We’ve been supporters of the Historic Vineyard Society (www.historicvineyardsociety.org) for a long time. The work they do preserving and cataloging California’s old vine plantings provides an important service to our state’s heritage, especially when so many of these vineyards end up being replaced by more profitable grape varieties or become victims of real estate development….
Tickets now on sale for nearly two dozen events, each offering unique, up-close chance to wine and dine with the Santa Ynez Valley’s chefs and winemakers (SANTA YNEZ VALLEY, Calif.) — Tickets for Taste of the Santa Ynez Valley, the four-day, six-town celebration of the region’s bounty held each fall, are on sale now, Visit the…
Zaca Mesa Winery just celebrated its 50th anniversary. That’s quite an achievement in this relatively young wine region. The land was purchased in 1973 by John Cushman and five of his friends. It was only the third winery in Santa Barbary County and served as the training ground for many winemakers who then went on…
Our wine journey would probably have been a lot different if we hadn’t wandered into a certain modest storefront winery tasting room in downtown Los Olivos back in the mid-1990s. Yes, we had already discovered California Rhone wines with a bottle of Le Cigare Volant from Bonny Doon Vineyards that we had purchased at a…
The tiny town of Los Alamos, just north of Los Olivos on Highway 101, has surprisingly good stuff going on. If you didn’t already know to look, you might just pass by this small town with the decidedly old western feel to it and continue your journey, wherever you were going. But then, you wouldn’t…
With annual production of about 50,000 cases, Stolpman Vineyards might seem like a large winery compared to many of the others in Santa Barbara County, but the reality is that it is fairly small relative to the big corporate producers. Still, we were wondering why this winery that produces a wide variety of excellent wines…
Very early in our wine journey, Santa Barbara Country was a focal point of our interest. Back in the 1980s and early 1990s, there weren’t too many tasting options there yet. Memories can be hazy, but we have very fond ones, such as visiting The Brander Vineyard and tasting wines in the barn before the…
TWO NEW MICHELIN-RATED RESTAURANTS FURTHER CEMENT THE SANTA YNEZ VALLEY’S POSITION AS A CULINARY POWERHOUSE OF CALIFORNIA’S CENTRAL COASTBar Le Côte and peasants FEAST among 37 statewide additions to MICHELIN Guide California, joining Bell’s Los Alamos which already boasts a MICHELIN Star (SANTA YNEZ VALLEY, Calif.) — The Santa Ynez Valley is now home to…
Jessica Gasca’s journey to winemaker started out in unfamiliar territory. She is a native Californian but had ventured out to New York to explore her options. She worked in a French restaurant there and learned from their onsite sommelier who offered regular classes on wine. Jessica fell in love with everything about wine but she…
LOS OLIVOS, Calif., /PRNewswire/ — The Fess Parker family is pleased to announce the debut of their renovated tasting room, which reopened to the public on April 2, revealing a more modern design that pays homage to the family’s roots and supports the winery’s more elevated tasting experiences. Established by the late Fess Parker…