01 Apr Please The Palate Pick of the Week: Women in Wine Celebration at Three Sticks Winery
March was International Women’s History Month and March 25th was National Women In Wine Day. In celebration of both occasions, I attended the Wine Country Women Event at Three Sticks Winery in Sonoma. Featuring the women of Three Sticks, author Karen MacNeil, live music, light brunch bites, and the wines of Three Sticks Winery, The Women in Wine Celebration at Three Sticks Winery is the Please The Palate pick of the week.
Three Sticks was founded by Bill Price in 2002 and focuses on producing Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and a little Pinot Blanc from some of Sonoma’s best vineyards. These vineyards include estate vineyards such as Durell, Walala, Alana, One Sky, Gap’s Crown, and William James Vineyard. In addition to the Three Sticks label, there is also the Castenada label, which produces rosé, white, and red wines, and is named after the Vallejo-Castenada Adobe where the tasting room is located. The Adobe was home to Don Juan Casteñado, secretary to General Vallejo, in 1842. Price and his wife purchased this historic home in 2012 and spent two years renovating and restoring it. The Wine Country Women Event took place at The Adobe, where we enjoyed the outdoor gardens while sipping the Castenada rosé, a Three Sticks Chardonnay, and a Three Sticks Pinot Noir.
I loved looking around the event and seeing so many women at the event. And it is empowering to know that 70% of the employees at Three Sticks are women. Prema Kerollis Behan is the co-founder and general manager; Collette Fay Simpson is the VP of Sales Operations; Hayden Schmidter is the Director of Brand Development; Brittainy Haraszthy is the Hospitality Manager. These women were hosting the event, along with Bill Price. And Karen MacNeil, the author of The Wine Bible, was the special guest.
For as many women that work in wine, the number of cofounders or owners of wineries who are women is still under 10%. So it was a pleasure to listen to Prema and Karen. who sat down for a Q&A session during the event. They asked each other questions and many of the answers resonated with me. Karen spoke about the mystery of wine and how wine is something that we never get tired of. We hear people say they were “bitten by the wine bug” but we never hear people say that they are exhausted of wine. Prema added that she fell in love with the magic of wine and of the vines that tell the story. Prema and Karen both offered tips. Prema said, “lean into yourself, trust your instincts, and surround yourself with talent.” And Karen reminded us that “the best way to learn nothing about wine is to keep drinking the same thing. So, expand your taste!”
At the conclusion of the event, we all received a signed copy of the 3rd Edition of The Wine Bible book which now sits on my bookshelf next two my other editions of Karen MacNeil’s comprehensive guide about wine.
The Women in Wine Celebration at Three Sticks Winery was a wonderful culmination to a month of celebrating women.