living life in color

So many shades of Pink to behold on Sunday from the clothes we wore to the Rosé in our glasses, a sense of unabashed delight from all that lush color drifted through the gardens, impossible to ignore. Why would you? Flowing dresses, whimsical hats, pink suits, pink shorts, long scarves in garden hues of green and coral. And, continually, whenever we paused, a new blush shaded liquid in our glasses to sip. Pink, it turns out, isn’t just a color, it’s a state of mind, and a rather jolly one at that. We were only together for a few hours, but an impromptu community came together, as it does every year. We smile and laugh (a lot), sip, strut, sip some more. Move from garden to garden. Dance a little. Find a soft place below a hedge or near the fountain to sit and talk.

Yes, I know, community is an ephemeral thing, a word bandied about but slippery to actually define. It comes to us in various guises throughout life… school committees, gyms, commitments to the food pantry, farm and vintner associations, social action groups around issues we feel passionate about. Our communities change, and we have more than one. The way I see it, so long as you are building as you go, piece by piece, on a foundation of good will, you will always have community around you. Honor, support, enjoy. Take them in any order, but all of a piece please, if it’s going to stay real. Good thing we live in wine country where community in all its forms usually comes with big helpings of great food, wine, kind people.

A huge shout out to the wonderful wine purveyors who turned out for Pink ‘26, Your Rosés were a delight! Heartfelt thanks to Emily Carlson, a true “sommelier for the people,” who curated this incredible group with her usual intelligence and panache.

Heading into a long summer of dinner services in Studio Barndiva, alongside weddings and parties here at the Barn, hands down The Pink Party is our favorite way to kick off the season.

@abovethebaywine; @amistavineyards; @auteurwines; @benoviawinery; @bobcabralwines; @brashleyvineyards; @breathlesswines; @brickandmortarwines; @bruliamwines; @county_line_vineyards; @cruesswine; @crusewineco; @daverowines; @handleycellars; @hirschvineyards; @idlewildwines; @kokomowinery; @limericklanecellars; @longboardwine; @marinelayerwines; @marthastoumen; @mascarinwines; @medlockames; @merriamvineyards; @moraestatewines; @moretbrealynnwines; @onehopewinery; @overshinewineco; @portalupiwine; @portercreekvineyards; @prestonfarmandwinery; @drinkseppi; @stringer_cellars

The wineries are looking forward to hearing from you-! DM them or better yet, pay a visit this summer.

Sincere thanks to the wineries for their contributions of Rosé for the Raffle. Corazón Healdsburg is a vital resource offering a wide range of services to an essential community - one that make our lives possible in Wine Country.

Below: Diana Avila speaking eloquently for Corazón; Barndiva’s Event Director Susan Bischoff & Wine Director Emily Carlson, who organized the raffle.

To all who attended Barndiva’s Pink Party this year, thank you for coming! It started out looking like another mouse-gray day. You came, and so did the sun. Pink on.

Throw a pebble in our part of the world and you are bound to hit a ‘Wine Event’ - group tastings, charity fetés, winemaker dinners, multi-day Food & Wine events, we host them in droves here in Sonoma County. Barndiva collaborative wine events have historically focused on smaller, singular local wineries, with a sprinkling from up North - Anderson Valley is where we have farmed for four decades. But times change. When Barndiva started hosting our Fêtes many of the winemakers we invited, whose wine we served in the restaurant did not have a tasting room open to the public. Now many do, or have opened their vineyards for personalized farm experiences. Knowing what a time and product commitment it can be, especially considering they will go on pouring through summer, We are so appreciative they choose to participate at Pink every year.

So how do we choose who to invite? It’s pretty simple. We are passionate about wine and look for winemakers that are willing to share their passion, tell us how their grapes are grown, how they transform them into wines that speak to the remarkable terroirs surrounding us. The wine game we devised for Sunday - a Rosé Treasure Hunt - was something to play as you tasted - a light and easy way to ask questions and hear stories that might just better connect you to what’s in the glass. Take something a little extra away from the day.

The Rosé Treasure Hunt Questions (half cases riding on the answers):

• Did you discover the talents of a women winemaker today?

• A third or fourth generation winemaking family?

• A biodynamic vineyard?

• A new Rosé varietal?

• An interesting way to make Rosé?

Promoting enological literacy wasn’t on our minds so much as ignition: What did you love about a Rosé you tasted today? What was the story behind that vineyard, the winemaker, the process you will remember?

A Rosé Treasure Hunt Winner

Prizes were given for best dressed - what took us so long to figure that out?

So… a great day celebrating the delicious diversity of Rosé, supporting Corazón, enjoying seasonal bites and summer flowers, moving to the music. We hope that everyone who attended enjoyed tasting, heard some interesting stories, made some delightful discoveries. Whether you make it, sell it, or drink it, we are all playing the wine game to some extent. Behooves us to do it well.

