October 8, 2024 – Gourmet Grazing on the Green, a fundraiser for the Santa Cruz Cancer Benefit Group (SCCBG), is always a great event, and this year we had perfect weather, despite the hot flashes of summer—that hot dame who stubbornly refuses to find her way off stage.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the big fundraiser for cancer programs in the Santa Cruz area. PR/restaurant/wine maven Keiki McKay has been vital to promoting the event, for the last 10 years, and notes that the same people who founded SCCBG nearly three decades ago are still involved.
“The five founders of Santa Cancer Benefit Group were largely restaurateurs who recognized the need to come together and raise funds for cancer research,” says McKay.
The five founders, David Adams (local musician and salon owner), John Battendieri (founder of Santa Cruz Organic Juices, organic foods pioneer in organic and sustainable food distribution, current owner Santa Cruz Fish Co.), Bob Munsey (Crow’s Nest), Jerry Neilsen (original owner of the GrapeSteak & Cafe Cruz) and Terry Pershall (real estate), decided to do what they could to raise money to support people living with cancer, and to support important research that could lead to alternative treatments and hopefully a cure.
To date, the group has donated more than $2 million to fund local support programs like the Teen Kitchen Project, Hospice of Santa Cruz County, Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Support Services, The Bennett & Suzy Katz Cancer Resource Center at Dominican Hospital and WomenCARE, founded by women with cancer for women with cancer.
In 2005, the SCBG Board of Directors decided to fund research efforts that might hasten development of new cancer treatments. Small grants from SCCBG have enabled UCSC faculty to obtain preliminary results that led to much larger grants from the National Institutes of Health and other funding agencies.
This year’s festivities brought nearly 900 attendees and raised over $60k.
Grazing on the Green 2024, had a mellow and measured feel, with people coming onto the green in small waves, rather than a huge crush as in the past.
Among the wines that caught my attention:
David Baird’s Common Thread wines were a huge hit, from the seriously fruity and deliciously dry 2023 Brut Rosé to the Christmas-in-glass Cabernet Franc, made with 50% whole cluster. If I had to pick one wine from Baird that you cannot miss it’s his Chenin Blanc from the Massa Vineyard (née Durney Vineyard, former home of Heller Estate), in Carmel Valley. With 3 days of skin contact, this has a mouthfeel of satin with an overlay of apple pie and a squeeze of orange zest. He also has a sparkling that’s killer good: more on that another time.
Marty Mathis was pouring his 2023 Godello, his third release of this Spanish grape that he has growing in a Saratoga vineyard. I recently saw a top scoring, and very expensive, Spanish Godello on the wine list at BROMA, a new restaurant in Mountain View. Marty’s has weight and texture, in the lighter Burgundy sphere, with no oakiness at all. It’s aged in Austrian casks.
The 2022 Ferrari Ranch Pinot Noir made by winemaker Ross Reedy, does the vineyard proud, with 10% whole cluster and 33% new French oak lending some heft to the elegant cherry-studded nose, that offers up sandalwood, blood orange tea and nutmeg notes. A bit of earthiness really brings it home.
Jeff Emery’s Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard 2021 Grenache Rosé from the Hook Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands was a beautiful way to edge into a day of indulgence, with a palate-punching burst of strawberry and hibiscus cooler. From the same vineyard, the 2022 Grenache showed all the reasons why we love Grenache, from its captivating aroma to its pleasing fruitiness.
The late Barry Jackson lives on in every sip of Equinox Cellars wines, and Sue Lamothe and Chenal Breen were pouring three examples. I loved the creaminess of the Blanc de Blanc with the clam chowder served by The Point, and the 2019 Blanc de Noir was beautifully endowed with strawberry fruit.
Steve Johnson was pouring the 2021 Traviso Pinot Noir from Lester Estate Wines, made by Ross Reedy, and it was exceptionally pretty, with lots of rose petal, baking spice and sassy cherry and raspberry flavors, accented by just the right amount of pine and sandalwood incense.
Sante Arcangeli’s 2023 Rosé of Pinot Noir was one complex journey through the methods of making such a refined, crisp yet just fruity enough rose. Most if it was done in “Betty,” the concrete egg, but some was rested in steel and neutral oak.
Nicole Walsh of Ser was represented by her Trousseau Gris from Siletto Vineyard, a smooth, satiny textured wine that spoke of limestone and sand, as well as her excellent lime-laced Vermentino from Creston Ridge Vineyard.
Windy Oaks 2021 Terra Nara Pinot Noir is always a great choice, and our Edible Monterey Bay editor, Debby Luhrman, said it was one of her top picks.
Memorable Food
Kim Solano and the crew at The Haute Enchilada did it right with a chilled avocado and Greek yogurt gazpacho with prawns, spicy serrano, cilantro and pomegranate seeds dish, crafted for a summer day.
Chef Jody Lombardo of Bay Culinary Living had a completely different take on her gazpacho. The medium dice on tomatoes, peppers, Persian cucumbers, avocados and chiles made for a hearty salsa salad, studded with Bay shrimp. Her table display showcased all the dishes ingredients in their vegetable glory. She sells clam chowder, chicken pot pies and more at Farmers Markets, including Cabrillo College, and sells through Royal Oak Farms.
Cantine Pub outdid themselves with a pork and beef meatball in tomato brandy sauce, and the street corn was so fresh and snappy, studded with bits of chile, cotija cheese, tajin and a creamy garlic aioli that tied it all together in one delightful encapsulation of what makes corn a universal favorite food.
Venus Spirits Kitchen with their pulled pork sliders and Parker Presents with their ever-popular oysters, had the longest lines, although nowhere near like in the past.
An alderwood smoked salmon atop cucumber and topped with dill, chive and caper cream cheese got the point across at Santa Cruz Fish Company. Their salmon is sourced from the relatively pristine waters of New Zealand’s oceans, although that’s all changing rapidly.
Jen Ashby’s always tempting Ashby’s Confections were a big hit, especially her dark chocolate covered candied hazelnuts and cherry chocolate quinoa clusters. “A great way to get some protein while you’re enjoying a chocolate snack,” said Ashby.
We were in no position to argue.
About the author
Laura Ness is a longtime wine journalist, columnist and judge who contributes regularly to Edible Monterey Bay, Spirited, WineOh.Tv, Los Gatos Magazine and Wine Industry Network, and a variety of consumer publications. Her passion is telling stories about the intriguing characters who inhabit the fascinating world of wine and food.
