Cassandra Schaeg: "Fresh Glass" is brought to you by Visit California.

California: dream big.

♪♪♪ Cassandra: The Conrad Prebys Foundation, Stone Brewing, Beyond Law, KPBS Explore, the Villegas Family Fund, Jonathan & Christina Barbarin, Gemma & Ross Blain, the Clarke Family, with additional contributions by Fresh Glass innovators-- ♪♪♪ Cassandra: And viewers like you.

Thank you.

For a complete list of financial contributors, please visit www.FreshGlassProductions.com.

Cassandra: I'm Cassandra Schaeg, entrepreneur, adventurer, and wine and beer enthusiast.

Food, beverage, and entrepreneurship are growing with women and BIPOC innovators creating brands and making a name for themselves.

male: Welcome to Crowns Inglewood, baby.

Cassandra: Join me on adventures and discover why they started, what drives them, and how representation is the cornerstone of their passion.

Cassandra: What do you come to do?

all: Sip.

Cassandra: I'm creating a space for people who look like me to share their stories and their spirits.

This is "Fresh Glass."

♪♪♪ Cassandra: I'm Cassandra Schaeg, founder of Sip Wine & Beer in Escondido, a tasting room that promotes wine and beer made by women and people of color.

As one of the few female black-owned businesses in San Diego County, I know the challenges women and people of color face.

I also know what it takes to become an entrepreneur.

Now I'm sharing my stories with you and introducing you to others like me who love entrepreneurship, wine, and beer.

all: Cheers.

Cassandra: We are going to meet three extraordinary women who are making a name for themselves in the wine and food industries.

Cassandra: You know you're the only Native American woman winemaker in the country, right?

Tara Gomez: It's an awesome feeling.

I'm honored, and I'm proud to represent my tribe.

Cassandra: With her wife, Mireia, they are bringing a new brand to the table.

Cassandra: Are you ready?

Mireia Taribo: We're always ready, you have to be.

Cassandra: They are ready and are finding out that other women, like Vaga's Chef Claudette Zepeda, are there to support them.

Claudette Zepeda: If you don't see yourself in the space, be the person in the space.

Cassandra: All of this and more, coming up next on this episode of "Fresh Glass."

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Cassandra: This is Santa Ynez Valley.

In ancient times, the Chumash people inhabited this land, which was part of their 7,000-mile territory from Malibu to Paso Robles.

Over 25,000 Chumash people called it home.

Cassandra: Today, the Chumash population is around 5,000.

They are a matriarchal society who promote women leaders.

They have seen them thrive and help their people build a community that devotes their resources to education, health, and ensuring their vibrant culture thrives for generations to come.

Cassandra: In my former career, I worked with tribal communities throughout Southern California.

Santa Ynez holds a special place in my heart.

For Tara Gomez, as the first female Native American winemaker, she is both grateful and proud to be a leader in her community.

Tara has already made a name for herself with her tribe's wine, Kitá, and in 2021, she was named Winemaker of the Year by VinePair.

Now with her wife, Mireia Taribo, they grow their grapes for their brand, Camins2Dreams, in a fashion similar to winemakers of the past.

Additionally, their biodynamic vineyards are free of pesticides and chemicals, allowing the nutrients from the soil and climate to create the rich, bold flavors.

Cassandra: So this is old-school winemaking?

This is old-school winemaking at its finest.

Tara: Kinda taking it back, yeah.

Cassandra: So what area are we in, and what kind of grapes are being made in this area that we're standing in?

Tara: This is the Grenache, this is our area where we're gonna be pickin' our fruit from.

Cassandra: Is it a red grape?

Tara: Yes.

Cassandra: Okay, it's a red grape, so you're gonna make red wine with this one?

Mireia: Mm-hmm.

Cassandra: Generally speaking, what's gonna be the size of the grape when it's time to go to harvest?

Mireia: These one, in particular, it's a clone from Spain, which is a little bit different than some of the Grenache that is planted here, which are like bigger clusters.

This one, normally, it's like more like a medium size.

Cassandra: How many tons of fruit can you pull from this if everything goes well?

Mireia: From the area that we have, it should be, like, around two tons.

Tara: Hopefully two tons.

Mireia: In each vine, you're gonna have, in these ones, maybe six to eight clusters.

Cassandra: So how do you know when to pick?

Tara: Come in, taste it.

