In honor of International Women’s Day, let’s celebrate all the fantastic female winemakers of Los Olivos. These powerful women are bottling their passion for wine and (lucky for us) sharing it with the world. Cue: Your favorite Beyoncé track as you read on …
Jessica Gasca – Story of Soil, Los Olivos, CA
Story of Soil is a small production, single vineyard, single varietal wine crafted with minimal intervention and intention to highlight the place from which the grapes are grown. It’s also one of the only winemaking operation in Santa Barbara led by Latina winemakers. Winemaker Jessica Gasca is exquisitely focused on working with top-tier vineyards for premium grapes that equal premium wines. “We put our hearts and souls in to the making of this wine,” she says. And you can taste that commitment to excellence in every sip.
Arden Gilfillan & Margaux Reaume – Argaux, Costa Mesa, CA
Co-founders Arden and Margaux say their wine brand began with friendship, when the two met in college, bonding over their love of cooking and a shared birthday! They co-hosted monthly dinner parties for friends, quickly earning a solid reputation as “dinner party enthusiasts,” which sparked their interest in wine. By senior year of college, the pair was so close they’d earned the nickname “Argaux” and decided to become Certified Sommeliers at The International Culinary Center … and so Argaux wines were born. Today, they’re fierce supporters of women in wine. They have a special Women in Wine Tasting Set to celebrate Women’s History Month. Argaux is also hosting its third annual virtual Women in Wine panel discussion on Wednesday, March 29 at 4:30 p.m. PT, and you can register for it right here.
Erin Kempe – Barbieri Wines, Los Olivos, CA
Erin Kempe’s road to wine has deep culinary roots. In Las Vegas, she worked with James Beard winners like Hubert Keller, Rick Moonen, Wolfgang Puck and Shawn McClain to refine and sharpen her skills. After meeting Master Sommelier Paolo Barbieri in 2007, she fell in love with the art of winemaking and together with Paolo, created a new label under her name, KEMPE, with a focus on Bordeaux. When Paolo and Erin went “all in” on full-time winemaking in 2014, they opened a tasting room in Los Olivos that’s a mainstay in the community today.
Sunny Doench Stricker – Future Perfect Wine, Santa Barbara, CA
With a name that’s perfect for the wine she crafts, Sunny (pictured below) makes Future Perfect Wine from hand-gathered fruit. She first learned about wine growing up and traveling through Europe, and when she moved to Los Olivos about five years ago, bought a tiny farm with her husband, letting the goats and chickens roam. She mentored under Jessica Gasca and then with Amy Christine (MW) and Peter Hunken of Holus Bolus. She says Future Perfect was born out of “the belief and encouragement from a friend and female winemaker who convinced me that my wines were special.” Sunny, I couldn’t agree more!
Cheers to these divine divas of wine and happy International Women’s Day!
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Andrew Manning • REALTOR® • Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties • DRE: 00941825 • 818-380-2147 • andrew@andrewmanning.com