Is there anything cooler in the summer than being invited to a rooftop party?
You’ve seen it in all the chick flick movies, and you might even know someone who has a chic rooftop party in some other city, but Santa Barbara has only one rooftop that is known for its shindigs — and you don’t need to know someone to get in.
The Canary hotel hosts a series of monthly Sip & Swirl events during the summer and fall months, and I have yet to attend one — until now.
At these monthly events, a host of local wineries showcase their best vintages, often poured by the winemakers, while you sip and nosh the night away with live entertainment in the background — all at a very affordable ticket price of $35.
But why go to just any rooftop event when you can go to a party that benefits a charity and gets your foot in the door with a really cool wine club?
Winecult is the newest wine club game in town, started by wine geeks Geena Bouché and Aaron Lober, and promises to deliver monthly boutique California wines.
After years of working in wine tasting rooms and being mentored by other women in the Women in International Trade, Bouché teamed up with her soon-to-be husband and launched a wine export business, Riviera Wine Group.
In order to get the wine group off the ground, the two needed to come up with a clever way to introduce themselves to the various wineries of California, thus Winecult was born.
But this isn’t just any wine club. The two have decided to launch their club across the coast of California with various parties held in different cities with a philanthropically-driven theme.
Members can attend the parties in the various cities for a discounted rate of $60 and treat the event like a pickup party while newbies can attend and leave with the same bottles of wine to see if they’d like to join as well. (Summer roadtrip, anyone?)
Winecult’s next event will be on The Canary rooftop from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 26. Tickets are $150 with 25 percent going to Planned Parenthood, a charity that is near and dear to Bouché’s heart. Click here for tickets.
The ticket price might seem steep, but when you factor in the two bottles of wine, food and live entertainment by DJ Darla Bea, plus the donation that is made on your behalf, you’ll quickly see that this party swag is next level.
Winecult’s two-level wine club starts at $89 per month and includes two bottles of wine shipped to your home at no charge.
Club members can customize their timeline and shipments at will. Free shipping is currently offered to the entry level, while the shipping is always free for the $129 club level. All shipments are temperature controlled, and wine pairing notes are included.
This is a rooftop party — and, quite frankly, a classic Hollywood movie moment — that is not to be missed!
— Tara Jones Haaf leads Eat This, Shoot That! and welcomes reader tips and ideas for future columns. She can be reached at tara@eatthisshootthat.com. Click here for previous columns. The opinions expressed are her own.