It's based on flavor, and then just examining the grapes, tasting them.

Mireia: Also the chemistry.

Cassandra: Okay.

Mireia: Our style of winemaking, it's natural, so we do not add anything to it, so we need to rely on where it comes from, vineyard, so it's really important the chemistry and also the flavor, of course.

Cassandra: And then, when it's time to pick, you come out here at 3 a.m.?

Tara: Between 12 and 5.

Mireia: Depending-- Tara: Yeah, but we literally are the ones that come out for every single pick.

We're out here.

We haul our own fruit back, and we do all the work.

We're very hands-on.

Cassandra: Yes, my thighs hurt walking up this hill, so clearly, this is--you're pros at this.

Why did you choose this vineyard?

Tara: Well, we also like the fact that one is biodynamic, but, also, too, it's head-trained vines, so it's not on, like, a VSP trellis system.

There's no trellis system here.

Mireia: Normally, you see a lot of the vineyards in this area or in Santa Barbara, California, in general, that they're, like, tall, like this, and then go like this.

Cassandra: Oh, yeah, okay.

Mireia: They would be like this tall, so this is more-- it's more like the traditional way that they used to do it back in the time.

Cassandra: Okay, what's the risk with that?

Tara: It's a pretty big risk.

Cassandra: Okay.

Tara: Yeah.

Cassandra: I mean, do you get the fruit that you want or-- Tara: Well, the bad news is that, right now, we're in flowering, so if we were to get any rains or some really strong winds and if it were to knock off some of that during this process, then it would generally mean either a lower yield in the end, or sometimes, if it's bad hail, it could be complete-- Cassandra: So obliterate it.

Tara: Destruction of it, yeah.

Mireia: I mean, but there's always a risk involved in farming.

Tara: We watch the weather constantly during these important parts of the growing process, so, yeah, this is an important growth cycle right here that's gonna determine everything in the end.

Cassandra: We headed over to Tara and Mireia's winery, Camins2Dreams, to chat about winemaking.

They age their wines in French oak barrels, which give their wines subtle, spicy notes.

They time their aging processes perfectly, allowing the tannins to soften while letting the flavors develop naturally within the barrels.

I am so ready to taste some Grenache.

Cassandra: Now, this is my favorite part.

Tara: The tasting portion of it, yeah.

So here we are with Grenache.

So this is a thief which we use to collect the wine from the barrel.

Cassandra: A thief.

Mireia: 'Cause it steals wine.

Cassandra: Okay, fitting, fitting.

Why is choosing the barrels you choose so important?

Mireia: So we use with neutral barrels, which means that they're barrels that have been previously filled for another winery.

We buy them secondhand, and that's because we don't want too much oak influencing our wines.

Tara: Yeah, all the barrels in here are all French oak barrels.

Cassandra: Is there a reason why you prefer French over Kentucky?

Mireia: French will give you a little bit more of that spicy notes more than the--American is a little bit sweeter.

Tara: And I think what we look for in a cooper, in a barrel, in an oak barrel, is just, you know, a perfect marriage between the wine in the barrel where it allows the wine to really shine through.

Cassandra: Okay, I smell a lot of cherry right now.

Mireia: Yeah, you get a lot of red fruits here.

Tara: Get a lot of floral, yeah, as well.

Cassandra: How much longer are you gonna keep this wine in the barrel?

Mireia: Not much longer.

We normally bottle our red wines normally after 10 month, 10 to 12 month in barrel.

So this one will be bottle before this next harvest.

Cassandra: Camins, natural winemaking, meaning no pesticides, Mother Nature, old-school winemaking, French barrels, so you have a good marriage.

And you have a good marriage, okay?

Mireia: We do have a good marriage too.

We better do.

Cassandra: So you're gonna bottle this shortly, and then, from the bottle, how long from barrel to bottle?

Mireia: So, once we decide when to bottle it, we rack it out, normally gravity flow.

We put it in tanks, and then, we blend the different barrels that we have from the same wine, and we leave it there, settling for a few days, and then we transfer it to another tank, and then, from there, we bottle.

Cassandra: Camins for the 2020 harvest, or for the 2020 vintage, how many cases are you doing?

Mireia: 2020 was a little bit smaller vintage, but we averaged around 450 cases.

This year, actually 2021, we're gonna be probably like around a thousand.

