Sipping Season: High-Profile Events Target Wine Lovers

It’s never too early for great wine.

Each year, March marks the start of what I call the Sipping Season. In the vineyards, bud break will begin – dormant vines waking up to welcome what’ll become the year’s harvest. And across the Santa Barbara area, high-profile wine events will begin, too – unique opportunities for lovers of wine to sip what’s new, exciting and delicious. 

Here are three of the best.

World of Pinot Noir

Hey, fellow procrastinators, this awesome event begins tonight, so get your tickets now! World of Pinot Noir returns to the Ritz-Carlton Bacara with three days of tastings, seminars and dinners, and features some of the best Burgundy-inspired wines in the world. Dozens of brands include some of the very best in Santa Barbara County – Au Bon Climat, Brewer-Clifton, Dierberg, Native9, and The Hilt – along with global powerhouses from premium wine growing regions in Sonoma, Chile, and France.

The Grand Tastings on Friday and Saturday ($175 or $300 for early entry) give consumers access to hundreds of wines, including new and upcoming releases, and the special chance to mingle and chat with the winemakers themselves. There is an amazing amount of wine to choose from here, so my suggestion is to focus on regions to explore, or on specific wineries you want to get to know. The early-bird-gets-the-worm approach works, too.

Seminars offer more intimate chances to delve into various styles and to learn how terroir can drive how pinot noir smells, tastes, and feels. Friday’s “The New ‘Grand Cru’ of California” session ($150) will spotlight 10 of California’s top-tier labels, like Sanford and Merry Edwards, and the Saturday “Global Wine Conversations” seminar ($150) will lead guests on a blind tasting challenge of pinots from all over the world.

Friday and Saturday each feature wine lunch events ($175) and mega dinners with several pinot noir winemaker celebs ($275-$500), each feast featuring cuisine from Bacara’s renowned culinary teams.

If you’ve done WOPN before, you’ll be back! And if you’ve never been, this is the one wine event you don’t want to miss. 

For tickets, including the Weekend VIP Passport ($2,250) that gets you all-access, go to worldofpinotnoir.com

Santa Barbara County Women Winemakers and Culinarians Celebration

Yes, men are welcome – but this event is all about celebrating the talented women who help define Santa Barbara County as a world-class wine and food destination. 

Coinciding with International Women’s Day, and back for its 7th year, this event has been rebranded and also expanded to offer up no less than five days of delectable events. It all begins Wednesday, March 6th with a dinner featuring Camins 2 Dreams, the label driven by the wife-and-wife team of Tara Gomez and Mireia Taribó, with food from Michelin-recognized Peasant’s Feast in Solvang ($110). Thursday, March 7th, presents three dinners across the Santa Ynez Valley, from Los Olivos to Las Alamos ($75-$150). And Friday night is all about “Sips and She-Nanigans – A Sassy Soirée” ($95) at the Fess Parker Winery estate, a fancy wine-and-cocktail party that’ll go late into the night and highlight female chefs, female winemakers, and entertainment from various comediennes.

As per usual, the Saturday Grand Tasting sold out early, but tickets remain for Sunday’s “Bubbly Bash” ($95) at the Inn at Mattei’s Tavern in Los Olivos, with sparklers from labels like Seagrape, Story of Soil, and Alma Rosa.

Food and wine aside, this is a premium opportunity to meet and celebrate the growing team of women – 19 gourmands and 34 winemakers, no less – who are defining today’s culinary culture in Santa Barbara County. Say hi to Casa Dumetz’s Sonja Magdevski, Sunstone’s Brittany Rice, Dana V’s Dana Volk, Dreamcôte’s Brit Zotovich, and Los Olivos Café’s Chef Brooke Stockwell, among so many others. Proceeds will go to She Raised Her Hand, a new initiative aimed at empowering women veterans. 

Find your tickets at SBwomenwinemakers.com

Saunters & Sips

This quintessential spring event brings the coveted cool-climate Sta. Rita Hills winegrowing region to the Santa Barbara shore. Saunters & Sips ($129) is all about rosé and sparkling wines made with the world-premium pinot noir and chardonnay grapes that grow so prolifically in the vineyards cradled by the Purisima Hills and Santa Rosa Hills between Buellton and Lompoc. More than two dozen brands will represent the world-renowned AVA and dole out pours of their newest releases – Flying Goat, Ampelos, Loubud, Fiddlehead, and Babcock among them.

The afternoon event from 2:30-5:30 pm will offer up those famous ocean views from the Carousel House along Cabrillo Blvd. Food stations will feature Thai dishes, empanadas and BBQ sliders, and The Down Yonders will play live music all day.

This is one of the two major events presented each year by the Sta. Rita Hills Alliance, which was founded in 1997 to promote the region that features more than 60 vineyards across 30,000 acres – 3,000 of them planted to wine grapes. Their four-day Wine & Fire feast is slated for August. 

Go to www.staritahills.com/events for tickets

And One more

A last-minute date change offers up a rare chance this weekend to get dibs on winemaker Ryan Carr’s premium portfolio. Carr Winery’s downtown Santa Barbara location – a unique venue inside a 1940s Quonset hut – is hosting a Cellar Raid ($30 or $10 for wine club members), giving consumers the chance to taste and buy 80+ wines from vintages 2006 to 2016. The flat rate pricing – three bottles for $125, six bottles for $250, and a 12-pack for $500 – represents a potential of savings of up to 80% on some bottles. Most wines are expected to sell out, so show up early. The event happens Saturday, March 2, from noon to 6 pm. 

Check out carrwinery.com for more information

No reason to go thirsty! Cheers!