If you see yourself in any of these images and would like a copy of the Chad Surmick photo, just drop us a line and we’ll be happy to supply you with one.

What we served: Mushroom al pastor; Mini Tostadas w/ charred Tomatillo Salsa; Lemongrass Shrimp Cakes w/ Scallion-Lime salad; Studio Barndiva Crispy Chicken w/Green Chermoula, Tahini & Garlic Dressing; Lamb Sliders w/ fresh mint, yogurt, roasted Poblano, Brioche Roll; Rosé Pâte de Fruits.

Credits: Photography Chad Surmick, @chadsurmick; floral arrangements Misha Vega, @Philo.Floral.Flowers.

Eat The View CC all rights reserved, Jil Hales, Barndiva.

Into the Pink!

Barndiva’s Pink Party 2024: Emily Carlson’s perfectly curated line-up

IT was three house of gliding, weaving, and yes dancing, through gales of laughter and animated conversation mostly (but not all) extolling the beautiful intricacies and differences of bouquet and flavor of the extraordinary rosé being poured in our garden. Sunday April 21 was a group endorphin rush, no kidding. So, Pink Party 2024.

Our gratitude to the wineries who really brought it this year - a wonderful group brought together by our indefatigable wine director Emily Carlson. And our thanks to all our guests who arrived ready to party and continued to lift our spirits for the entire three hours we spent together on Sunday.

Chef Erik Anderson and David Morales sent out Bites as a taste of our new Studio Barndiva a la carte menu, These included our infamous goat cheese croquettes with lavendar honey, Crispy chicken ‘chermoula’, The Gallery Burger Slider, Deviled Eggs, and for the finish Rosé Pâte de fruits.

A huge shout out to our lovely and dear dear friend Dawnelise Rosen, who guided the Corazón Raffle with grace and humor again this spring, and to all who contributed - the winemakers who donated bottles and our guests who raised a good deal of money for this incredible non-profit that has become so essential to the greater Healdsburg Community.

Lukka and Dawnelise, who also helped the crowd ‘award’ best in fashion for both individuals and couple. Winner took home a bottle of bubbly and will receive two tickets to Fête Blanc (tickets on sale May 1)

I was thrilled to work with nursery and plantswoman Misha Vega on the floral installs that filled both gardens - slo flowers grown in Philo at Barndiva Farm and Filigreen Farm, and in Healdsburg at SingleThread Farm, The Longer Table Farm, and up the road at Dragonfly Floral. Happily, Misha will be back for Fête Blanc!

The 'official' Pink Party Album

A familiar complaint we’ve all heard around town of late is about the dearth of genuine community in Healdsburg. It’s a grumbling refrain that holds particular meaning from anyone that remembers Healdsburg when the words quaint and small town charm could be said about it with a straight face. The usual culprits are a mind boggling collection of new businesses, hotels and restaurants that have opened over the past few years to capitalize on the town’s ‘success’ as a destination location, but the quickening pace of our lives, and the emotional distancing of technology certainly contribute to the disconnect at the heart of the discontent.

The way we see it, community isn’t stagnant, is should and must accommodate change. It’s a layered human construct that is constantly telegraphing across the web of seemingly random connections we make with the people whose paths we cross as we go about our lives, working, shopping, dining out, walking the dogs or, yes, coming out on a beautiful afternoon to taste wine.  Of course It can be locational, found in the church hall, a sporting event, working alongside neighbors at the local food pantry, but we are creating it all the time, with every interaction.  It starts with a desire to connect, is sustained by courtesy, respect, and common interests, and, if you are lucky enough to find them, shared goals.

If the only goal is to make money, if you don’t truly care about your product, respect or spend the time getting to know the people you live and work alongside, you cannot sustain genuine community. Especially in small towns like ours, relationships reverberate in subtle ways when you pay attention; good will resonates whether you’ve known someone for years, or just met them by chance. Community can happen in an afternoon – as it did on Pink Party Sunday. The thing that makes it real is the genuine presence you bring to it, no matter what role you play.

The winemakers who gathered in our gardens to pour their Rosé’s at this years Pink Party, who charmed and educated the guests who came to meet them and admire their craft, are a community with like minded goals, just as the slow flower farmers who grew the blooms we sourced to help create dazzling displays, and the food purveyors like Chef Mike Degan, The Healdsburg Bagel Company, Chef Anderson. Our wonderful staff here at Barndiva, the amazing Corazón crew lead by Ashley Mauritson, Alexis Ioconis who steered the wine ship for us for this years Pink on top of everything else she does, Amber Kneally who sewed our Pink Party Pirate flag at the last minute simply because we asked her to - these are the members of our community we depend upon who bring quality and meaning to our lives as we work through them. Dawnelise and Ari Rosen, last seen leading a joyous if bittersweet progression at the closing of campo fino with patrons who very much considered themselves a community - came to help raise funds and awareness for Corazón, the community organization they founded that focuses upon strengthening families at the very heart of hospitality in Healdsburg. Community is everywhere you choose to see it, and engage with it.

