Switchback Ridge
RESERVATIONS ARE NOW OPEN. Call 706.922.9463 to secure your reservation!
Friends and family - this dinner is truly a special event as we team up to benefit our local CSRA GYN Cancer Support Group.
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Show your support with us on Thursday, November 10th, for an exclusive coursed winemaker’s dinner presented by Chef Justin Hayes featuring a beautiful line-up of California wines from Switchback Ridge. This dinner will kick off our charity event weekend as we team up to benefit the CSRA GYN Cancer Support Group.
To highlight the evening, we will feature a few selections of library wines as we are joined by special guest and founder/managing partner of Switchback Ridge, Kelly Peterson.
Thursday, November 10, 2022
$175 Per Guest ++
6:00pm Reception | 6:30pm Dinner
BACKGROUND ON SWITCHBACK RIDGE:
The inspiration to embark upon a family wine project first came to Kelly in 1995 with the death of her great aunt, Carrie. Auntie, as she was affectionately called, emphatically insisted that her old vine block of Petite Sirah, or “Pets” as she called them, “not be touched” when the property was replanted in 1990. At the time there was little respect or interest in Petite Sirah and total acreage in California was down to an all-time low of only 1,700 acres. After her death, there was a renewed interest in the variety and Kelly vowed to make a Petite Sirah varietal wine in her honor. That dream became a reality in 1999, with the help of family friend and winemaker Bob Foley, when Switchback Ridge produced its first vintage.
Switchback Ridge is named for the winding trails in the hills above the vineyard that John explored as a child. Today Kelly Peterson continues the legacy that began with her great-grandfather, Mads, over a hundred years ago.
ABOUT SPECIAL GUEST: Kelly Peterson, Founder/Managing Partner
Kelly founded Switchback Ridge in 1999 with the dream of continuing her family’s legacy that began with her great-grandparents over 100 years ago. She is responsible for all aspects of the business, including sales, marketing and hospitality functions.
Kelly grew up in Calistoga and spent most of her childhood on the family’s vineyard, which included picking prunes and grapes at a very young age. After spending 13 years at a local winery overseeing direct sales, hospitality, special events and corporate dining programs, Kelly left to concentrate full time on the business she built from the ground up.
Kelly takes great pride in what she and the three generations before her have accomplished and is thankful for the opportunity to continue a family legacy of hard working farmers, grape growers, and now, wine producers. Above all she is most proud of her daughter, Ashley, who joined the company in 2015 and her son, Devon, who is currently studying viticulture and enology. With the future of Switchback Ridge in good hands, she looks forward to focusing on her most recent and cherished role as “Mimi” to her granddaughters, Ava and Eliza, the sixth generation already in training!
When not traveling across the country making new wine-loving friends, Kelly likes to hang out at home with her husband, Ray, and their rescue dog, Sonny. Kelly is also very active in her community and sits on the board of the Calistoga WineGrowers Association to collectively promote the incredibly special place she’s been so blessed to be born and raised.
CSRA GYN Cancer Support Group
The CSRA GYN Cancer Support Group was established in February 2004 in Augusta, Georgia by Dr. Sharad Ghamande, Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Professor in the Section of Gynecologic Oncology at Augusta University. Dr. Ghamande also serves as the Associate Director of Clinical Research at the Georgia Cancer Center. Throughout the years, this support group has become one of the country’s largest grassroots support groups dedicated to helping women with cancer.
They work with patients and families to provide structured education, support, and a buddy-mentorship program, helping them maintain hope and guidance through a most difficult period. In addition, this group sponsors activities surrounding their patients throughout the year, including Monthly Meetings, an annual Spa Day, Christmas Party, and other group activities.
"While medicine fights for cures, patients are left with broken lives," he said. "Having people with the same lives sharing with each other, they end up answering questions unanswerable by us. They end up with extended families." Anybody with gynecological cancer and their family members can come and express their fears, feelings or concerns." Dr. Sharad Ghamande and Dr. Bunja Rungruang
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***Stay tuned for event photos and curated menu by Chef Justin Hayes!
Switchback Ridge Winemaker’s Dinner Menu
CHEF JUSTIN HAYES
