tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33941394868196915982024-02-06T18:26:01.883-08:00Gabe Saglie's BlogGabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642052205583790227noreply@blogger.comBlogger315125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3394139486819691598.post-16527214479734027202024-02-04T08:20:00.000-08:002024-02-04T08:20:04.106-08:00Super Bowl Travel to Las Vegas Means Big Spends + 'Excessive Celebration'<p>If you're headed to Las Vegas for Super Bowl LVII, the first the iconic destination has hosted the biggest game in professional sports, then you're not really looking for bargains. You're ready to invest big. And you're ready to party big.</p><p>Let's talk partying big, first. Las Vegas has launched a global campaign -- Excessive Celebration Encouraged -- that leans big into this simple fact: when one of the biggest event in pro sports meets the ultimate destination for over-the-top revelry, only excessive celebration will do. To promote it, they've released a music video -- <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIQ7NC_9xBM" target="_blank">check it out here</a> -- featuring NFL all-pro wide receiver Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson and Grammy-nominated artist Tobe Nwigwe. Celebrators around the world can join Las Vegas in encouraging excessive celebration at Super Bowl LVIII by signing a special <a href="https://www.change.org/p/vegas-encourages-excessive-celebration-at-super-bowl-lviii" target="_blank">change.org petition</a>.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FXE-ZYXiB_5nxNOO11Qw3hdqwABryECKL_Gs0dlMVFr-QAd7YdIw_6n8BFbUi1NGG6boAYA-_VGSm0g3SxiVWf6Laj1hi0YpOSgLNvybKH2ldAA_JiSVBTwEvWWYDbO0Ivi3N-v-BnN_CdReK5xV1X7ae6Pbb0v_qXVebMwmc9MKDcSM37YFK_ialWIJ/s1440/Allegient.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1440" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FXE-ZYXiB_5nxNOO11Qw3hdqwABryECKL_Gs0dlMVFr-QAd7YdIw_6n8BFbUi1NGG6boAYA-_VGSm0g3SxiVWf6Laj1hi0YpOSgLNvybKH2ldAA_JiSVBTwEvWWYDbO0Ivi3N-v-BnN_CdReK5xV1X7ae6Pbb0v_qXVebMwmc9MKDcSM37YFK_ialWIJ/w400-h139/Allegient.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />If you head to Las Vegas to catch the battle between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs. you won't be alone. Las Vegas is already the biggest destination in the world for Super Bowl, with crowds historically topping 300,000. The fact the game's in-town this year is expected to see that incoming crowd surge by 50% to 450,000! Many will be taking in the action live at Allegient Stadium, the state-of-the-art facility that opened in 2020 and houses more than 65,000 fans. The rest will be descending on parties, activations and events spread throughout the city across several days.<p></p><p>Ticket prices continue to fluctuate, through they're being gobble up via third-party sites from $6000 a pop, with a pair of seats at the 50-yard line going for more than $100,000 and those fancy suites commanding, in some cases, in excess of $2 million!<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp75chvjGmDyS5fV_lqH8HJHErctKQT4Yv-WNFH1EhgBorZk6BLoMh7QrW3AaAasbE8YJaM-ffgVM4TvvyUEg0uUhS_XmsSLPLOskuimnnrhTtz5C20VrS70QKJT8O_peg9pfrr0YYcmjIH0d_yj8UpKV_zTOVB9I9yReExSRFXjj4Z3JpbxGDdezMCF5_/s4096/Excessive%20Celebration.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="4096" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp75chvjGmDyS5fV_lqH8HJHErctKQT4Yv-WNFH1EhgBorZk6BLoMh7QrW3AaAasbE8YJaM-ffgVM4TvvyUEg0uUhS_XmsSLPLOskuimnnrhTtz5C20VrS70QKJT8O_peg9pfrr0YYcmjIH0d_yj8UpKV_zTOVB9I9yReExSRFXjj4Z3JpbxGDdezMCF5_/w400-h225/Excessive%20Celebration.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tobe Nwigwe and Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson </td></tr></tbody></table>Despite the fact that airlines like United have added flights into Las Vegas form the Bay Area and Kansas City, flight prices are soaring. And although the city boasts more than 150,000 hotel rooms, the price to stay is ballooning, too.