It was like Fashion Week came to Paso Robles: perfect lighting, stage settings, cameras flashing…OK, not quite. But it was a very glamorous affair for a few SIP Certified wines featuring the SIP seal on the label. With the expertise of Juice we created a fabulous photo portfolio of great wines made from healthy vineyards.

Photographer Steven Gould in action

But wait, there’s more!

It was fun to visit the SIP-certified wineries pouring at the Atascadero Wine Festival – a relaxing, lakeside event that’s now held from 4-8 p.m. to avoid the heat and take advantage of lovely North County summer nights. Local artists and restaurants also participate (we enjoyed paella from 10th Street Basque Café in San Miguel), and it’s always fun to listen to the Mighty Croon Dogs!

But wait, there’s more!

Judging from the standing room only crowd at the SIP Roundtable breakout seminar at CCVT’s 2009 Sustainable Ag Expo, there’s certainly a lot of buzz about the SIP program, and – we think – rightly so!

CCVT Executive Director Kris O’Connor spoke about the success of the fledgling program, now only in its second year, but already with 30-plus members and about 11,000 certified acres. She also noted that all the first year members renewed, many with expanded acreage. She stressed that although much of the certified acreage is from the counties of Monterey, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara, SIP is not and was never intended to be strictly a regional program.

But wait, there’s more!