Cassandra: What?!

Mireia: But we released a little bit last year, so we're trying also to, kind of, like, balance that, plus add a little bit more 'cause you wanna grow it slowly.

Cassandra: Slow and steady.

Cassandra: Cheers.

all: Cheers.

Cassandra: Ah, this is really, really good.

Cassandra: While Tara and Mireia are moving slow and steady, they still are working to get their brands into a world where fine dining and premium wines meet.

One such place is Vaga, a premier dining experience at the Alila Marea Beach Resort in Encinitas, California.

Vaga's executive chef, Claudette Zepeda, is well-known and admired for her fearless style, which combines bold flavorings, using a mix of regional Mexican cuisine and local delicacies.

She's competed on the television shows "Top Chef" and "Top Chef Mexico."

Claudette knows the importance of representation, and she is using her talents in the kitchen to lift other women in the food and wine industries by celebrating diversity at the table.

Cassandra: Hi, Chef, whatcha makin'?

Claudette: I am going to make our callo de hacha, which is our scallop dish made with young coconut and a little bit of the carrot aguachile broth that-- actually came up with this by accident in 2015, and I was, like, tryin' to figure out how to move Mexican cuisine, my cuisine, what I've known my entire life.

What's the next chapter of it?

At Vaga, it's been, well, I don't wanna do Mexican cuisine, but I still need to be myself, so how do I merge the future and my past?

So the carrot aguachile here is just carrots and-- It's something that I know how to do well, and my experience is pair very spicy foods with a little bit of sweetness because it balances, and it's all about the final dish, the final bite.

Cassandra: So you pair this with Kitá's Sauvignon Blanc?

Claudette: I do the Camp 4 Sauvignon Blanc 2018, yes.

Cassandra: Why did you choose Kitá?

Claudette: Lots of different reasons.

Inclusivity on my wine list.

The story remains the same of what I'm looking for, and it is seeing people that aren't seen by the general public, seeing people that aren't seen on a platform of luxury properties and of fine dining because those certain places are just so accustomed to giving the client what they want instead of showing them what they don't even know they want and the education component of having a dining experience that's actually an experience.

How boring would it be if we went to all of the food--or all of the places that we went to eat at, and they always all had the same thing because that's what sells because that's what people are comfortable with; I am personally incredibly comfortable in the uncomfortable.

Cassandra: Really?

Claudette: I've never shied away from change.

Cassandra: Okay, so as an entrepreneur and a wine adventurer, I would call myself, I have to balance, you know, my ego.

I have to balance being a woman in this industry, and I'm sure you have to balance and figure out your own space.

Claudette: I do, it's a--like the wine world, it's a very male-dominated industry.

As women, we have to walk the line of being assertive, having standards, and it can get mistaken, especially by my male counterparts as being too egotistical, but it's really, no, because if we were men doing the same thing, we would just be great leaders.

Cassandra: So talk about your leadership style as a chef.

Claudette: Well, I guess you shouldn't ask these guys.

My leadership-- Cassandra: You like her?

Okay.

male: We all do.

Cassandra: Okay.

Claudette: I mean, to give you some context, I'm Ma in the kitchen.

Cassandra: Ma?

Claudette: Ma.

Cassandra: Okay.

Claudette: I am incredibly nurturing, and I'm hard when I need to be, but I see my cooks as individuals, not as employees, and not as something that I never saw when I was a cook, and I was never treated--I guess, not "never"-- often not treated as a human, as I had several times because I'm also a mother, so here's a woman that is--that's very uncommon for our industry.

I'm a mother, and I've had to lie in several places that I thought--applied for work at because I was a mother, and they didn't want someone with that kind of responsibility on their payroll, you know?

And so the kind of leader I am is the kind of leader I wish I had when I was comin' up.

Cassandra: You've taken some monumental risks in your career.

Claudette: Mm-hmm.

Cassandra: You've been on TV, you've been on several chef shows.

I mean, what's your motto when you go into those environments?

Claudette: Well, I'm always looking for experiences to come out learning something new about myself, learning something new about my career, how I can grow as a human and, more than anything, how I can grow as a mentor to my kids in the kitchen and as a mentor to my own kids.

Cassandra: And "Vaga" means?

Claudette: "Vaga" is derivative of a "vagabond."

The etymology of the word is like a wanderer, wanderlust, and in Spanish, "vagos" and "vagas" are children that kind of run the street, a little feral.

