Eat, Drink, Savor: Kinship Seneca hosts 70th annual Wine and Food Tasting

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Celebrating its 70th year, Kinship Seneca’s annual Wine and Food Tasting was held on Aug. 29 at Paicines Ranch, the site of the very first event, when the venue was known as the Bob Law Ranch. 

This year, 59 wineries, breweries and restaurants participated in the three-hour event, which was topped off with silent and live auctions of 16 items, including a vacation for eight in San Miquel de Allende in Mexico, a four-bottle vertical collection of Calera De Villiers Pinot Noirs, and a “Chefs Gone Wild” paella cook-off at the home of Ted and Irene Davis. 

The volunteer fundraising organization was founded in 1956 as the El Torillo Chapter of the Children’s Home Society. The chapter became affiliated with the Kinship Center in 1990 and joined the Seneca Family of Agencies in 2011.

“Through this event,” organization member Kris Waller said, “Kinship has done much to help Seneca provide foster and adoptive care, as well as mental health services. And with our membership now in its third generation, we will be able to continue offering our support.”

(Waller is also the current President of the Board of Directors of BenitoLink.)

According to Waller, the chapter began with 35 members who would meet monthly at high teas and plan their fundraising and charitable activities. 

Waller said Chapter President Margie Gabriel came up with the idea for the wine-and-food tasting to complement other activities. These included fundraising lunches and bridge parties, hosting a hospitality booth at the county fair, buying and distributing children’s books, and making baby clothes and receiving blankets, as recorded in local papers of the time.

The first event, Waller said, was invitation-only with 200 people attending. It included a fashion show with members as models and music from local bands. The wine of choice was Almaden, and an assortment of cheeses was provided by Marin French Cheese Company.

The success of the event can be gauged by the next year’s attendance, which grew to 300 people. By 1974, the last year that it was held at Law’s Ranch, the guest list exceeded 950.  

A move to the Joseph Annotti estate the next year gave the members a chance to be a bit more ambitious in the presentation, adding BBQ sausages and appetizers. By 1989, the last year at Annotti, 12 wineries and 23 restaurants joined the celebration.  

The move to disband the El Torillo Chapter and reorganize under the Monterey Children’s Services Center as the Gabilan Chapter was spurred on, Waller said, by a desire to see more of the money raised go toward San Benito County. 

1989 also saw the event move to Paiches Ranch, the original location formerly known as the Law Ranch. It also saw an increase in capacity, with just more than 1,000 guests attending that year.

The Wine and Food Tasting remains the chapter’s most important fundraiser. Although this year’s final tally has not yet been announced, a rough estimate—based on ticket sales at $100 a head and more than $33,000 raised at the live and silent auctions—already shows that last year’s record of $125,000 has been handily beaten. 

The silent auction items included:

• The Cantinas Retreat at Lake Nacimiento: A four-night stay at a beautifully remodeled five-bedroom, three-bath lakefront home in the gated Oak Shores community. Donated by Mike and Tracy Nino and family.
• Vacation for eight in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico: A week-long stay in a colonial-style home within a secure gated golf community. Donated by Humberto and Geri Rincon. 
• Paso Robles Luxury & Dinner: A two-night stay at The Piccolo luxury boutique hotel in downtown Paso Robles, paired with dinner at Il Cortile Restaurante. Donated by Rebecca Wolf. 
• BBQ Lovers’ Dream: A Traeger Pro Series 34 wood pellet grill, a whole cut and wrapped hog from Freedom Meat Lockers donated by McAbee Feed and IDM Real Estate, and a whole cut and wrapped lamb donated by Filice Farms.
• Chef’s Gone Wild Paella Cook-Off: A private garden event donated and hosted by Ted and Irene Davis on Saturday, Sept. 26, for 12–16 guests featuring cava, Spanish appetizers, and a live paella cook-off judging.

The funds go toward programs throughout the state that are provided by the Seneca Organization, reaching up to 25,000 youths and their families every year. Services include enhanced managed care, funding for schools, foster care programs, and outpatient clinics, including one in San Benito County. 

Kinship also awards thousands of dollars every year to students planning to enter the fields of child psychology, social work, or early childhood development. 

The chapter also maintains the Kinship Enrichment Fund, which supports foster and adoptive families with a range of educational expenses they might not otherwise be able to afford, including everything from summer camp costs to the purchase price of strollers.

With 26 restaurants, 25 wineries, and five beer and beverage makers, the look and feel of this year’s event is one of trying to outstrip all that have come before it in terms of quality and selection.

“It is really the best of what San Benito County has to offer in food and wine,” Danielle Nino of Guerra Wine Cellars said. “I love seeing all these great people and what they are offering. I have been coming for 30 years, and it keeps getting better. I can’t wait for the 100th anniversary!” 

Kinship Seneca currently includes a number of multi-decade veterans, along with new third-generation members, which seems to bode well for both the organization’s permanence and that of the food and wine event.

“I see the future of this event as being very sustainable,” member Susan Botelho said. “And that is really important for our community. We’ll always have our little office here, and we’ll always support mental health services, not only for children but for the whole family.” 

Vendors featured at the 70th Annual Kinship Seneca Wine and Food Tasting

Restaurants (29)
Apricot King
Birrieria Calimex
Bliss Blendz
Cosmos Bar & Grill
CW Farms Focaccia Bread
Danny’s Smoke N’ Grill BBQ
El Rinconcito
Grillin n’ Chillin Alehouse
Inaka Fusion
Jamrock Culinary Arts Center
Jas and R Sugar Arts
JJ’s Homemade Burgers
La Catrina Mexican Grill
Las Micheladas Bar & Grill
Los Cuates Taquería
Margot’s Ice Cream Parlor
Paicines Ranch
Paine’s Restaurant
Piel Canela Syrups
Round Table Pizza
San Juan Oaks Golf Club
The Cheese Wiz
The Smoke Point
The Valley Restaurant & Catering
Triple El Lumpia
Vertigo Coffee
Wind Chime Foods
Windmill Market
Wise Goat Organics

Wineries (25)
Aimee June Winery
Blair Estate
Calera Winery
Casa de Fruta
Centamo Winery
CordeValle Winery
Crave Wine Company
Damm Vineyards
DeRose Vineyards
Duckhorn
Eden Rift Vineyards
Fortino Winery
Guerra Cellars
Guglielmo Winery
Hecker Pass Winery
Kobza Wines
Morgan Winery
Opolo
Paicines Ranch Vineyard
Pessagno Winery
Puma Road
Sarah’s Vineyard
Talbott Vineyards
The Garden Shoppe
Twice Tyger

Breweries (3)
Grillin n’ Chillin Alehouse
Mad Pursuit Brewing Company
Pinnacles Brewery

Other Beverages (2)
Damm Good Water
S. Martinelli & Co.

Related articles

Local wineries and restaurants show off their best at Paicines Ranch (2021)

Kinship Center raises over $100,000 in annual charity event (2022)

Gabilan Chapter Seneca seeks a children’s therapist for Hollister clinic

Gabilan Seneca Wine and Food Tasting raises $125K (2023)

Gabilan Chapter raises awareness—and money—for the Seneca Family of Agencies (2024) 

Eat, Drink, Savor: Gabilan Seneca celebrates 69th Annual Wine & Food Tasting (2025) 

Recommendations for future Eat, Drink, Savor articles can be emailed to roberteliason@benitolink.com.

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