How will you celebrate International Women’s Day today and Women’s History Month? Tonight we’re having babe made bubbles with spot prawns and scallops with uni butter, and yesterday I attended the Women Winemakers & Culinarians Foundation fundraiser and tasting at 27 Vines in Santa Ynez with bubbles and bottles made by women in the Central Coast! So many great wines, many of them natural, and most of them certified organic or sustainably sourced or grown.  And the food! So much yum and fun in the sun! What a great start to the month!

Here’s a few highlights from yesterday’s  tasting.

I began with Pinot Noir sparkling wine from Santa Maria Valley’s Clarissa Nagy of Riverbench Vineyard and Winery, and then returned for her Chardonnay and Pinot Noir— everything— including the sparkling– is made in-house with their sustainably grown grapes; they also make a sparkling pinot meunier! I enjoyed this with Mac n cheese and pork belly— great pairing as the sparkling wine cut through the rich bites.

I took a quick walk through the space to check everything out, and circled back for  a vivacious viognier from Natalie Albertson owner and winemaker at Native Bloom Winery (formerly Wildflower Winery; read about a previous vintage of her viognier here. This vintage spoke to me about lime leaf in a way that previous viogniers have not.

I decided to focus on tasting and to focus on photos later— hence no photos of Natalie at her table since I didn’t make that happen— too many distractions! It’s hard to balance the glass, the purse, the plate and take pictures! And bid at the Silent Auction— I came home with a pair of zip line passes to Highline Adventure! I do wish I’d come home with a bottle of bubbles — I believe Future Perfect had one at the auction, and I didn’t get to taste it as it was all poured by the time I got to the table! There was also a selection of olive oils that tempted me…

A few of my favorite bites included Lompoc’s Eye on I  marinated lamb on flatbread; I also learned they did a  Valentine’s Day special of take home pasta, pizza, and Prosecco. What a great and romantic idea, especially when restaurants are so packed.

Rancho Olivos shared a Meyer lemon olive oil cake was the perfect balance of sweet to tart to rich (and not too sweet for wine!).

Clean Slate Wine Bar’s vegan Creole Black Eyed Pea fritter with a smoky tomato jam wowed me— and went well with wines, too.

I will swear on my grave that there’s no better bite than sourdough with goat cheese, especially paired with sauvignon blanc, and the Humble Crumb delivered with three savory jams… but they were gone before I found a Sauvy B!

I understand that Sunny Doench Stricker of Future Perfect Wine makes a stunning SB. Next time!

I have to say there were plenty of lovely labels — and one of them comes from Hannah McNany of MarBeso– the sea’s kiss!  As good inside the glass as on the glass on the outside! Love the name too—perfect for wines from our area that are indeed kissed by the sea.

Looking forward to learning more about so many of these winemakers and their wineries including Cecy Castillo and Mi Casa Wine Company as well as Brit Zotovich of Dreamcôte.

Toward the end of the tasting, I made sure to visit Tara Gomez and Mireia Taribo of Camins 2 Dreams to catch up. I need to visit them again — it’s been too long! Read about our visit here when we were writing for Slow Wine Guide. Loved their lineup— especially their zesty Syrah. I have an older vintage of one of their wines in my cellar and now I want to do a vertical to compare.

I didn’t get a chance to catch up with Kristin Bryden, winemaker at Zaca Mesa — a visit there is definitely in order. I previously wrote about her wines here.

There were more than a few surprises— among them Sarah Suput of Rock 12 Distillery is distilling spirits including a vermouth she’s doing with Sonja Magdevski of Clementine Carter Wines. 

I’m looking forward to doing a tasting of several central coast vermouths this summer!

This summer I’ll also be visiting The Cultured Abalone Farm north of Santa Barbara. So stay tuned and subscribe!

Rideau Vineyard‘s Rhone grapes tempted me with an after party tasting with music but I headed back home; I’ll meet up with winemaker Adrienne Rule another day.

For more women winemakers of Santa Barbara, find a list here.

Check out these “Grape to Glass Gals: Women winemakers leading the way in Ventura County’s natural wine industry” in my article in the VC Reporter and in my blog post on the topic here.

What’s up next for your wine event calendar? There’s lots of tastings but there are some highlights for you to consider if you’re based in or near California!

PASO ROBLES:
Rhone Rangers March 20 + 21, 2026 
with 80+ wineries!
Note: I’ll be in Paso Robles April 21-24 for a regenerative agriculture press trip!

LOS ANGELES:
Festival of Forgotten Grapes
March 28, 2026
Sediment
March 29, 2026

SANTA BARBARA:
Natural Coast Wine Festival
Saturday, April 26, 2026
Note: I attended last year and LOVED it. If you’re a natural wine fan, this event is for you!

SONOMA:
Garagiste Northern Exposure
May 2, 2026