Cassandra: Just do whatever.

Claudette: And I didn't--never wore shoes when I was a kid.

I was running the streets in TJ, so that's just who I am.

I'm always this, like, feral human looking for experiences.

Cassandra: What's the legacy you wanna leave?

Claudette: I remember comin' up in this industry and not seeing people that looked like me and not hearing the stories of women that were mothers in this industry supporting each other and all these things that we need to be doing in order to move the needle forward, you know?

And that goes to how I build my list.

That goes to how I lead my team.

That goes to everything, my collaborations with women all over the world.

It's always seeing them, you know?

Seeing them for their talent and who they are, not just a product that they produce.

If you don't see yourself in the space, be the person in the space, right?

Like, it's our calling.

It's our duty to the next generation of women of color, of little girls of color.

So I am--my legacy is keep moving forward.

My legacy is perseverance, warrior, and I come from some badass women, so why would I-- like, I am their wildest dreams.

Cassandra: Thank you.

Cassandra: Creating a legacy and persevering is part of what we, as women, know.

Cassandra: Wait, where's my fork?

Cassandra: My god, with the Kitá's Sauv Blanc?

Claudette: Mm-hmm.

Cassandra: So it'll be super-light, crisp-- Claudette: And it's got those, like, the hidden fruit notes, peaches, plums, cherries.

It makes my job very easy.

Cassandra: Yeah.

Cassandra: Both Tara and Mireia continue to build their brand and make a name for themselves with their label, Camins2Dreams.

"Camins2Dreams" means "path to dreams."

For just over three years, they have been walking this path, creating great wines.

As they continue to follow the path that brought them together and the path back to Tara's home in Santa Barbara County, they are proving it's possible even though it means doing most of the work themselves.

Cassandra: I believe that you two are making a serious name for yourself with Camins2Dreams, and the question is "Are you ready?

Are you excited?"

Tara: I'm ready.

Mireia: We're always ready.

You have to be.

Tara: Yeah.

Mireia: You have to be.

Tara: I built Kitá, I got Kitá to where it's at, and now I wanna do the same for Camins.

Mireia: I mean, it's always been a little bit of hustle-- we've been lucky to have, like, really good reviews from day one and a lot of people talkin' about our wines and showcasing them and supporting us, so, yeah, it's been nice to see that.

Cassandra: So how's the dynamic working together?

Tara: We know our strengths, and we know our weaknesses, and we know we're not scared to say, like, okay, you do better in the cellar.

I do better in the lab 'cause you break everything, and I'm really-- Mireia: That's me.

Tara: And I'm really slow in the cellar, so, like, we know who's stronger in what category, and we go there, and we do it.

Mireia: Yeah, we're really opposite in everything in our--the way we do things.

Tara: So I always say it's all blood, sweat, and tears that I've put into it, that we both put into it.

It's a lot of hard work.

It's a lot of physical labor as well, and a lot of people don't realize that.

Everybody just sees the glamorous part of it, the romantic side of it, but there's so much more to it.

Cassandra: We all see what's in the glass, but we don't see what happens behind the bottle.

Tara: I always say that it's like 75%, 80% cleaning that we're doing.

Mireia: We're more janitors than anything else.

No, believe me, like, the winery.

Tara: No, that's all it is, is cleaning.

Mireia: Yeah, you need to clean a lot in our winery.

It's scrubbing the tanks and harvesting is like-- it's horrible and it's not glamorous, but-- unless you wear pink boots.

Cassandra and Tara: Pink boots?

Mireia: Unless it's a little bit glamorous.

Water boots.

♪♪♪ Tara: But we like to be a part of it from beginning to end, meaning from beginning, like, with bud break and just watching the vine grow.

I mean, I think that's like the most nourishing part of it that I really love about it is just watching the vines grow and seeing it go through all its different phases throughout the growing process.

Every year, it always feels like my first harvest 'cause I get the butterflies.

I get the natural adrenaline rush that just, like, comes to me, and it just, like, you get all this energy in.

Mireia: It's not only our job, but it's also our passion.

It's all we do.

Tara: Yeah, it becomes a part of you.

I mean, after spending so much time, like, learning about wine and enjoying wine, it doesn't even feel like a job anymore.

I mean, when it becomes your passion, that's all you tend to think about, and that's literally, like, all we think about.

