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On June 24^th  at 5:30 pm Winemaker Dan Barwick will host a virtual tasting Wednesday with celebrity Chef Duskie Estes and her Chef Husband John Stewart. You may recognize Chef Estes from her time spent on Food Network on shows such as Guys Grocery Store Games & Next Iron Chef. Locally Duskie and John are better known to the community as Chefs and Owners of Zazu and the Black Piglet Food Truck. Recently Duskie took on the position as the Executive Director to Healdsburg-based nonprofit “Farm to Pantry”. Together with Paradise Ridge Winemaker Dan Barwick this tasting will entertain virtual tasters with some favorite wines paired with pizzas cooked alfresco at Paradise Ridge in their wood-fired pizza oven.

June 17, 2020
By Dan Taylor, The Press Democrat

Marijke’s Grove, the hilltop sculpture garden at the Paradise Ridge Winery in Santa Rosa, has a history flavored with both tragedy and triumph. But on Saturday, it will begin a hopeful new chapter with a new, two-year exhibit of eight pieces, aptly titled “Resilience.”

The winery was among the more than 5,000 structures destroyed in the Santa Rosa area in the Oct. 8, 2017, Tubbs fire, and the estimated cost of lost winery buildings came to about $15 million. The rebuilt winery reopened last December but was forced to close in March due to coronavirus concerns. Last week, on June 12, it opened again along with other wineries across the county as a new public health order took effect allowing wineries to operate tasting rooms without having to also serve food. This weekend marks the official reopening of the sculpture grove at Paradise Ridge.

“This whole exhibit is about the amazing spirit most artists have,” said Kate Eielertsen, the exhibit’s curator. “They don’t let anything stop them. They always come back with something fresh and a new way of seeing things.”

Read more: https://www.pressdemocrat.com/entertainment/arts/11019263-181/paradise-ridge-winery-reopens-sculpture

Reflect…Reimagine… Reinforce…Rebuild…  For artists, the constant is their ability to process ideas, techniques and influences. It is different for all of them as the exhibition at Paradise Ridge Winery, will prove. Five artists have been asked to share work that shows their personal reflections about “resilience”. Riis Burwell, Briona Hendren, Sean Paul Lorentz, Nick Taylor and Doug Unkrey will share radically different notions of this idea.

Sponsored by the Voigt Family Sculpture Foundation in collaboration with Walter Byck and Paradise Ridge Winery, this will be the eleventh exhibition seen at the winery. Given the devastation that Paradise Ridge experienced during the fires of 2017, these artists will bring life back to the landscape that was lost.

Riis Burwell’s work can be seen around Sonoma County as well as around the country and about it he says, “Creating sculpture provides me with a deeper connection to the grace and beauty inherent in nature.”. Through various mediums, including sculpture, installation and performance art, Briona Hendren analyzes paths of human behavior, concepts of the human condition and the psychological processing that are in both. She will be creating large, interactive human “nests”. Sean Paul Lorentz says, “With much of art guarded and untouchable, I break from the norm and invite people to play with my work, become a part of it and become surprised by what their touch creates.” Living and working in Fort Bragg, CA, Nick Taylor merges a love of the land with a reverence for the organic beauty he is surrounded by as well as the materials he works with. For this exhibition, he will re-work propane tanks that were discarded after the fires in 2017. For this exhibition, Doug Unkrey has built a beautiful, new sculpture that sails across the landscape. Curated by Kate Eilertsen, this exhibition is a reminder of the constant ability artists have to be resilient in their efforts to make the world a more thought-provoking and beautiful place.

The Voigt Family Sculpture Foundation places sculptures in public places that are accessible to all. They believe that experiencing art in an outdoor setting, especially a natural setting, changes your experience of the art and the place. In the past twelve years, they have placed art in four Sonoma County cities, three school campuses, the regional airport, and in the rolling foothills of northwest Santa Rosa at Paradise Ridge Winery. They believe artists deserve to be valued and compensated for their extraordinary contributions to our society.

For more information, contact: [email protected] or 707-933-6600

Join in the fun with two Paradise Ridge Dads as they discuss some great BBQ wines and raising the next generation of wine lovers!

Join us LIVE on Wednesday May 27th at 5:30 PT to taste the Spring Club Wines with Winemaker Dan Barwick and Wine Club Coordinator Emily Shannon.

