The fifth annual Bakersfield College Red and White Wine and Food Festival was another great success despite the weather and changes in location. The event took place on April 12-13.
This year’s festival brought new changes for those who were interested. Instead of one night of wine tasting, the event was spread out over two days, featuring three events.
The events included Wine for the Body, Wine for the Mind, and Wine for the Soul.
Mike Stepanovich, executive director of the BC Foundation, talked about what the event means to the foundation.
“It serves two purposes,” he said. “It’s first of all a fundraiser, but it is also a friend raiser, because you can’t raise funds without raising friends.”
He said the money raised goes to the foundation, the Culinary Arts scholarship fund and the Renegade fund. The Renegade fund is in place to provide support where it is most needed on campus.
The Wine for the Body event took place on the evening of April 12 and was a sold-out event, hosting 76 people.
It was made possible with the help of chefs Patrick Coyle and Suzanne Davis of the BC Culinary Arts Department, along with Andy Amador from MadoroM Vineyards from Napa Valley.
Food was prepared by the Culinary Arts students and paired with wine from MadoroM Vineyards. There were several courses to the dinner along with several types of wine served.
When it came down to who to choose for the dinner, the choice was clear, according to Stepanovich. He said that Amador is generous, and has a great love for Bakersfield, so the choice was easy.
Amador had a very simple philosophy on wine.
“If you like it, drink it,” he said.
MadoroM Vineyards has three vineyards all in the Napa Valley. They have their MadoroM label along with their Camouflage label. Both labels are available in restaurants throughout town and in retail stores.
Amador surprised the foundation with two live auction items, one being a magnum of MadoroM paired with a dinner for eight at the vineyard along with unlimited wine flowing at the dinner. It immediately sold for $5,000. The second item was four seats to Amador’s pre-release party that sold for $2,200.
The $7,200 that was raised was used to start the scholarship endowment in Andy and Marissa Amador’s name.
The second day of the festival kicked off with another new event, Wine for the Mind, on the morning of April 13.
This event was a panel discussion with California winemakers on “The Evolution of Pinot Noir on California’s Central Coast.”
There were three winemakers present: Chuck Ortman, Eric Johnson, and Kathy Joseph. The panel moderator was Stepanovich.
On the evening of April 13 was the original event, Wine for the Soul. It featured over 50 wineries from all over California and several international wineries, the culinary creations of BC Culinary Arts program, and The Bakersfield College Jazz Combo.