Leos aren’t the only fire signs worth celebrating this August, as several local venues fall under the banner of Wine and Fire 2024.
Hosted by the Sta. Rita Hills Wine Alliance, the four-day program (Aug. 15 through 18) highlights the lion’s share of the group’s member wineries, while pairing many with barbecue, wood-fired pizzas, and other food selections.
“Almost every member comes out, and that’s usually about 40 wineries,” said Barbara Satterfield, executive director of the alliance.
As of July 12, about 35 wineries in the alliance had signed up to participate so far, Satterfield said. The final list will be tallied up sometime ahead of Wine and Fire’s start date on Thursday, Aug. 15, at Sanford Winery and Vineyards in Lompoc.
During this kick-off event, guests can look forward to enjoying a variety of wine selections with fire-grilled flatbreads and cheese tables provided by Orcutt’s Pizzeria Bello Forno.
Prior to the program’s Grand Tasting at La Purisima Mission on Saturday, Aug. 17, Wine and Fire will hold two additional wine receptions in Lompoc and Buellton with barbecue offerings from High on the Hog Catering and the Hitching Post 2, respectively.
The first of these receptions pays tribute to a beloved grape harvest tradition that originated in France, Satterfield explained.
During Wine and Fire’s La Paulée dinner, slated for Friday, Aug. 16, at Babcock Winery in Lompoc, 18 participating winemakers will honor the medieval practice the event is named for.
“At the end of harvest, everybody would get together ... and do a big celebration dinner,” Satterfield said, describing the tradition. “Everybody would bring their best wines to show off to their neighbors.”
While other events in the Wire and Fine lineup focus on wines produced from fruit in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, all kinds of wines are welcome at the La Paulée dinner.
“With this dinner, we encourage people to bring wines that they want to share at their dinner table if they want,” said Satterfield, who added that the event will encompass 18 tables of eight to 10 guests, with each table led by a specific vintner.
Featured winemakers are asked to bring a unique bottle of any kind they wish to divvy up among those seated at their table.
“It doesn’t necessarily have to be Sta. Rita Hills. It can just be whatever they want to share,” Satterfield said. “There’ll be 18 different wineries hosting the tables, so there’ll be a wide spectrum of wines for sure.
“Guests can bring their wines too. Not a lot of them do,” Satterfield added with a laugh.
The event’s focus shifts swiftly back to Sta. Rita Hills wines at Wine and Fire’s Grand Tasting, although its featured food vendors are not required to incorporate the program’s fire-driven theme.
Alongside wood-fired pizzas from Lompoc’s LouBirds and grub from some barbecue vendors, some non-fire offerings from Orcutt’s 805 Charcuterie, Lompoc’s South Side Coffee Co., and other businesses will be available to attendees of the Grand Tasting.
Compared to some other wine festivals’ grand tasting events held periodically in the area, Wine and Fire’s event is refreshingly intimate, Satterfield said.
“We don’t sell more than 500 tickets to our Grand Tasting,” said Satterfield, who added that the capacity limits for Wine and Fire’s additional wine receptions vary from 100 to 150 guests.
While the Sta. Rita Hills Wine Alliance represents wineries of various sizes and yearly production quantities, Satterfield said that events like Wine and Fire are especially beneficial to the organization’s boutique producers.
“We have wineries that make 500 cases of wine. We have wineries that make 25,000 cases of wine. ... They all bring something to the table,” Satterfield said. “A lot of our members are the smaller wineries because our membership dues are very affordable compared to some of the other groups out there. It’s a lot easier for them to sign on with us.
“It’s good exposure for a lot of the smaller wineries to be at these events ... to get their names out there,” added Satterfield, who described the alliance’s overall mission as to help “spread the word” about its vintners.
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood hopes to accomplish that mission as well. Send comments to cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.