, The Juicy Life
• Lisa Thompson, chef at Global Gardens
• Louise Smith, chef/owner of Louise’s Kitchen Table
• Shanté Norwood, owner/baker at Té’Stees Cupcakes
• Jessica Foster of Jessica Foster Confections
• Shannon Casey, owner of Rancho Olivos
• Jane Darrah, Good Witch Farm
• Anna Vocino, Eat Happy Kitchen
• Rhoda Magbitang, Executive Chef, The Inn at Mattei’s Tavern

Annual Food and Wine Fundraiser Expands to Three Days of Festivities, with New Events at Fess Parker Winery and The Inn at Mattei’s Tavern

“Culinarians” is a brand-new word to me, as it is to Karen Steinwachs, one of the founding organizers of the annual Santa Barbara County women winemakers fundraising event that has renamed itself the “Women Winemakers & Culinarians Celebration” — in honor of the delicious intersection of wine and food that this now three-day extravaganza extols March 8-10.

The “culinarians” moniker came from Chef Brooke Stockwell, another founding organizer (who incidentally graced the January 2020 Indy “Chef Ink” cover story I wrote about chefs and their tattoos, which was one my first big features for the paper before I joined the staff). Stockwell, who is now the executive chef at Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Café, “keeps getting more and more chefs and caterers and food purveyors and specialty people,” said Steinwachs. “She suggested that we should add ‘culinarian,’ which I didn’t think was a word; I thought she made it up, and so did she. But it turns out to actually be a word. And it’s appropriate, right? So that they get the recognition that they deserve as well.”

Steinwachs, the longtime winemaker for Buttonwood Farm Winery who now concentrates on her own Seagrape Wine Company brand, continued, “We pour bottles of wine, and that’s pretty darn easy, but they [the all-women group of chefs] have to get up early and make something and bring it there, make sure it’s hot or cold — it’s a lot more complicated than what the winemakers do that day. So it’s pretty thrilling. And hopefully, we get more and more and more of them.”

Culinarians at the 2023 Women in Wine & Food Celebration | Photo: Heather Daenitz @craftandcluster

Among the culinarians that Stockwell has brought together this year are: Taylor Tate, peasants FEAST; Joy Reinhardt, Ellie’s Tap & Vine; Vilay Saikeo, Savory & Sweet Eats; Melissa Scrymgeour, Clean Slate Wine Bar; Janelle Norman, Cailloux Cheese Shop; Lisa Thompson, Global Gardens; Louise Smith, Louise’s Kitchen Table; Kimberly Zimmerman, The Juicy Life; Shanté Norwood, Té’Stees Cupcakes; and Jessica Foster of Jessica Foster Confections, with more announcements to come.

The weekend’s events commemorating International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month — all of which benefit the new “She Raised Her Hand” initiative (sheraisedherhand.com), which provides opportunities for women to find community, purpose, and strength in their identity as veterans — kick off with “Sips and She-nanigans: A Sassy Soirée” at Fess Parker Winery on Friday, March 8. “It’s a dressy affair, because you know, every once in a while, we get to take off those work boots,” laughs Steinwachs, who said Fess Parker’s delicious “Fesstivity” sparkling wines will be featured as well as additional Fess Parker pours and “bites” from Sarah Price’s Sassafras Catering and wines from a panel that features women who are the “wind beneath the wings” for winemakers and culinarians, such as enologists, sous chefs, assistant winemakers, vineyard owners, grape growers, farmers, and restaurant owners.

Wine & Culinary Participants at the 2023 Women in Wine & Food Celebration | Photo: Heather Daenitz @craftandcluster

Not only that, the host will be Anna Vocino, a Santa Ynez Valley resident, founder of Eat Happy Kitchen, comic (Snapped: Killer Couples, Jimmy Kimmel Live!), voice-over actor, and your typical multitasker female who will also bring in fellow funny women Jessica Keenan (HBO’s Entre Nos), and Mav Viola (Comedy Central/Featuring and the upcoming Netflix Is a Joke) to entertain guests. “She’s amazing and hilarious,” says Steinwachs of Vocino, who organized the comedy component.

Tickets are available at fessparker.com/winery-events.

Some of the bites at the 2023 celebration  | Photo: Deborah Chadsey Photography

On Saturday, March 9, the Grand Tasting event will be at 27 Vines on the outskirts of Santa Ynez this year and will feature more than 30 woman winemakers and more than one dozen female chefs/culinarians (all of whom are required to be present to participate in the event). The tasting has once again sold out weeks in advance of the event.

Joining Steinwachs is a roster of her fellow women winemakers that reads like who’s-who of the Santa Barbara County wine world: Lane Tanner, Lumen Wines; Kathy Joseph, Fiddlehead Cellars; Helen Falcone, Falcone Family Vineyards; Alison Thomson, Lepiane Wines; Gretchen Voelcker, Piazza Family Wines and Luna Hart Wines; Laura Hughes, Loubud Wines and Sanford Winery & Vineyards; Dana Volk, Dana V. Wines and Happy Mommy Wines; Sonja Magdevski, Casa Dumetz Wines, Clementine Carter, and The Feminist Party; Jessica Gasca, Story of Soil; Wynne Solomon, Peake Ranch Winery; Samra Morris, Alma Rosa Winery; Alice Anderson, âmevive; Megan McGrath Gates, Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards and Toccata; Kristin Bryden, Zaca Mesa Winery; Amy Christine, Holus Bolus; Claire Wilson, Provignage; Sunny Doench Stricker, Future Perfect Wine; Allyson Bycraft, Babcock Winery & Vineyards; Anna deLaski, Solminer Wine Co.; Brittany Rice, Sunstone Winery; Kristin Harris Luis, Cote of Paint Wine; Christi Heck, Lavender Oak Vineyard; Brit Zotovich, Dreamcôte Wine Co.; Magan Eng, Kunin Wines; Jill DelaRiva Russell, Cambria Winery; Adrienne Rule, Rideau Vineyard; Clarissa Nagy, Riverbench Vineyard & Winery; Amber Hogan, Amber Rose Wines; Alisa Jacobson, Turning Tide Wines; Angela Osborne, A Tribute to Grace Wine Company; and Angela Soleno, Turiya Wines, with more announcements to come.

