By Laurie Jervis
Contributing Writer
A prominent Central Coast journalist has enlisted the help of regional chefs and winemakers to raise funds for the Sansum Diabetes Research Institute of Santa Barbara with a series of dinners that includes one at S.Y. Kitchen on Thursday, May 17.
Wendy Thies Sell has scheduled a series of three winemaker dinners, which launched April 10 at Ember restaurant in Arroyo Grande. The second will be at S.Y. Kitchen in Santa Ynez and the third on Sept. 27 at the Wine Cask in Santa Barbara.
SDRI is a world leader in research and innovation, education and care for adults and children living with all forms of diabetes.
Sell said that she and her co-organizers hope to seat at least 50 people at the May dinner in Santa Ynez.
Winemaker Ernst Storm of Storm Wines and Notary Public Wines will participate at S.Y. Kitchen with chef/co-owner Luca Crestanelli.
“Sansum Diabetes Research Institute organized a small committee of people to plan this series of winemaker dinners, including myself, Kara Hornbuckle, Patrick Woolpert, Katie Haq, Corinne Samu Smith, Julie McSorley and Ellen Goodstein,” Sell said. “Type 1 diabetes has directly impacted each of our lives.”
Tickets cost $175 for the Santa Ynez dinner, which begins at 6 p.m. at the restaurant, 1110 Faraday St. in Santa Ynez. Tickets and more information are available at www.sansum.org.
“Storm and Chef Luca have fabulous ideas for this dinner,” she said. “We are also thrilled that Gary Hall Jr., Olympic gold-medal winning swimmer and a resident of the Santa Ynez Valley, plans to be in attendance as our special guest at the dinner at S.Y. Kitchen.”
Hall has lived with Type 1 diabetes for much of his life, and Sell called him “a tireless advocate for advancements in diabetes research. He is a tremendous friend to the Type 1 diabetes community.”
Sell also has a personal connection to the disease in her 10-year-old daughter, Sienna, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was just 4 years old.
“Type 1 diabetes is an enormously challenging and relentless condition, demanding our attention 24/7. I am determined to do whatever I can to raise awareness and funds for research in the hope that there will be a cure for Type 1 diabetes in her lifetime,” she said.
Sell, who lives in Orcutt with her family, anchored and reported the news at KSBY-TV and KCOY-TV for 12 years, and before that at WMTV-TV in Madison, Wis. She has won four Emmy Awards for her work in television, which also includes a stint as a featured panelist for a recent season of the nationally syndicated TV show “Moms EveryDay.”
Sell has contributed feature articles to Wine Enthusiast, The SOMM Journal, The Tasting Panel Magazine, Santa Barbara Seasons, Edible and KidTripster.com.
She also is a professional voiceover artist, emcee and panel moderator for organizations such as JDRF, the Central Coast Writers Conference, Hospice du Rhône, Santa Barbara Vintners, San Luis Obispo Wine Country, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the San Luis Obispo Symphony, the Santa Maria Philharmonic Society and the Orcutt Children’s Arts Foundation.
She volunteers in Orcutt public schools, for the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum and other local organizations.
Laurie Jervis blogs about wine at www.centralcoastwinepress.com, tweets at @lauriejervis and can be reached via winecountrywriter@gmail.com.
