The first time the annual Celebration of Harvest event took place at Rancho Sisquoc Winery—on Oct. 23, 1991—it was pouring rain and there was mud everywhere.
Jim Fiolek, executive director of the Santa Barbara County Vintner’s Association (SBCVA), recalls the first celebration with fondness.
“It had rained so much that the school buses that were transporting people couldn’t move forward through the mud,” he said with a chuckle.
Despite the less-than-ideal conditions, Fiolek believes it was one of SBCVA’s most memorable events.
Twenty years later, the SBCVA continues to be host to the event— rain or shine—at Rancho Sisquoc during the madness of wine grape harvest. This year marks the 21st Celebration of Harvest on the Central Coast, and it looks to be as entertaining as the first celebration.
While the event kicks off grape harvest season, Fiolek said the celebration covers a variety of aspects of Santa Barbara agriculture. More importantly, it honors a historical, cultural tradition of harvest that spans the globe.
There are more than 21,000 acres of vineyards in Santa Barbara County, one of California’s more unique growing regions, with approximately 150 SBCVA members who make wine or grow grapes for wineries.
“This event celebrates local food and wine, and giving thanks to Mother Earth for rewarding our hard labor,” Fiolek said.
All told, this year’s commemoration will include three days of entertainment, tantalizing food, and delectable wines from local restaurants, wineries, specialty food purveyors, caterers, and live bands.
Friday’s events will kick off with local wineries hosting winemaker dinners and open houses.
Saturday will be filled with excitement as wineries roll out their new wines and the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum offers the Harvest Moon Dinner Dance where guests will enjoy wine, a barbecue, and dancing. Sunday will bring the event to a close with Winedown, more new wine tasting, and a delicious cheese and wine pairing.
Over the course of the long weekend, attendees will enjoy the sounds of live music from Sean Wiggins & Lone Goat and Margie Nelson.
Fiolek said the association expects representatives from about 20 or 30 core restaurants to attend this year. Some of the eateries include the Hitching Post of Casmalia and Buellton, Central City Market, Far Western Tavern, Root 246, The Willows, and Full of Life Flatbread; Susie-Q’s will be grilling some of their delicious tri-tip.
There will also be a tent selling various olive oils produced by wineries and private growers in Santa Barbara County.
Santa Rosa Hills, a community supported agriculture company, will attend and provide organic vegetables the restaurants will be using in their dishes. It will also provide information on how people can get fresh, organic products delivered to their door.
One of the highlights of the event is a book signing by Rex Picket, author of the hit novel Sideways, the movie adaptation of which brought so much attention to Central Coast wine country. He’ll be signing copies of his follow up novel, Vertical.
This year, the Celebration of Harvest will feature artist James Pratt, who designed the 2011 poster. Born in Wellington, New Zealand, Pratt was introduced to art at a young age by his father. Like the greats who came before him, he uses only the three primary colors—red, blue, and yellow—when creating his works.
The Celebration of Harvest is one of the SBCVA headliner events, and according to Fiolek, it’s sold out every year since 2005, with 1,500 tickets available each year. With those numbers in mind, Fiolek encourages people to buy their tickets early; they’re available on the SBCVA website.
Since its rainy inauguration in 1991, the Celebration of Harvest has brought people together for a weekend filled with good company, tasty bites, smooth sips of wine, and fun that comes by the barrel to give thanks for the agricultural bounty of harvest time.
Contact freelancer Kristina Sewell through Arts Editor Shelly Cone at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Sep 22-29, 2011.