Have a burning question? Email Emily at [email protected] and we will be sure to include it in the tasting.

Spring Vines 2020

“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.“ Luther Burbank

Dear ‘PARADISE FOUND’ Wine Club Member,

During uncertain times, seeing the new growth of springtime is a wonderful reminder that the earth will continue its cycle of creating beauty and life. Watching the vines awaken from their winter’s nap, with leaves unfurling in bright shades of green, brings a feeling of both hope and delight. It is like the vines are saying hello to the world. There is a joy in seeing things grow and thrive, and watching the vineyards change through the seasons is one of my favorite parts of being a vintner.    

Being good stewards of the land has been the family’s goal since my parents discovered “Paradise” 42 years ago. In addition to a flock of sheep, we soon will have cows, goats, and even pigs on the property. Grazing is one of the best ways to keep grasses low, not only for fire mitigation but also to increase biodiversity. Our winemaker Dan Barwick began focusing on biodiversity just after the fires as a way to bring balance back to the vineyards. Now we are moving beyond the vines and into pasturelands. There is a deep sense of gratification knowing the decisions we make today will help our planet in the future.

This summer we will release a refreshed wine package that also speaks to sustainability. We spent over a year carefully refining our look to represent who Paradise Ridge is today. The logo has been updated to reflect our rebirth as a place and a brand. This complements our new icon, which is in the shape of the swallow found on the LOVE sculpture. Originally a tribute to the artist’s father, after the fires the bird was christened “Lovebird” and became a symbol of strength and resilience. We are excited to share the refreshed look with you soon.

As many of you know we postponed the opening date for Wines & Sunsets, which originally was planned for May 13^th. We still hope to be able to host this event this summer but are waiting until we are given a green light from the county. We will be following all the protocols to keep our guests safe and will not open until we are certain this can be done. The same is true for our tasting room. One important step is a new reservation system, which will keep everyone physically distanced and healthy while offering the best tasting experience possible.

We believe all this growth and change will make your experience at the winery even more extraordinary, and it is our greatest hope that we will be able to open our doors and see all of you soon.

Take care,
Sonia

Sonia Byck-Barwick 
Proprietor – Paradise Ridge Winery

If you are interested in purchasing a bottle or two of something we have shown you, please feel free to visit our Wine Shop. We are currently offering curbside pick up!

Join Paradise Ridge Winery Winemaker Dan Barwick for a LIVE tasting. 

If you are interested in purchasing a bottle or two of something we have shown you, please feel free to visit our Wine Shop. We are currently offering curbside pick up!

Please enjoy a short video featuring Paradise Ridge Winery’s 2017 Estate Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, Walter’s Vineyard. This wine tasting is hosted by Winemaker Dan Barwick. The winery uses sustainable vineyard practices to create artisan, food-friendly wines.

If you are interested in purchasing any of the wines that we are tasting, please visit our Wine Shop. 

Please enjoy a virtual wine tasting with Paradise Ridge Winery Winemaker Dan Barwick. In this video, Dan is tasting our 2018 Rockpile Grenache Blanc.

If you are interested in purchasing a bottle or two of something we have shown you, please feel free to visit our Wine Shop. We are currently offering curbside pick up!

Please enjoy a virtual wine tasting with Paradise Ridge Winery Winemaker Dan Barwick. In this video, Dan is tasting our 2016 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. 

If you are interested in purchasing a bottle or two of something we have shown you, please feel free to visit our Wine Shop. We are currently offering curbside pick up!

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch videos with our very own Winemaker Dan Barwick! Watch the latest video below. 

Subscribe to Paradise Ridge YouTube Channel

In Part 2 of our ongoing series showcasing Paradise Ridge Winery’s journey to re-build all that was lost to the historic Fall 2017 Tubbs fire, the construction efforts are moving along swiftly as the new Tasting Room starts to take shape – stay tuned for continuing installments of the update series, culminating in the plans for a grand re-opening Fall 2019!

In the fall of 2017, a firestorm enveloped our iconic estate property along with most of the homes and businesses around us. This misfortune has not diminished the Byck family’s strength or resolve to share “Paradise” with the world. A rebuild is underway and here is part one of five of a video series documenting the story.

Wonderful to have LOVE be the theme to help bring visitors back to Sonoma County. Thank you Sonoma County Vintners