Cassandra: You know you're the only Native American woman winemaker in the country, right?

Tara: Yeah.

Mireia: Yep, she is.

Tara: I know.

It's an awesome feeling.

I mean, I'm honored, and I'm proud to represent my tribe because it was with the financial support of my tribe that I was able to go off to college and get my education, get my degree in enology, so, yes, I'm the first to be recognized by the State Legislature of California of havin' a Native American winemaker and a Native American winery run solely by our tribe.

Cassandra: And when you talk about making wine and you being the first Native American woman winemaker, you coming from Spain, you're setting a precedence, you know, for people who look like us to do what we wanna do or make wine or chase our passion.

I read that Santa Barbara County has the most women winemakers per capita.

Mireia: Compared to other wine regions anywhere in the United States and, I would say, probably the world.

Tara: I think also, too, is, just, our region is really known for, like, experimentation, so that's what draws a lot of the younger generation of winemakers to our area is for that specific purpose 'cause it's not really as conventional but more of experimentation.

Cassandra: And, when you look at women in the wine industry and you talk about it being the biggest, the biggest in terms of per capita for the region, how do you lift each other up?

Because, remember, this is a male industry.

Tara: Yes.

Mireia: It's a male, white industry.

Put all the adjectives there.

Cassandra: White male industry, yes.

So what does that look like in Santa Barbara County?

Mireia: It's still a white male industry, but we're lucky that we are biggest percentage of women and mostly all, like, younger generation of women winemakers which is really cool that we try to get together often as we can and, you know, like, do these things or do events together, just try to support each other.

Cassandra: What's the future of Camins?

Tara: We're growing in, like-- Mireia: Yeah, slowly growing.

Opening distribution and-- Tara: Like, this is, yeah, we've definitely opened up a lot of distribution over this past year, and we're doubling our production this year and increasing, adding more SKUs to the lineup.

Mireia: The first three years, we've done Grüner and different Sirahs, and so now we're adding Grenache and Graciano that are already--haven't been released, and we're adding this year-- Tara: Carignan.

Mireia: Carignan and Gamay.

Tara: And Gamay.

Mireia: And a little bit of Albariño, probably.

Cassandra: I'm excited.

I'm excited.

Cassandra: So, Chef Claudette Zepeda, she has Kitá on the wine menu.

Tara: Aw.

Cassandra: Which is a big deal.

Tara: Yes.

Cassandra: She's a female chef, and she's doing phenomenal things, and so having Kitá is monumental.

So I'd like to make a toast.

I am so honored to know you and be able to support and drink your wine, first and foremost, but I'm happy that I see people looking--who look like me in this industry, and I wish you all the very best and much success.

both: Oh, thank you.

Cassandra: You guys, welcome.

Cheers.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Cassandra: From grape to glass, we got to meet some incredible women who found a way to elevate their passion and follow their path.

Let's raise a glass and cheers to sisterhood and following your own path.

Thanks for joining me on this episode of "Fresh Glass."

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Cassandra Schaeg: "Fresh Glass" is brought to you by Visit California.

California: dream big.

♪♪♪ Cassandra: The Conrad Prebys Foundation, Stone Brewing, Beyond Law, KPBS Explore, the Villegas Family Fund, Jonathan & Christina Barbarin, Gemma & Ross Blain, the Clarke Family, with additional contributions by Fresh Glass innovators-- ♪♪♪ Cassandra: And viewers like you.

Thank you.

For a complete list of financial contributors, please visit www.FreshGlassProductions.com.

Cassandra: On the next episode of "Fresh Glass," Timothy Parker, founder of Chula Vista Brewery, is a Navy veteran and a member of the elite Search and Rescue swim team.

Timothy Parker: He made me look down.

He was like, "Normally, black people don't know how to swim."

I'm like, "I never heard of that."

Cassandra: See what he's doing to give back to fellow veterans with his friend, ex-NFL player Donnie Edwards.

Donnie Edwards: Hey, this is called taking care of the ones who took care of us.

Cassandra: Grab your beer mugs and tune in to the next episode of "Fresh Glass."

female announcer: Support for this program comes from the KPBS Explore Local Content Fund, supporting new ideas and programs for San Diego.

Cassandra: To learn more and support our guests, visit us at www.FreshGlassProductions.com.

♪♪♪