I want to give a special shout out to the many beautiful women in their pink dresses who danced together at the end of the day, as the rest of us looked on beneath the wisteria enjoying the same breeze and listening to the music. It felt so good just to be together and celebrate spring, and the abundance of Healdsburg.

The fabulous Pink Party Line Up for 2023:

@bloodrootwines, @almafriawines, @prestonfarmandwinery, @raftwines, @mauritsonwines, @idlewildwines, @jolielaidewines, @drinkseppi, @cruxwinery, @amistavineyards, @bricoleurvineyards, @brickandmortarwines, @stephane.vivier.wines, @reevewines, @daniel_sonoma, @handleycellars, @flowerswinery, @roedererestate, @grosventrewines, @breathlesswines, @dunstanwine, @tberkleywines, @marinelayerwines, @scharffenbergercellars, @hirschvineyards, @domainesott, @matanzascreekwinery, @liocowineco, @cruesswine, @leosteen_wines, @theharrisgalleryandwine, @ernestvineyards, @rootdownwines, @county_line_vineyards, @copainwines, @drinkkally, @altaorsowinery, @captûrewines, @untiwines.com, @guv_hales, @natalienelsonkirby

Special Friends who always bring it: Chef Francisco, Alexis Ioconis, Ari Rosen & Geoffrey Hales, Scott Beattie (in search of a cocktail no doubt), the irrepressible Susan Preston, Lukka Feldman in from London, Releigh and Asijah, Barndiva’s wine Director Emily Carlson, Eric Sussman, Dan Fitzgerald, Jil Hales & Chappy Cottrell, Dawnelise Rosen, and another belle of the ball in her pink frock, Birdy.

Our thanks to all the winemakers for donating to the raffle benefiting Corazón.

Healdsburg has an abundance of vital community organizations that welcome new energy - join one!

All photographs by the incredible Chad Surmick can be shared. TM us @barndivahealdsburg. And heads up: If you are one of many who missed attending when The Pink Party because it sold out so early, consider signing up to receive our newsletter, Eat the View, so you are first to know about future public events. we’ve got some doozies up our sleeves.

Tickets are now on sale for Fête Blanc, August 20.

@dragonfly_floral, @singlethreadfarm, @longertablefarm, @filigreenfarm, @frontporchfarm, @whodoestheflowers!

@airick72, @franciscoa_, @healdsburgbagel, @chefdegan

Pink Party 2023!

We throw fabulous parties of all kinds and sizes; It’s what we do to earn our crust and something we love - there is nothing quite like the energy of beautifully decorated rooms filled with fabulous food and drink, and the energy that comes when guests arrive wanting to have a great time. Parties open us up to an experience, they connect the dots between milestones, achievement, our desire to have fun. At a moment in time when there seems to be diminishing reasons to celebrate, gathering together (again) in larger groups reminds us why we need the powerful strength we get from community.

The Pink Party holds a special place for Barndiva. Started with Alexis Ioconis and a small group of winemaker friends many years ago as a way to showcase wineries that did not then have a presence in Healdsburg, it has grown exponentially to fill both our gardens as the penultimate party signaling spring is here and summer is about to commence. Healdsburg has changed quite a bit, and many of those fledging winemakers now have international followings, but the heart of the event is still very much about this community doing what it does best. Alexis is back at the helm again this year, and we are thrilled with the line up of winemakers she and our wine team have chosen to join us and pour. The Rosé will flow!

Barndiva Pink Party 2023 will take place on Sunday April 23, from 2-5. There will be music, there will be food - expanded this year to include several street food stations and a pizza oven. We’ll even have a snow cone machine with some inspired flavorings to refresh your palate as you make your way around the gardens tasting through 40 of Sonoma and Mendocino County’s best rosés. As it is every year, the Dress Code is Think Pink!

The wine raffle will benefit Corazón Healdsburg, whose efforts to create a more just and compassionate community includes a bilingual family resource center, and cradle to career education. Their work now stretches across Healdsburg, Windsor, Cloverdale, and Geyserville. Corazón’s inimitable founders, Dawnelise and Ari Rosen have agreed to lead the auction this year, a total treat for us and the community. So you know the drill: Each winemaker graciously donates 2 bottles of their Rosé making it possible to raffle off multiple cases. Corazón benefits from 100% of the proceeds. Great fun for a good cause.

Tickets are now on site for Barndiva’s Pink Party 2023 and friends, they will sell out, so we encourage you to purchase them now.

Join us as we once again fill the gardens with flowers, music, laughter, and a Rosé loving community.

Come, Drink the View with us!