SBWOMENWINEMAKERS.COM

This week we have two forces of nature — Anna Vecino eathappykitchen.com and Sunshine Dench futureperfectwines.com — for a real conversation about grit, mentorship, and building something that lasts.

This episode is about women who don’t wait for permission.
They show up early.
They stay late.
They outwork the room.

We dig into the heart behind the SB Women Winemakers & Culinarians Foundation — how Santa Barbara County quietly became one of the most powerful regions in the world for women winemakers, and why mentorship is the key to the next generation.

We talk about:

🍇 The Grand Tasting at 27 Vines – March 7
💎 The Denim & Diamonds Celebration – April 11
🎥 The award-winning short film “WINS”
🔥 Closing the mentorship gap in wine and food
👩‍🍳 Launching a food company in a male-dominated grocery industry
🍷 Honoring the OG women who paved the road in the Santa Ynez Valley

And we keep coming back to one thing:
Hard work is the great equalizer.

If you’ve ever thought about making wine… starting a food brand… or stepping into something bigger than yourself — this episode is your sign.

👉 Tickets. Events. Mentorship. Documentary. Ways to get involved.
👉 Everything lives here:

This valley is special.
The people building it are special.
And if you want in — that’s where you start.

🎙️ Choppin’ It Up on Crazy Country 105.9

🌟🌟🌟 SBWOMENWINEMAKERS.COM 🌟🌟🌟🍷🔥 SBWOMENWINEMAKERS.COM 🔥🍷💪✨ SBWOMENWINEMAKERS.COM ✨💪

Some people grow up here and leave.
Some people leave and never look back.
And then there are the rare ones who come home—and decide to carry the weight.

This episode is about one of those guys.

I sat down with Josh McClurg—born and raised in the Santa Ynez Valley, gone long enough to think he’d never come back… and now he’s back as San Ynez High School’s Head Football Coach and Athletic Director.

This is a conversation about why high school sports matter—not just for the kids on the field, but for the entire community that shows up behind them.

• 🏴‍☠️ Small Town, Big Heart
Why San Ynez feels like “small town Texas dropped into the Central Coast,” and how Friday nights, packed gyms, and local pride keep a town stitched together.

• 🧱 From Local Kid to Leader
Growing up riding bikes until dark, dreaming of wearing black and orange, and learning the hard way what responsibility really looks like.

• 🏈 The Long Road Back
Hancock → Chico State → football program cut → teaching in Sacramento → twins on the way → a leap of faith back to the Valley.

• 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦‍👦 Family + Faith + Grit
NICU twins, building a life from scratch, working weekends, laying floors, and doing whatever it takes to provide.

• 🧠 Why Sports Change Kids
How team culture pulls kids into structure, raises grades, creates belonging, and turns “lost” into “locked in.”

• 📈 The Golden Era of Participation
Josh shares that about 78% of San Ynez’s 750 students play a sport, plus why track and wrestling are exploding—and what great coaching really does.

• 🏟️ Rio Memorial Stadium
The story behind renaming the field to honor Jeff Rio and Carl Rio—and what legacy looks like when a community remembers its own.

• 🧱 Wall of Honor
Why Josh is pushing to recognize more of the “old guard” who earned it—and how pride and tradition get passed forward.

If you live in the Valley, this episode is a reminder:
these games aren’t just games.

They’re community.
They’re belonging.
They’re a training ground for becoming someone.

Go Pirates. 🏴‍☠️

This is a very special episode of Chopping It Up with Keith Saarloos.

Episode 34 is the audio companion to our 2026 Winter Allocation, shared here so the stories behind these wines can be heard in perpetuity. I’ve made more than 75 allocation videos over the years, and this episode lives as part of that permanent record.

Recorded live from Ballard Canyon, this episode isn’t just about wine — it’s about farming, family, risk, and legacy.

Inside, I walk you through the wines that define this allocation:

• Mayhem 🌊 — a carbonic Grenache moonshot, a farming flex, a prayer paddled into the unknown

• Purpose 🌱 — Syrah grown with intention on the high hill

• Resiliency 🛡️ — Syrah from one of the hardest vineyards to farm in Santa Barbara County

• Legacy 🦅 — Syrah from a steep, dangerous hillside that reminds us what we’re protecting

• GRIT 💪 — a Petit Verdot built like the people it honors, strong, patient, and earned over time

These wines are not manufactured.
They are not repeated.
They are one hillside, one year, one moment, bottled.

This episode also touches on:

• The Very Ambitious Group Project — one small act a day to push good back into the world

• Why farming and winemaking are not separate things

• Why stress, risk, and difficulty make better wine — and better people

• Honoring my father, Larry Saarloos, and the values that built everything we stand on

This is about giving our farming a shot at immortality in the bottles you open with people you love.

If you’ve ever wondered where wine really comes from —
not the winery,
but where the song is written —
this episode is for you.

Thank you for being part of our family.
We live to honor those who came before us.
And we prepare the way for those yet to come.

Stick with us.
We’ve got your back. 🍇➡️🍷