Lane Tanner | Photo: Heather Daenitz @craftandcluster

Concluding the weekend festivities on Sunday, March 10, is the Women Winemakers’ “Bubbly Brunch,” created by Executive Chef Rhoda Magbitang of The Inn at Mattei’s Tavern and the host of this special event. Featuring sparklers and “breakfast wines” from the participating women winemakers, the morning starts out with bubbles and then segues into a brunch, with a selection of white, rosé, and red wines from Alma Rosa Winery, Amber Rose Wines, Future Perfect, Kunin Wines, Loubud, Luna Hart, Seagrape Wine Company, and more. 

Tickets are available at aubergeresorts.com/matteistavern/experiences.

“I always have to say that men are welcome too,” adds Steinwachs with a laugh.

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By Leslie Dinaberg, Santa Barbara Independant

For up-and-coming winemakers and small-production vintners without a brick-and-mortar to call home, the Garagiste Wine Festival provides a temporary setting to hold tastings and interact with patrons face-to-face. 

The Solvang-based iteration of the two-day event, scheduled for Feb. 9 and 10, is set to be a homecoming of sorts for Casa Dumetz Wines founder Sonja Magdevski, whose own winemaking journey began in her garage. And she was among the pourers at the inaugural Garagiste Wine Festival, held in Paso Robles in 2011.

“Imagine if you’re making wine in your garage or you’re making 500 cases—it’s hard to get your brand out there,” Magdevski said. “Wine is extraordinarily challenging. There’s so much competition, from every level.”

Upon its first occurrence, the Garagiste Wine Festival offered Magdevski and some of her peers in the micro-winery scene a unique outlet to network with one another under the same roof, while promoting, and usually introducing, their respective brands to wine lovers from both near and far.

“They had organized it extraordinarily well. There were a ton of people pouring, and probably three- to four-hundred people who attended,” Magdevski said, recalling her first experience at the festival. “It’s a really beautiful outlet for people who want to discover new wines and learn about what people are doing.”

Magdevski has fond memories of participating in Garagiste during the festival’s premiere event and returned a few more times over the years, but she deliberately hasn’t been back in a while.

“I stopped going because I felt like it was disrespectful to take space from others who needed the space,” Magdevski said. “I no longer make wine on such a small scale, so I just wanted to open up the door for other people to sort of have an opportunity to pour their wines for all the awesome Garagiste attendees.”

Although Magdevski’s winemaking operation still fits under the umbrella of boutique winery, producing about 2,500 cases annually, the primary goal of Garagiste is to highlight relatively hard-to-find or undiscovered small-lot wineries and artisan winemakers.

But a momentous occasion is bringing Magdevski back to the fest once again.

While Garagiste originated in Paso Robles in 2011, 2014 marked the festival’s debut in Solvang. As part of the Solvang event’s 10th anniversary celebration, Garagiste is hosting Magdevski and other fest veterans, including vintners from Kaena Wine and Kessler-Haak Vineyards, who will pour during a special rare and reserve tasting on Feb. 9 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. 

Guests of the tasting will have a Santa Maria-style barbecue buffet dinner—prepared by Plemmons Catering and The Swiss—followed by desserts from Solvang Bakery.

Garagiste isn’t the only event this winter where Magdevski’s wines will be showcased—her wares will be featured alongside offerings from her peers in the wine industry and culinary experts as well at the upcoming Santa Barbara County Women Winemakers and Culinarians Celebration, a multi-day event held at various venues in Santa Ynez March 7 through 10.

Magdevski’s relationship with the annual program is comparable to her connection with Garagiste, as she has been part of both events since they started. The local vintner not only participated in the inaugural Women Winemakers event, held in 2015, she was also its host, as the event took place at her Casa Dumetz Wines tasting room in Los Alamos.

“At that time, it was maybe 10 or 20 of us,” Magdevski said, recalling that first celebration, developed to highlight women in the local wine industry and recognize International Women’s Day.

The annual event has grown to showcase more than 30 women winemakers on average, as well as a lineup of culinary offerings from women working in the local restaurant and bakery scene. 

RAISING GLASSES, HANDS: The Santa Barbara County Women Winemakers and Culinarians Celebration is a multi-day event with happenings in various venues in the Santa Ynez Valley. Proceeds from the event’s grand tasting fundraiser on March 9 will benefit She Raised Her Hand, an initiative that supports women veterans.

Magdevski said she appreciates that both the Women Winemakers and Culinarians Celebration and the Garagiste Wine Festival allow the public to interact with vintners they might not have come across previously—and they open doors for emerging talent.

“There’s always new people, thankfully, who are bringing fresh ideas, because there’s always new people entering the wine industry,” Magdevski said. “There’s always new people to discover.”

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By Caleb Wiseblood Santa Maria Sun