Throughout the year, the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum offers adult programs  to encourage understanding and appreciation of the many facets of our natural world. Lectures and films, classes, field trips, panel discussions, and workshops provide opportunities to experience new ideas, develop new skills, meet active adults with similar interests, and learn from experts. And three events coming up are all related to wine!

On Sunday March 20,  100 guests will celebrate spring and learn about women in wine at the A Symposium Hosted by the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History from 1:00–5:00 PM in the Fleischmann Auditorium from six significant women winemakers whose stellar wines play a significant role in the Central Coast:

• Morgan Clendenen, winemaker and owner: Cold Heaven
• Chrystal Clifton, winemaker and owner: Palmina
• Kris Curran, winemaker and owner: D’Alfonso ~ Curran
• Tara Gomez, winemaker: Kita
• Kathy Joseph, owner and winemaker: Fiddlehead Cellars
• Karen Steinwachs: winemaker: Buttonwood

Plus enjoy tastes of wines made by these women in the Central Coast:

• Cebada
• Casa Dumetz
• Falcone
• Gypsy Canyon
• William James Cellars
• Rancho Sisquoc

I’m not sure if the food vendors tend to celebrate the area’s women chefs, but they include:

• Industrial Eats
• Nectar Restaurant
• Pete Clements
• Michael Hutchings
• Christine Dahl Pastries
• Jessica Foster Confections
• Savoir Faire

1:00–2:00 PM: Sample sips of the participating winemakers
2:00–3:30 PM Panel Discussion and Q & A moderated by Laurie Jervis and Shelley Lindgren
3:30-5:00 PM Wine and Food Tasting

Members $75; non-members $100

Unfortunately, I have a special family commitment so can’t attend but hopefully this event will be held again next year and I will be able to make it! In the meantime, the list above offers some great leads for more women wine makers for me to meet and write about!

On Thursday, March 24 from 6:30-9:00 PM in the John & Peggy Maximus Gallery  enjoy “A Sip, a Stroke, a Songbird: A special evening of art and wine” where wine from The Brander Vineyard will be paired with chocolates while an art instructor from The Painted Cabernet guides you step-by-step through the creation of your own Audubon masterpiece. Find your artistic inspiration on a private tour of the Maximus Gallery exhibit, The Whole Flock; Songbirds, Sprites and Gleaners, with Curator, Linda Miller. $65 Members; $75 non-members. Price includes one glass of wine and chocolates. Additional wine will be for sale at the event. Information: rskinner@sbnature2.org or call 805-682-4711 ext. 170

Can’t make it to these two events? Mark your calendars now for The 2016 Santa Barbara Wine Festival Saturday June 25, 2016 from 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.! Taking place under the oaks and along the banks of Mission Creek at the beautiful Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, the event offers the opportunity to meet and mingle with winemakers, bakers, and chefs while enjoying Central Coast Wines. One hundred percent of the net proceeds from the Wine Festival support science education for adults and children: $75 Members; $100 non-members. The Museum serves the southern and central coast of California, including the counties of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura. The mission of the Museum is to inspire a thirst for discovery and a passion for the natural world. I loved going there as a child and I love taking my child there now!