</p><p>Most football revelers, though, will avoid the sticker shock to watch the gam in person by taking advantage of a ton of activities that the city is hosting over the five-day period culminating with the big game on February 11th. The <a href="https://www.ticketmaster.com/super-bowl-experience-presented-by-lowes-tickets/artist/2705794" target="_blank">Super Bowl Experience</a> at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center -- think of it as an interactive theme park of football-inspired experiences, complete with chances to mingle with NFL icons -- happens February 7-10, with tickets at $50 a day. There are plenty of watch parties at resorts like MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, Resorts World and The LINQ. And among the cool activations throughout the city: the Giant Chocolate Egg created by the pastry team at The Aria -- at 10 feet by 5-1/2 feet, and made with 1000 pounds of milk and dark chocolate and 50 pounds of fondant, it took 230 to complete! There's also the Frito-Lay immersive experience at the New York-New York, a foodie experience from Pepsi at the Delano and celeb appearances by stars like former quarterback star Doug Flutie at the MGM Sportsbook at Mandala Bay.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4qzK3dq9GMGa3KxMZtf3jHWwO7thVWgqSwWD46DeWvU9txg6Pa5VNBOlINvmdnTJzzk2Bv5H7pwwvncw5_8ACsymfcmt5PUk12keKU_PKJ4ow3kzvieSMRzC8XOVOsDM6eIG5Hj8AmjpvKgDaiKgaqGyqsoD7CWecipc9VJrN0y_ZtrBQ_dpgrodZvAay/s9497/Aria%20Chocolate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6331" data-original-width="9497" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4qzK3dq9GMGa3KxMZtf3jHWwO7thVWgqSwWD46DeWvU9txg6Pa5VNBOlINvmdnTJzzk2Bv5H7pwwvncw5_8ACsymfcmt5PUk12keKU_PKJ4ow3kzvieSMRzC8XOVOsDM6eIG5Hj8AmjpvKgDaiKgaqGyqsoD7CWecipc9VJrN0y_ZtrBQ_dpgrodZvAay/w400-h266/Aria%20Chocolate.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Aria pastry team's Chocolate Football</td></tr></tbody></table><p>For music fans, several big names are taking to the stage during Super Bowl weekend, including Chrstina Aguilera at the Voltaire Theater inside the Venetian, Kelly Clarkson at Planet Hollywood and Bruno Mars at Park MGM's Dolby Live Theater.</p><p><a href="https://press.lvcva.com/all/first-super-bowl-in-las-vegas-super-bowl-lviii-watch-parties-entertainment-nightlife/S/1dd3b644-aa5b-419b-9c7d-94026fc9a91c" target="_blank">Click here</a> for a thorough roundup of activities and events around Super Bowl LVIII from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Bureau.</p><p>If you're heading to Las Vegas for the big game, here are a few reality check tips from me!</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Especially for those of you flying out of the Bay Area, shop for one-way fares from multiple airports and multiple airlines -- it could be cheaper than committing to one roundtrip flight</li><li>Stay longer -- flight and hotel prices will drop big time over the days following Super Bowl Sunday, so consider flying back home, say, Wednesday</li><li>If you're driving in and/or out, prepare for congestion on the highways leading to Las Vegas, especially on I-15 -- pack snacks, have your kids' devices charged and make sure your tank (or battery) is full</li><li> Consider alternate ways to get around -- with rideshare and cabs in high demand, and with plenty of dependable congestion, ride the Monorail, which features several stops and is clean and accessible, and the trams, like the one at the Aria and the one that whisks you between the Excalibur, the Luxor and Mandalay Bay</li><li>Book your restaurant reservations and entertainment tickets in advance ASAP to ensure access </li></ul><div>For most of us, of course, the best seat in the house will be at home, in front of our favorite TV! Either way, enjoy Super Bowl LVIII!</div><div><br /></div><div>###</div><p></p>Gabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642052205583790227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3394139486819691598.post-57950828860706151542024-01-29T09:58:00.000-08:002024-01-29T10:00:06.741-08:00How to Make the Most of National Plan for Vacation DayDid you take all your paid time off last year? If you're like most Americans, you didn't! Data from the U.S. Travel Association over the last few years show that only 25%v of us tap all of our PTO before year's end. The rest of us leave an average of 4-1/2 vacation days on the docket and, depending on which state you call home, they don't always roll over into the new year.<div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy4MSYNRZj2Q03kjwQCgdIc58CBsYswSrWXndQ6_uTCXwhUyWUdMr58z59wqjnraLw6JsW-ZqyPAjKqY2aE1Rq6yduKoIDSlyTvQ477oY_h9yfLGN5goWrwGYpg62pugH6x8dFBNbtzDjs_7KG5AU8rStYyFLsZkK1ekenU6QUbC_zmqobcWmlEx1ub_9F/s467/Jan%2030.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="237" data-original-width="467" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy4MSYNRZj2Q03kjwQCgdIc58CBsYswSrWXndQ6_uTCXwhUyWUdMr58z59wqjnraLw6JsW-ZqyPAjKqY2aE1Rq6yduKoIDSlyTvQ477oY_h9yfLGN5goWrwGYpg62pugH6x8dFBNbtzDjs_7KG5AU8rStYyFLsZkK1ekenU6QUbC_zmqobcWmlEx1ub_9F/s320/Jan%2030.