Published in the Santa Barbara News-Press on 4/10/14
(For exclusive 50% discount tickets to Spring Weekend 2014, click here.)
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| Vintners Fest 2012 (credit: Jeremy Ball) |
The feast –
which has effectively transformed an afternoon tasting into a four-day
extravaganza – begins today, with a golf tournament at Sandpiper Golf Course featuring
several media and sports celebrities and Sideways
author Rex Pickett. The action doesn’t
stop until Sunday afternoon.
The
production has been ambitious from the beginning, creating multiple big-ticket
items aimed at more than doubling weekend attendance to some 5000 wine
aficionados. Some of the originally
scheduled events have had to be pulled – a comprehensive education seminar, a
barrel toasting seminar and a high-end vineyard dinner experience.
But a slew
of other wonderful opportunities to expand the palate remain, and the following
five should be on every wine fan’s radar.
Cabernet Seminar: Friday, April 11th,
11:30am-3pm
Brander
Vineyard in Los Olivos will shed the spotlight on the grape variety many dub
the King of Grapes. This seminar was a
late add to the weekend roster and features two Masters of Wine – Peter Koff
and Patrick Farrell – leading a powerhouse cabernet sauvignon tasting and
discussion. Attendees will taste wines
blindly and will get a chance to taste premier renditions of this grape from
around the world, including classic growing regions like Bordeaux, Tuscany,
Australia, Chile and California. Local cabs, including Brander’s own
award-winning bottlings, will also be featured.
Chef David Cecchini of Solvang’s Cecco Ristorante will cater a
Mediterranean-style lunch. Seating is
extremely limited – 22 people. Contact Fred Brander: fred@brander.com
and (805) 688-2455. Tickets are $125.
Vineyard Hikes: Friday, April 11th,
1-3pm
Several of
the area’s most treasured grape growing sites will offer the public a rare
treat: winemaker-led hikes through the vines.
Steve Beckmen, for example, will lead a moderately strenuous trek
through the acclaimed Purisima Mountain Vineyard, the first and largest biodynamically
farmed vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley, located inside the brand new Ballard
Canyon AVA. Over in Sta. Rita Hills,
vintner John Hilliard will introduce folks to his gorgeous, 21-acre Hilliard
Bruce Vineyard, producer of stellar pinot noir and chardonnay. And vintner Kevin Gleason will head an
easy-to-moderate excursion through Refugio Ranch in Santa Ynez, with a focus on
syrah. All three hikes will feature wine
tasting and myriad food stations.
Tickets cost $80.
90+ Wine and Dine Event: Friday, April 11th,
6-9pm
This is the
event that brings the vineyard to the beach and pops the cork on the very
best. Set in the beautiful ocean view
Plaza at the Fess Parker Doubletree Resort, this event focuses on wines that
have been crowned with ratings of 90 points and above, as determined by
respected critics like Robert Parker and Stephen Tanzer and popular publications
like Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast.
It’s a unique chance to taste what the experts say are truly remarkable
representations of Santa Barbara winemaking.
What’s more, the men and women who made them will be doing the pouring
themselves, from labels like Blair Fox Cellars, Fess Parker Winery, Larner
Vineyard and Winery, Margerum Wine Co., Au Bon Climat, Tercero, Pali Wine Co.,
Zotovich Cellars and Longoria Wines.
Plenty of great food from the likes of Global Gardens and Bacara’s Miro
Restaurant, as well, along with live entertainment and free parking. Tickets are $150 (or $175 with a pre-event
sparkling wine reception).
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| Fiddlehead Vineyard |
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| Vintner John Dragonette at Volgenzang Vineyard |
Grand Tasting, Saturday April 12th,
1-4pm
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| Winemaker Ryan Carr at Vintners Festival 2013 (credit: Bob Dickey) |
This is the
weekend’s signature event, of course – one of only two times in the entire year
that all 120-or-so members of Santa Barbara Vintners pour in unison. It’s an exclusive chance to taste new releases
and special bottles while mingling and chatting with the winemakers,
themselves. The setting, River View Park
in Buellton, isn’t the only thing that’s new this year; the event will also
feature an art walk, a farmers’ market pavilion, barrel cooper demonstrations
and live cooking demos by some of the area’s best chefs. The biggest consumer boon of all (and a major
plus for wineries) will be the chance to buy wine on the spot – another first
for this event. Volunteers armed with
iPads will take virtual orders throughout the afternoon, which will then be
packaged at an onsite warehouse and even loaded into cars as visitors leave.
Tickets are $95 (or $125 for admission an
hour earlier, at noon). There’s also a Connoisseurs
Club option for $200, giving you access to a posh living room setting where
exclusive wines will be poured and guests will get special access to
winemakers. Don’t want to drive? Roundtrip bus rides from Santa Barbara, Santa
Maria and Solvang are available for $25.
And designated drivers pay just $25.
Farm-to-Table Picnic and Concert, Sunday
April 13th, 11am-2pm
The
weekend’s official (and rousing) closer will feature a live concert by
Jamestown Revival, the much buzzed-about band that’s appeared on shows like
Conan O’Brian and Last Call with Carson Daily with its high-energy mix of folk,
Americana, Texas twang and back-porch rock-&-roll. Set on the sweeping grounds of Fess Parker
Winery off Foxen Canyon Road, guests receive a farm-to-table style picnic lunch
and tastings of wines by Fess Parker, Fiddlehead and Fontes-&-Phillips,
among others. Grab a seat at a communal
picnic table or bring your own blanket to stretch across the lawn. Tickets cost $95 and benefit Santa Ynez
Valley People Helping People.
And there’s more,
from open houses to library tastings to winemaker dinners. For tickets and more information, check out www.sbvintnersweekend.com and join
the social media conversation at #sbvintnersfest.
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