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Paul Hobbs

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Serving wine, food and the community

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Fête Rouge, the last of our three famously collaborative annual wine events, is now behind us. Traditionally the smallest of our Fêtes, it is usually held inside the Gallery at the tail end of November. The Pink Party gloriously launches spring, arbors spilling over with wisteria, everyone on a Rosé high. Fête Blanc, at the height of summer, attracts guests from across the state for its elegant selection of fine white wines and an almost (but this being Healdsburg not quite) Hamptons appeal. Fête Rouge proffers some of the finest red wines grown and produced in Northern California - most from family held vineyards - and attracts our most wine educated audience. But while a red wine party going into the Holidays makes perfect sense - finding the energy it takes to pull it off at the tail end of harvest has always been a challenge. Not this year. Barndiva’s decision to donate ticket sales in support of two organizations who played a huge role in keeping us safe and cared for during the Kincade fires brought out the best in everyone on Sunday - our wine and food partners, our staff, and especially the wonderful crowd who attended. Just knowing Corazón Healdsburg and Wine Country to the Rescue (supporting the fire departments of Healdsburg, Cloverdale and Geyserville) would benefit from all the fun we were having shifted the whole group dynamic. It was a golden fall afternoon that faded into a magical evening. Hard not to keep smiling.

I wrote in the blog last week that in choosing a definition of community which is intrinsically connected and reflective of a particular landscape, with a deep appreciation and respect for what it produces, we have the chance to create durable social networks that can take us through the hard times and be capable of bestowing upon us great joy. I worried what I wrote sounded hyperbolic, a bit pie in the sky knowing as I do this is a highly competitive community. Yet there it was in the garden on Sunday: 22 uniquely talented vintners finding a way to celebrate their individual achievements, together. There was a palpable feeling of relief in the air - that we had survived the fires, that the first big storm was on its way, that we were blessed to have such bounty from our food and wine sheds spread out before us to enjoy. But beyond that was the sense that when the common goal is greater than all of our singular accomplishments this is a community of abundant good will, one that has no problem paying good fortune forward. FYI: Our very existence, fortitude, and future may depend upon it.

Eric Sussman of Radio-Coteau, pouring center, among an illustrious group of primarily family owned and operated wineries that included Hirsch, Hafner, Mauritson, Small Vines, Occidental, brick & mortar, DuMOL, Ramey, Raen, Preston, Vivier, Sutro…

Eric Sussman of Radio-Coteau, pouring center, among an illustrious group of primarily family owned and operated wineries that included Hirsch, Hafner, Mauritson, Small Vines, Occidental, brick & mortar, DuMOL, Ramey, Raen, Preston, Vivier, Sutro, Aperture, Rodney Strong, Paul Hobbs, Senses, Newfound, Read Holland, Pont Neuf, Failla, Notre Vue, and Merry Edwards.

For the first time, Fête Rouge felt like a proper Christmas market as five extraordinary food purveyors joined us with an abundance of tastes from their farms and kitchens. We wish to thank Pennyroyal Farm, Preston Family Farm, Jeff and Susan Mall of Volo, and the Seghesio Family of Journeyman Meat Co. for their generosity in supporting Fête Rouge, Corazón Healdsburg and Wine County to the Rescue. (And what a treat to see Ralph Tingle behind the slicer!) We are equally appreciative of Barndiva’s lead sous chef Randy Dodge for his exquisite bites - divine fried chicken sliders, crispy Hasselback potatoes, fragrant arancini and those gorgeous shooters of wild mushroom soup with their beautiful swirls of chive and basil oil.

And, as always, to our hardworking FOH staff, notably Natalie Nelsen, our wonderful events coordinator, and my creative assistant K2 and her children Teagan and Atticus for their work on the hot air balloon- now moored in the Barn for Christmas. Last, but hardly least when it comes to all things wine, a shout out to our wine director Chappy Cottrell who has, in addition to winning us greater wine awards and recognition this year, shepherded all our sell out wine events. Stay tuned.

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Think Pink

The Pink Party rides again!

The Pink Party rides again!

Yes, it's not yet May and Healdsburg can already feel as crowded as Summer while round-about construction and lack of downtown parking (still) sucks, but damn. For bonhomie and style, not to mention a refreshingly up close and personal interaction with a merry and talented band of winemakers and vintners, the Pink Party rocks it. What makes our Northern California wine shed truly great isn't how many grapes we grow, but the personal stories and passions behind the wines we produce. It's something you just can't read off a label. And it was on full display this past Sunday. 

This is why we love the Pink Party: with the first hint of Spring, along with wildflowers and roses comes bud-break and a fresh desire to make wine tasting relevant to a 'local' crowd. The loose knit group who come together here in our gardens re-affirms that to love wine is to celebrate where and how it's grown. 

We have two more collaborative Wine Events in the same spirit as The Pink Party, both before harvest: Fête Blanc and Fête Rouge. Secure tickets before they too sell out! Barndiva also has two upcoming Sommtable spotlight series dinners early Summer, with Flowers Vineyards & Winery and Peay Vineyards. And, starting in May, every Wednesday we will host a different 'local' vintner we admire in the Gallery Gardens. How do we define local? Susie Selby is down the block from Barndiva. Alison Story and Eric Smith are down the road from Barndiva Farm. Barndiva is stretching its wine wings in new ways to connect our lives with what we continue to love about this community. For information on all upcoming wine related events check out barndiva.com/wine or sign up for Eat the View, our blog.

 Apologies to anyone we missed in this Pink Party 'who poured' album, and mea culpa to the two vintners left out of the group shot!  No worries identifying who is who if you didn't meet them: A complete list of vintners and wineries is listed below. 

A great big shout out to all our chefs - especially Andrew, Thomas, Deron and the gang in the Gallery kitchen. There was killer food and plenty of it (ok you had to be quick when those platters hit the orchard table). To DJ Jeremy and the beautiful Janine, and to Daniel Carlson for the incredible blooms - all from Barndiva Farm, we love you! And a special tip of the chapeau to our awesome wine director Alexis Iaconis who, along with Chef Ryan, Lukka, dear Natalie and Cathryn, pulled off another great annual Spring party. To all the beautiful ladies and gents who dressed in pink, thank you! 

Our raffle tickets this year were sold in support of Farm to Pantry. Heartfelt thanks to our friend Chris Paul from Copain, who kindly helped Alexis organize and sell the lots- three full cases of Rosé from generous wineries who attended the event. …

Our raffle tickets this year were sold in support of Farm to Pantry. Heartfelt thanks to our friend Chris Paul from Copain, who kindly helped Alexis organize and sell the lots- three full cases of Rosé from generous wineries who attended the event. We were able to raise $1,800 for this very worthy organization. A community, like a country, is only as strong as it's weakest links. 

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