Kelley Fox of Kelley Fox Wines, Bret Csencsitz of Gotham Bar & Grill and Support for The Iris Fund all on Saturday, February 23rd at 109 Ridgefield!

Saturday the 23^rd is shaping up to be an amazing day at 109!  12 – 5pm 

A very special visit from winemaker Kelley Fox in our wine store and Bret Csencsitz, Managing Partner of the Gotham Bar and Grill in NYC in our cheese shop.

Kelley will be in our wine store tasting some of her favorite wines from 2-4 with the amazing Jim Morrision and Bret will be sampling some of our favorite Gotham chocolates and olive oil.

Along with all of these amazing food and wine tastings going on, we will also be having a raffle for “The Iris Fund” and a percentage of the days sales will go to the support of the charity as well.

But there’s more! Mark from GoldenVines will be in the wine store from 12-2 and maybe even a little longer pouring some of his favorites just because he can and we love him. 

About Kelley Fox from her website;

“Kelley Fox Wines is a small winery I created in 2007 along with my father, Gerson “Gus” Stearns. Though I have lived in the Willamette Valley for over 28 years, and I find myself loving Oregon more every year. The first vintage (2007) started with just over 100 cases. The annual case production is now between 2700 and 3000 cases, all from the historic Maresh Vineyard, the Demeter-certified biodynamic Momtazi Vineyard (both since the beginning) along with Hyland (1988 Coury Clone Pinot), Freedom Hill (barrel-fermented Pinot blanc), and beginning in 2018, Weber (1983 and 1988 Pinot), and Durant Vineyard (Chardonnay). Both Weber and Durant are family owned and farmed old vine vineyards in the Dundee Hills.

I’ve been a full-time, year-round, on-the-floor Oregon Pinot noir winemaker since 2000. My education includes a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Biology from Texas AM University. I graduated Magna Cum Laude with dual degrees in Biochemistry and Biophysics from Oregon State University and was admitted to the PhD program in Biochemistry. 

Before completing the doctorate, I changed my path to pursue winemaking.  I learned winemaking not from a classroom or textbooks or from other regions, but directly from Oregon winemakers who had put in some serious time. I was deeply influenced by my dear friend and former employer, the late David Lett of The Eyrie Vineyards.  David was the ultimate iconoclast who pioneered the Oregon wine industry in the 1960’s.

My winemaking experience includes Torii Mor, Hamacher, and Eyrie, and ten years as winemaker at Scott Paul Wines (August 2005 to about mid-April 2015). I now happily work for my own winery exclusively.”

About Bret Csencsitz,

For the past seven years Bret has served as Managing Partner of Gotham Bar & Grill, ensuring that the restaurant lives up to its legacy while continuing to push boundaries as a leader in the New York dining scene. During his time at the helm, he has also helped develop the Gotham Chocolates program, as well as a collection of fine culinary products under the label, Gotham Selections. Csencsitz has also demonstrated his commitment to New York and the food movement through his ongoing work with GrowNYC. 

Like many in the industry Bret has his roots in the performing arts, having spent much of his early time in the city as an classically-trained actor, director, and producer. His studies in the work of the Bard have impacted nearly every aspect of his life and work, including naming his son William… and his daughter Cordelia.

Food, family, and the arts remain Csencsitz’s driving passions.

About The Iris Fund;

 To help mothers and babies realize healthy, safe pregnancies and labors by understanding what causes labor and preterm birth. We believe that the answers to the fundamental question of what causes labor is applicable to all mothers. We understand that it is impossible to provide the best care for mothers when working off an outdated understanding of how a pregnant body works during labor. We can do so much better. It starts at the Columbia Preterm Birth Prevention Center, where paradigm-shifting research is underway that will one day, in the not too distant future, become the new medical standard.