When Courtney Summers landed an apprenticeship at Silver Oak Cellars through The Veraison Project, it helped the Texas native realize her dream of working in the wine industry.
By the end of her time at Silver Oak, Summers—now the wine club coordinator for Bricoleur Vineyards in Windsor—and her fellow apprentice, Philadelphia-based Tahlia Suggs, had founded Cookout at the Vineyard. More than just a party, the women created it as a fundraiser for The Veraison Project, an organization that funds scholarships and mentorships for people of color in an industry where BIPOC representation has historically been less than 1%.
What started out as a one-day party has grown to a three-day celebration of wine, food, and good times held June 11-13 at three different Sonoma County wineries. Like all good cookouts, says Summers, the focus is on hospitality and building community. “By Saturday, y’all are best friends. At the end of it all, everybody’s cousins.”
Getting the party started
When we came out here, we were in awe of the beauty. We were in awe of the experiences. We just couldn’t help but think it would be so fun if we could also have something that represented where we come from in this same setting. What would it be like to have a fish fry in the vineyards? We hadn’t seen that. What would it be like to have gumbo prepared for you along with wine in the vineyards—having that kind of interaction with the BIPOC community, with our allies? We decided to see if it could happen, and we just asked.
About Cookout Culture
Cookout culture has always been appreciating the food that we grew up on. It’s bringing community together. Everybody should be proud of where they come from. We’re just letting you know that this is where we come from. These are the recipes that we were raised on, and then we’re elevating them a little bit. Cookout food—barbecue, it goes with wine. Southern meals go with wine. Soul food goes with wine. (It’s) combining those worlds together and showing that they do belong together.
A Wine Country welcome
We really care about the connections we’re building and it’s bringing people up here. We continue to get Bay Area natives—they have never been up to Alexander Valley and didn’t even feel like they could come up that far. So, I think that continues to drive more and more access to this area. With our itinerary, we’re making sure that when people come out here, (they know) these are the places we felt welcome.