Wine & Fire, my favorite wine festival, returns this week — Thursday through Sunday — to various venues throughout the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. This year includes several new events, among them a blind tasting with Master of Wine Amy Christine, a dinner honoring pioneer Richard Sanford and a 20-year retrospective tasting featuring four winemakers.
“As we celebrate the Sta. Rita Hills AVA’s 25th anniversary, we’ve expanded Wine & Fire with a series of intimate experiences that take guests beyond the glass and into the vineyards, conversations and stories that define our region,” said Chiara Shannon, co-owner of Groundstar Vineyard and interim president of the Sta. Rita Hills Wine Alliance.
“Whether honoring Richard Sanford’s legacy at a special tribute dinner, exploring iconic vineyards such as Domaine de la Côte, learning with Amy Christine, or tasting more than two decades of library chardonnay and pinot noir alongside Greg Brewer and the (other) pioneering winemakers who helped shape our AVA, these experiences offer a deeper connection to the people, the vineyards and wines that make the Sta. Rita Hills one of California’s most exciting and dynamic wine regions.”
Details on the specific events and tickets — if any remain available — can be found here.
While every year Wine & Fire honors a single winemaker for his or her efforts, during this 25th anniversary year, three people will be recognized for their contributions to the Sta. Rita Hills during the past quarter-century.
Greg Brewer will be honored as Vintner of the Year, Francisco Ramirez will receive the Farming Leadership Award and Auggie Rodriguez of Sanford Winery will receive the Cellar Excellence Award.
During a March interview with fellow Sta. Rita Hills winemaking pioneers, Brewer, known for his extensive work with both pinot noir and chardonnay grapes, lauded the climate of the AVA, noting that, in particular, “chardonnay is very transparent in (this) stable climate.”
“The Sta. Rita Hills is the voice of the sea and the sand, through the lens of chardonnay,” he said.
Buttonwood Adds Vineyard Horseback Rides
To be fair, when a publicist for Buttonwood Farm & Vineyard first reached out, she had me at “horses.”
While I rode religiously for 30 years starting at age 11, it’s been a solid 20 years since I’ve been on a horse.
“Sign me up!” I said, agreeing to a one-hour ride led by the wrangler who works with Buttonwood’s horses, who are owned by Studio Horse Rentals in Burbank. As the company name implies, these are “studio” horses, meaning they “act” in TV and film.
On July 10, three of us met wrangler Hector Martinez, the fellow who trains and rides the pack of horses that travel between Buttonwood and Burbank. He’s a longtime employee of Circle K/Studio Horse Rentals, according to Nicole Carnevale, Buttonwood’s director of sales.
During the ride, Martinez regaled us with stories of stunt riding and teaching actors horseback-riding skills. He was discreet, not revealing names, but sharing how exacting behind-the-scenes filming can be, requiring take after take.
Buttonwood’s “beginner-friendly” rides match riders’ skills with horses, and mandate instruction and safety gear. Horseback rides are scheduled Friday through Sunday, four times daily.
With me on our ride were mother and daughter — Monica Avelar of Chicago and Gina Romero of Santa Barbara. Once matched with our equines, we snapped photos and shared our prior horseback experiences.
The ride itself was idyllic, and I settled into the saddle on Bell, a gorgeous Palomino. All my skills honed over a lifetime of riding — heels down, hands light on the reins — came back to me once we left the corral.
After our ride, back at the tasting room, we sipped our complimentary glass of wine.
In July 2023, TMC Hospitality, a development and management company, purchased Buttonwood estate from Gleason Family Wines.
Before I met Martinez, Carnevale and TMC’s publicist reminded me that the estate’s owners hope to bring the historic Alamo Pintado Road property back to its equestrian roots — when Betty Williams founded the operation in 1968 by raising horses for competition, and then, soil sustainability, followed by the planting of organic produce.
She then planted grape vines, making her one of the Santa Ynez Valley’s first to recognize the region’s potential for viticulture.
“Studio Horse Rentals owns about 50 horses,” Carnevale said. “Some stay at their Burbank location, and others come up to Santa Ynez on the weekends.”
Each ride can accommodate up to eight people, and larger groups can book with advance notice.
Overall, Buttonwood has set its sights on offering guests more “experience-driven” experiences, Carnevale told me: “Moving forward, we want to showcase all of this amazing property and how special it is in the Santa Ynez Valley.”
Included in that effort is a food menu, available Friday through Sunday, and live music on two remaining dates, Aug. 27 and Sept. 24.
Groundstar Vineyard First in Sta. Rita Hills to Earn Regenerative Organic Certified Status
Groundstar Vineyard has become the first Regenerative Organic Certified vineyard estate in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, marking a significant milestone for regenerative agriculture in the Santa Barbara County region best known for pinot noir and chardonnay.
Administered by the Regenerative Organic Alliance and verified through California Certified Organic Farmers, Regenerative Organic Certified is among the world’s most rigorous agricultural certifications, owners Chiara Shannon and Joseph Brent noted in a news release.
ROC recognizes farms that meet comprehensive standards for soil health and land management, farmer and worker fairness, and animal welfare where applicable.
“From the day we acquired Groundstar, our vision has been to cultivate a vineyard that promotes ecological health, supports the people who work the land and contributes positively to the broader agricultural community,” Shannon said.
Groundstar comprises 81.5 certified acres, including roughly 25 acres planted to pinot noir, syrah and grenache.
Earlier this year, Groundstar’s owners acquired the adjacent Williams Ranch, creating a contiguous 320-plus-acre estate that includes a working vineyard, ranchland, wildlands and a conservation area.