It’s wine o’clock somewhere: At least it was on Main Street in Newhall during the 17th annual “Wine Affair: Sip, Savor, Stroll” hosted by Soroptimist International of Greater Santa Clarita Valley on Sunday afternoon.
Soroptimist International of Greater SCV is an organization that helps “to provide women and girls with access to the education and training they need to achieve economic empowerment, especially those facing significant obstacles,” according to the organization’s website.
During the fun-filled afternoon, attendees got the opportunity to walk up and down Main Street and enjoy some yummy food and tasty wine or other drinks from several vendors, including Bivium, Wide Eye Lounge, and Form + Content.
Laura Scott, event chair of Wine Affair, said one of her favorite parts of the event is seeing the community come together for the cause.
“All the money that we, that we make for this, where I should say it actually goes to help our programs that empower women and girls through education,” Scott said.
She added that she is a foodie and loves to see what each place makes for the event because everything is specially curated.
Scott said that the committee starts planning the afternoon “non-stop since Jan. 1.”
“Our whole committee meets every week. And even between then we’re tirelessly working to reach out to not only venues, but vendors for our food and our drinks and our sponsors. (We) can’t do this without sponsors, reaching out to partner up with volunteers. (We) can’t do it without volunteers. So, it takes a whole community to really put this on,” Scott said.
Denise Schramm, owner of Crush Vineyard in Paso Robles, joined with Debrah Manahan, a representative of R Johnson Interiors in Newhall, and they said they were excited for the afternoon and seeing the community come in and enjoy some Crush Vineyard wine and some bruschetta.
“I’ve gone to the event myself. I worked the event for another winery from Paso in the past. And then I’ve also worked in this shop. So, it’s really nice just to see everybody kind of kick off their shoes and enjoy really good wine,” Manahan said.
“I’ve donated to the silent auction in the past, but this is the first time that I’ve been able to come and attend and participate in person. So, I’m really excited for that. And I hope to meet lots of new friends and expose our wine to the Santa Clarita community,” Schramm said.
Attendees Kerri Emmer and Jessica Miller were enjoying the day at Form + Content.
Emmer said the event is a great way to see the different stores and go to places they might not typically go into.
She added that it’s great to stroll with the community and enjoy the wine and each other’s company.
“I really like also just seeing our town grow and seeing downtown Newhall get a facelift, and all the people enjoying it, and coming together, and feeling like this is just a cool place to be but also supporting Soroptimist,” Miller said.
Miller and Emmer said they used to be part of Soroptimist and even helped with Wine Affair too.
Miller added that the event is an important way to get the community involved because, instead of asking people to just donate, they are getting a fun experience, too.
“You can connect with people, you can have fun with the people you came with, meet new friends. And you’re supporting a cause. So, your money that you put out wasn’t just writing a check and handing it to someone,” Miller said.
