Tickets on Sale for 'Wine Classic' at Santa Rosa Junior College

SONOMA COUNTY, CA – Santa Rosa Junior College will hold its third annual SRJC Wine Classic, a walk-around tasting reception/fundraiser offering up fine wines from the county and amazing appetizers prepared by the Culinary Arts alumni rock stars and current students, on Sunday, Feb. 12 to celebrate this year’s honorary co-chairs Art Ibleto, widely known as “The Pasta King” and Evelyn Cheatham, founder of Worth Our Weight.

The event will be 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Lawrence A. Bertolini Student Center on SRJC’s Santa Rosa campus.

Tickets, which include free parking, are $75 per person for adults age 21 or over and can be purchased at www.srjcwineclassic.com.

Tickets are limited. And don't miss out, as last year's event sold out early!

Live music will be provided by SRJC students.

All proceeds will support SRJC Wine, Culinary Arts & Hospitality programs and student scholarships. Last year’s SRJC Wine Classic raised more than $39,000.

As the one and only Pasta King, Ibleto has touched generations in Sonoma County with pasta, kindness and an unfailingly, generous heart. At age 22, Ibleto was an Italian soldier who immigrated to the U.S. after World War II and began work as a zucchini picker in Petaluma.

He and his wife, Vicki, eventually opened the Spaghetti Palace at the Sonoma County Fair, which was a favorite of fairgoers for more than four decades. He has supported SRJC students and their programs by cooking and donating at countless events and fundraisers for the college. He and his Pasta King logo are a Sonoma County staple at countless charity events, and his enthusiastic promotion of Italian culture has enriched Sonoma County.

Cheatham is known for her tireless dedication to providing opportunities and second chances to others. Moving to Sonoma County in 1987, Cheatham soon became part of the local food scene in Healdsburg and Santa Rosa.

In 2006, she founded the nationally acclaimed culinary apprentice program Worth Our Weight (WOW) in Santa Rosa. The project was a culmination of her years of work in the food industry and her passion for helping underserved youth. Cheatham’s leadership at WOW has shown the power that growing, cooking and eating good food can have on youth.

WOW apprentices are young people, 16 to 24, who have faced major challenges in their lives, including foster care, difficulties with the law, homelessness and significant family disruption. Cheatham and WOW provide tuition-free culinary and food service training.

“The SRJC Wine Classic will again bring key community members, including alumni, friends, partners and supporters, back to the college to enjoy world-class local wine and food in a social, interactive setting,” said St. Francis Winery President Christopher Silva, who also serves as Chairman of SRJC’s Wine Studies Advisory Board.

Silva is again spearheading the event along with SRJC’s President Frank Chong, Agriculture/Natural Resources & Culinary Arts Dean Ron Myers, Wine and Business instructors Audrey LeBaudour (SRJC Wine Classic Project Coordinator) and Brad Davis (Career and Technical Education Manager), SRJC Culinary instructors Betsy Fischer and James Cason, Shone Farm Manager Chris Wills, Dean of Career and Technical Education Jerry Miller, and Dean of Business Studies Josh Adams.

“The SRJC Wine Classic is a hands-on wine event for the Wine Event Planning class. Key goals for the class are to get lecture and theory, and also to use what they learn to put on this event,” said SRJC instructor and Manager of Workforce Training and Instructional Partnerships Davis.

Additional information about the event and tickets are available at www.srjcwineclassic.com or by writing to srjcwineclassic@gmail.com.

ALSO COMING UP IN THE AREA:

• The Nutcracker: Napa Valley Performing Arts Center
• Gingerbread House Competition: Hotel Petaluma
• Holidays in Vienna: Symphony Napa Valley
• Gingerbread Doghouse Workshops at Charles M. Schulz Museum: Santa Rosa
• The Music Man: Santa Rosa Junior College

--Images via SRJC, Shutterstock, Patch files