[Noozhawk note: This is a monthly roundup of the wine and beer industry’s events and the people who work in the region’s industry.]
Guarachi Wine Partners and Fess Parker Winery & Vineyard have announced the former’s purchase of Parker Station, a Central Coast pinot noir label founded by Fess Parker Winery.
Guarachi Wine Partners will develop marketing and boost national distribution to grow the brand. Fess Parker Winery will continue to produce the wine for five more years, according to a news release.
“As we enter our 30th year as a family owned and operated winery here in Santa Barbara County, we feel a return to our core identity by focusing on our higher-end and single-vineyard wines is the best path forward for the family,” said Tim Snider, president of Fess Parker Winery & Vineyard.
Since its first vineyard planting in 1989, the Fess Parker family has enjoyed a successful history in Santa Barbara County, helping to pioneer the region’s reputation as an international destination for wine and tourism. The Fess Parker Winery & Vineyard now owns and farms more than 125 acres and works with more than 700 acres in Santa Barbara County, as well as three acres in Napa Valley for its Addendum label.
Guarachi Wine Partners, based in Los Angeles and founded in 1985 by Alex Guarachi, is a privately held global importer, marketer and innovator of fine wines from Argentina, Chile, France, Italy, Spain and the United States.
Pillars Wines Showcases Historic Bien Nacido Vineyard
The Miller family, owners of the Bien Nacido and Solomon Hills estate vineyards, have announced the release of The Pillars, three wines inspired from the most exceptional parcels within Bien Nacido Vineyard.
The Millers christened the label The Pillars to honor the rich history of the vineyard and its most sought-after blocks, which year after year have demonstrated the highest quality.
“The Pillars wines were created to honor our family’s history, leadership and vision for growing the world’s best grapes and producing the highest quality wines from the Bien Nacido estate,” said Nicholas Miller, vice president of sales and marketing.
Bien Nacido and Solomon Hills estates are part of The Thornhill Companies, the umbrella brand owned by the Miller family — one of California’s premier wine-growing families — that has farmed California’s Central Coast for five generations.
In addition to the Bien Nacido and Solomon Hills vineyards, The Thornhill Companies includes such brands as J. Wilkes, Ballard Lane, Smashberry and Barrel Burner wines, as well as French Camp Vineyards in Paso Robles and the custom crush facilities Central Coast Wine Services and Paso Robles Wine Services.
Figueroa Mountain Brewing Wins Big
The Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. team brought home three awards at the recent Great American Beer Festival in Denver, winning gold for Davy Brown Ale, bronze for Hoppy Poppy IPA and bronze for Figtoberfest Lager.
The annual festival brought together 800 breweries and 4,000 beers and lured 62,000 fans. The competition portion of the event pitted a record 2,404 breweries with 8,864 beers against one another in 104 categories, with 293 judges from 13 countries blind-tasting each beer for ranking.
“To see our team’s dedication to top-quality beer be awarded at this esteemed event is extremely gratifying,” said Jaime Dietenhofer, half of the father-and-son team that founded the brewery in 2010. “My dad and I are so proud of everything our crew has achieved this year, and this kind of recognition from the GABF judges just propels that positive momentum even further.”
Vino de Sueños Event Set
The Santa Barbara Vintners Foundation will sponsor the 11th annual Vino de Sueños event, which will take place from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10 at the Santa Ynez Valley Marriott in Buellton.
Among the Santa Barbara Vintners member wineries that will donate unique lots and blends are Alma Rosa, Brander, Buttonwood, Dierberg, Foxen, Ken Brown, Longoria, Riverbench and Vogelzang. The wines will be available to taste at the event, and winemakers and artists will be on hand to meet event guests.
The event will include a silent auction of art, wine and lifestyle items, as well as appetizers and live music. General admission and VIP tickets are available by clicking here.
This unique art auction and wine sales event, hosted by People Helping People of the Santa Ynez Valley, benefits ranch, vineyard and farm workers in the Santa Ynez and Los Alamos valleys — the communities whose residents provide the work that make Santa Barbara’s robust local food and wine culture possible.
“We couldn’t be more proud to begin our second decade of sponsorship of this amazing one-of-a-kind event,” said Elaina Kroll, president of the Santa Barbara Vintners Foundation. “More than benefiting the hardworking people that support viticulture locally, this ‘wine of dreams’ project honors the important work they do.”
The Vintners Foundation is the charitable umbrella under which Santa Barbara Vintners conducts its philanthropic works.
— Laurie Jervis blogs about wine at www.centralcoastwinepress.com, tweets at @lauriejervis and can be reached via winecountrywriter@gmail.com. The opinions expressed are her own.