Petaluma Pairings wine gala

The Petaluma Museum Association and the Petaluma Gap Winegrowers Alliance have teamed up to present “Petaluma Pairings,” a gala event on Saturday, Sept. 20.|

The Petaluma Museum Association and the Petaluma Gap Winegrowers Alliance have teamed up to present “Petaluma Pairings,” a gala event on Saturday, Sept. 20 to raise money for the museum and promote the upcoming exhibit “Petaluma Viticulture: History & Heritage,” which opens Sept. 21 and continues through Dec. 29.

“Petaluma is wine country, and the upcoming exhibit showcases Petaluma’s history in wine,” said Paul Clary, PGWA vice president. “The museum effort is part of the PGWA’s fulfillment of the education part of our mission.”

PGWA membership director and event chair Linda Corbett is coordinating the gala event, which will be hosted by Petaluma’s Keller Estates. The gala will feature pairings of local seasonal cuisine provided by Preferred Sonoma Caterers, Divine Delights and Achadinha cheeses, with wines produced and donated by Petaluma Gap growers.

Dr. Liz Thach, Sonoma State University professor of management and wine business, will walk the attendees through the five-course dinner, discussing the science and techniques of pairing wines with food, which will showcase Petaluma Gap wines.

There will be a raffle for an “instant wine cellar,” featuring $5,000 of donated assorted Petaluma Gap wines, and a live wine auction with an opportunity to purchase an original oil painting by local artist Ginger Irwin. There will also be a raffle, featuring a diamond valued at $2,500 and donated by jewelry concierge Dana von Sternberg.

The Sangiacomo family, pioneering Petaluma winemakers, will be honored at the event for their sustainable wine growing methods and long history in the Petaluma area.

Tickets are $150, and include complimentary van service to Keller Estate.

“The gala is only one of many events involving the museum and the Petaluma Viticulture exhibit,” notes Paula Freund, one of the exhibit’s curators. On Saturday, Sept. 27, there will be a Community Crush Celebration, which will feature a selection of wines donated by Cline Cellars, delicacies from Preferred Sonoma Caterers and the “big band sound” of the Ted Langford Band. Admission to the exhibit is included in the ticket price of $45 that evening.

On Sept. 29, the museum will host the Home Crafted Wine Competition, a judging of home crafted wines, and on Oct. 25 there will be an awards dinner and celebration of Home Crafted Wines, sponsored by the Independent Order of Oddfellows.

On Oct. 4, French Master Cooper Yann Guigen will demonstrate the art of traditional barrel building. And on Sunday, Nov. 16, “America’s Wine: the Legacy of Prohibition” will be shown at the Mystic Theatre, introduced by the documentary’s producer Carla DeLuca Worfolk, who will also be available at the wine and cheese reception following the screening.

All of this will be to benefit and compliment the Petaluma Museum’s latest exhibit, “Petaluma Viticulture History & Heritage: A Celebration of Wine and Community.” The exhibit has been co-curated by Paula Freund, a art historian and former museum board member, and Jim McCormick, owner of the California Wine Museum. According to Freund, Petaluma, and in particular the Lakeville area, was the center of Sonoma County’s wine industry until Prohibition. The exhibit will detail the growth, decline, and resurgence of the wine industry in the Petaluma Gap.

Along with an extensive collection of documents and artifacts, the exhibit will feature a series of recorded interviews by Mayor David Glass with Petalumans whose families were involved in the wine industry, both pre- and post- Prohibition. And with the new exhibit, the painting “California Yesterday and Today,” painted in 1915 by Professor Eugene Urbaine and only recently rediscovered by the museum, will be on display.

The Petaluma Historical Library and Museum is located at 20 Fourth St.

For ticket or exhibit information, visit petalumamuseum.com.

(Contact Lynn Haggerty King at argus@arguscouri er.com)

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