Women For Wine Sense - Celebrating Women in Wine!
Posted by Tod West on April 21st, 2008I consider myself a pretty open minded male of the species and having worked in the wine industry for a while, I have to say, it’s refreshing to see an event that celebrates all of the rising female stars in the wine industry. I attended the first Women for Winesense Grand Tasting last year in San Francisco, which honored Margrit Mondavi and Kathryn Hall. You gotta check out some of the speakers WWS has lined up for this year. There’s Leslie Sbrocco of Check Please at KQED, Mary Hall of Harlan Estate, Mia Klien of Selene Wines, Dawnine Dyer of Dyer Vineyards, Julie Johnson of Tres Sabores, Susan Sokol Blosser of Sokol Blosser Vienyards.. They also have some Chron 100 Top Chefs and wine directors from San Francisco’s A16, SPQR and Aquerello and District Wine Bar will be speaking, as well.
I’ve included a link so you can check it out. This is truly shaping up to be a Grand Event at the CIA in St. Helena. Definintely worth at trip up to wine country for the weekend. Ok, enough enlightenment, time to go back to my cave….Enjoy, here’s some more information on this great event…
Women throughout the country with a passion or professional interest in wine will descend on the Napa Valley May 2-4, 2008 to attend the Women for WineSense’s 2008 Grand Event, Celebrating Women in Wine. This year’s action-packed, three-day event will be hosted by Honorary Chair Michaela Rodeno, CEO of St. Supery Winery and celebrates the best and brightest women in wine.
The Grand Event kicks off the weekend with a wine reception at Paraduxx Winery in Napa on Friday evening. Saturday’s all-day program takes place at the legendary Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena, CA and combines exciting educational seminars along with the Women for WineSense Awards Presentation and a Grand Tasting Event. The festivities continue on Sunday with rare, behind the scenes winery tours and tastings at Quixote Winery, Spring Mountain Winery, Swanson Vineyards, EMH Winery, Palmaz Vineyards, Paloma Vineyard, Schweiger Vineyards and St. Supery Winery.
Karen Jess-Lindsley, Chair of the Grand Event shared, “This is a great opportunity to bring together exceptional women in the wine industry as well as wine drinkers who are eager to expand their wine knowledge. After last year’s very successful Grand Tasting at the Four Seasons in San Francisco, it is a real pleasure to bring this event to the heart of Napa Valley.”
The 2008 Women for WineSense Grand Event educational program on Saturday begins at 9 a.m. with a series of seminars on wine & food pairings, organic and biodynamic vineyard practices, sensory training and perspectives from the next generation of women in the wine industry. The morning sessions will be followed by the Women for WineSense Awards presentations including the 2008 Rising Star awards, the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2008 Hall of Fame Award, which is housed at COPIA in Napa. The awards will be presented by Women for WineSense co-founders Michaela Rodeno, CEO of St. Supery and Julie Johnson, owner of Tres Sabores.
At the luncheon following these awards, the keynote address will discuss ‘Icon Wines and the Women Behind Them’. Panelists include Mia Kline, Owner-Winemaker of Selene Vineyards, Dawnine Dyer, Owner-Winemaker of Dyer Vineyards and Mary Hall, Vineyard Manager for Harlan Estates Vineyard. The panel will be moderated by Deborah Brenner, author of “Women of the Vine: Inside the World of Women Who Make, Taste and Enjoy Wine.”
Afternoon seminars focus on the sensory evaluation of wine, including such mysteries as the role music may have in the enjoyment of the wine. Speakers include luminaries like Elaine Honig, founder of Wine, Women and Shoes, and Leslie Sbrocco, author, media personality and Emmy Award winner. Saturday’s program concludes with a Grand Tasting of wines from iconic wineries with women in key leadership roles, be it as owner, winemaker or vineyard manager.
The price for the complete weekend package, including Friday’s Wine Reception, Saturday’s Educational Seminars, Lunch & Grand Tasting plus Sunday’s special programs is $195 ($150 for WWS members). Tickets for Saturday only are priced at $140 ($115 for WWS members). Admission to Friday’s Wine Reception is $30 ($20 for WWS members); Sunday’s special program ticket is priced at $40 ($30 for WWS members). Tickets are available online at www.wwsgrandevent.org. Program attendance is limited to 250 participants. Proceeds from the event will underwrite the educational programs and activities of Women for WineSense and fund scholarships for women in viticulture, winemaking and wine education.
Participating Wineries
These exceptional wineries will be pouring at the afternoon wine tasting event May 3rd, WWS Grand Event Celebrating Women in Wine. Each of these wineries has a woman winemaker, vineyard manager, president and/or owner. We salute these wineries, their impressive wines and the amazing women behind them.
§ Abacela Winery
§ Bond Estates
§ Bonny Doon Vineyards
§ Cakebread Cellars
§ Ceja Vineyards
§ Chinook Wines
§ Clif Bar Family Winery
§ Corison Winery
§ Delectus Winery
§ Drinkward Peschon
§ Fisher Vineyards
§ Frog’s Leap
§ Gabrielle Collection
§ Gundlach Bundshu
§ Handley Cellars
§ Inman Family Wines
§ Nicholson Ranch
§ Palmeri Wines
§ Rielle Wines
§ Selene Wines
§ Sokol Blosser Winery
§ St. Supery Vineyards and Winery
§ Sterling Vineyards
§ Tres Sabores
§ Women of the Vine Cellars
Chronicle Top 100 Restaurant Chefs speak at Women for Winesense Grand Event
One of the many seminars at the 2008 Women for WineSense Grand Event educational program on Saturday will feature restaurant owners form the recently announced San Francisco Top 100 Restaurant List. Let Co-owner and Sommelier of A16 and SPQR Shelly Lindgren and Co0owner Suzette Grisham-Tognetti of Acquerello, help you find nirvana in the seminar “Perfect Harmony: Wine & Food Pairingsâ€. Anyone who has enjoyed coq au vin with a glass of Burgundy or French fries with Champagne knows the bliss that comes with the perfect pairing of food and wine.
About Women for WineSense
Established in 1990 to further the understanding of wine: its appreciation, the health benefits of responsible consumption and its cultural importance. Women for WineSense (WWS) was founded by notable industry leaders who are active in the organization today; including Michaela Rodeno, CEO of St. Supery Winery, Julie Johnson, owner of Tres Sabores and co-founder of Frog’s Leap Winery and Margrit Mondavi, VP of Cultural Affairs, Robert Mondavi Winery. The organization is committed to offering outstanding educational programs, mentoring and networking opportunities to wine enthusiasts and industry professionals. WWS has 13 active chapters across the U.S. with additional chapters in formation. Annual attendance at WWS events is estimated at over 10,000 women and men, both members and non-members.
