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!

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!

The Fête Blanc Album!

This is a photo album and the following images speak in a language we all understand. Our first Fête Blanc since 2019, it was lovely to gather once again to celebrate fine white wines and the people who make them. We wish to thank our guests for the delightful energy they brought to our gardens on Sunday. Fête Blanc draws incredible talent from across Sonoma and Mendocino; it attracts one of the most discerning and engaged group of wine drinkers we see in the year. But boy, do they know how to enjoy an afternoon. You brought the shade friends. Thank you for joining us. Onward!

Our executive chef is Erik Anderson, our pastry chef is Neidy Venegas. Natalie Nelson directs our event team. The exquisite floral arrangements in both gardens were grown in Philo at Barndiva Farm, under the direction of Nick Gueli.

Over $2,000 was raised at Fête Blanc through an auction of wine donated by participants toward our continued support of Healdsburg’s Farm to Pantry.

We love this image. It speaks to both our history and our future, and the intersection is a good part of why we continue to love this community. The gentleman on the far right, Daniel Fitzgerald, was Barndiva’s very first bartender, his sister Emily, our very first server. The man sitting next to him, Sam Bilbro, also worked behind our bar quite a few moons ago. It gives us immense pleasure to welcome them both back for Fête Blanc as singularly talented winemakers - of Daniel Wines and Idlewild, respectively. This story of connection was repeated through the gardens on Sunday. As for the three rogues on the left, well, hopefully they are here to stay for a while. The renown mixologist and gleaner Scott Beattie, also a dear friend of many many years, now directs our beverage program. He is flanked by Barndiva’s newest bartenders, Charles and Daniel. The beat goes on.

All Rights Reserved Barndiva, LLC. Photography: Chad Surmick and Jil Hales.