Wine & Fire, the annual multi-day event hosted by the Sta. Rita Hills Wine Alliance, will return to various locations in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA from Thursday, Aug. 18, through Sunday, Aug. 21.
The Alliance limits ticket sales to ensure that the weekend remains intimate, allowing guests the chance to meet and greet participating winemakers.
Already sold out are two events — Friday evening’s La Paulée Dinner and Saturday morning’s “Speed Tasting with a Winemaker” — as well as the Wine & Fire Combo Ticket Package for the entire weekend, according to the website.
The La Paulée Dinner will take place at Babcock Winery in Lompoc, and will honor winemaker Rick Longoria as the 2022 Vintner of the Year. La Paulée style meals originated in France, where they typically celebrate the end of grape harvest.
“Rick Longoria was a unanimous choice” for the award, said Barbara Satterfield, executive director of the Sta. Rita Hills Wine Alliance.
“Rick and his wife, Diana, have been an integral part of our Santa Barbara wine community for 40 years. As a pioneer, a mentor and an outstanding vintner, Rick raised the bar for quality wines in our region. We are honored that he choose to shine his light on the Sta. Rita Hills.”
While Longoria told me he’s “not used to being singled out,” both he and Diana call the recognition “an honor that means a lot to both of us. It’s special because it comes from our peers — the people who know us the best.”
After 40 years in the wine business, the couple sold Longoria Wines earlier this year to Brooke and Lindsey Christian of Maryland. Rick Longoria agreed to stay on as a consultant for 18 months.
“I’ve had a light work schedule so far,” he said, but noted that “Diana is fully retired and loving it!”
The couple watches two of their three grandchildren — Marsten, just 2, and Vivian, 5 — from morning till evening two days every week. “It’s a lot of fun,” Longoria said.
Reflecting on his four decades making wine in Santa Barbara County, he called the expansion of vineyards in the Sta. Rita Hills exciting and positive.
“Vineyards are being better farmed. Winemaking is a basic, primitive craft, with the outcome still is determined by the quality of the fruit, and how careful a winemaker is overseeing that fruit.”
Longoria has yet to work a harvest in his consulting role, and admitted that he “might actually miss getting dirty and wet — the late nights covered with grape juice. That’s a badge of honor, and I always relished the labor,” he said.
Previous Vintner of the Year honorees, Satterfield noted, were Kathy Joseph in 2019, Richard Sanford in 2020, and Bryan Babcock in 2021.
Wine & Fire 2022 kicks off with Thursday’s Barn Party at the Hilt Winery, 2240 Santa Rosa Rd. in Lompoc. Tickets are $125 per person.
Participating winemakers will pour large format and library bottles. Central Coast Specialty Foods will provide a charcuterie table and barbecue snacks. For the list of participating winemakers and wineries, visit https://www.staritahills.com/wine-and-fire-2022.
Friday’s sold-out La Paulée Dinner at Babcock will open with a sparkling wine reception and be followed by a barbecue dinner prepared by Brett Steffan of High on the Hog Catering. Wines for the dinner tables will be hosted by member wineries, but in the spirit of La Paulée, guests are encouraged to bring their special bottles to share during dinner.
Wineries pouring sparkling wines will be Babcock, Flying Goat Cellars, Sanford Winery, Spear Winery and Strange Family Vineyards.
Margerum Winery in Buellton will host Saturday morning’s sold-out “Speed Tasting with a Winemaker,” an opportunity to talk with the winemakers while tasting their wines. The producers rotate to a different table every 10 minutes, giving guests a chance to talk with all eight of those participating. A boxed lunch will be served after the tasting.
Saturday morning’s participating winemakers are Rick Longoria; Adam Tolmach, The Ojai Vineyard/Fe Ciega; Aaron Walker, Pali Wine Company; Doug Margerum, Barden Wines; Justin Charbonneau, Temperance Cellars; Kathy Joseph, Fiddlehead Cellars; Mireia Taribo, Camins 2 Dreams; and Peter Work, Ampelos Cellars.
The final formal event is Saturday’s Grand Tasting at La Purisima Mission, 2295 Purisima Rd., Lompoc. Tickets are $150 per person. The event runs from 5 to 8 p.m. Tickets to this event will include a Passport ticket for additional tastings at select wineries on Sunday, Aug. 21.
A complete list of wineries, chefs and caterers participating in Saturday’s Grand Tasting can be found at https://www.staritahills.com/wine-and-fire-2022.
— Laurie Jervis tweets at @lauriejervis and can be reached via winecountrywriter@gmail.com. The opinions expressed are her own.