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>National Plan for Vacation Day launched in 2017, and it falls on January 30 -- the last #travelTuesday of the month -- in 2024. The idea is simple: carve out time that day to map out your vacations for the year. Even if things change down the road, earmarking getaways while tapping all of your PTO puts trips on your horizon and adventures to look forward to! </div><div><br /></div><div>Here are five quick tips to maximize your vacation planning on this year's National Plan for Vacation Day!</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Take time off around holiday weekends</b>: Working with time off that's already on the calendar will give you several 4- or 5-day vacations that only cost you one or 2 days off. For example, think about taking Feb. 16 and 20 off, the Friday and Tuesday around President's Day weekend; that Monday Feb. 19 is a national holiday, and tapping two of your paid days off suddenly gives you a five-day getaway!</li><li><b>Traveling during a holiday? Book now!</b> Use National Plan for Vacation Day to lock down vacation time now around popular holiday weeks or weekends, since popular spots will sell-out early and overall costs won't come down. Want to take the kids away for spring break? Book now! Want to visit your favorite beach during 4th of July weekend? Book now! You know you want to get away over Thanksgiving? Book now!</li><li><b>Go off-season</b>: I think we'll see a big push this year to visit your favorite destinations, but without the crowds. There's a sustainability argument here: going off-season helps manage the impact on the places we visit. What's more, fewer people and lower prices are always a plus. Book travel to popular summer spots in the spring or fall, instead, and winter havens during the summer.</li><li><b>Watch the fine print</b>: Whenever you see a really hot travel deal -- and we're likely to see various travel brands doling out promos on National Plan for Vacation Day -- make sure you read the fine print. Even the totally legit bargains are likely to come with strict change or cancelation policies.</li><li><b>Use your miles</b>: I'm one of those travelers who loves to see their airline mileage account grow. Bottom line, though, is that your miles are only as valuable as where they'll take you. Use National Plan for Vacation Day to tap your miles to book your next few flights!</li></ul></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXYVtkuYpxi8AG4IwIdgN20KA0w-RrxuEH5uhNGmziIoEx9O17HSBpdD1uRLH12Pve_Rrsfb5yuwj8twrFhlJN8H_BVATg6U5vHfpz7IoQb4h1fkgw5YHdviTX4eA1II4Ni6SWfZwt2qMd778iRxwicyX4QKMvaC37ngmQdbE-_xTb4G34rzWZ0PdBkjMG/s4032/alaska%20cruise.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXYVtkuYpxi8AG4IwIdgN20KA0w-RrxuEH5uhNGmziIoEx9O17HSBpdD1uRLH12Pve_Rrsfb5yuwj8twrFhlJN8H_BVATg6U5vHfpz7IoQb4h1fkgw5YHdviTX4eA1II4Ni6SWfZwt2qMd778iRxwicyX4QKMvaC37ngmQdbE-_xTb4G34rzWZ0PdBkjMG/w270-h202/alaska%20cruise.jpg" width="270" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On Discovery Princess Sep. 2023 -- our first Alaska cruise!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div>One last note: look for some of the best bargains coming from the cruise industry. No less than eight new high-profile ships are slated to hit the water in 2024, including Royal Caribbean's <a href="https://www.royalcaribbean.com/icon-of-the-seas" target="_blank">Icon of the Seas</a>, which set sail on Caribbean itineraries this past weekend, the <a href="https://www.princess.com/en-us/ships-and-experience/ships/su-sun-princess" target="_blank">Sun Princess</a>, which launches next month, and the <a href="https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/why-cruise-disney/treasure/?" target="_blank">Disney Treasure</a>, which will be introduced in December. More cabins, more deals for you and me!</div><div><br /></div><div>Safe travels!</div><div><br /></div><div>###</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Gabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642052205583790227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3394139486819691598.post-23657770304371403142023-12-30T13:17:00.000-08:002023-12-30T13:17:20.182-08:002024 Travel: My Top 5 Destinations12/30/23<div><br /></div><div>American travelers proved they are hungry for travel in 2023, setting multiple records. At the same time, airlines did a better job -- cancelation rates down about 50% year over year. So, with all signs pointing to more robust travel volume in 2024, here are my top 5 destinations to consider in the new year!<div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOUmKV6yNnkbOu07up4I5aEpX7ad5Ig2TEjNjWtH5A-GSKMwRVRGR1vABIsq1drZ3h6MHN-MLVxN6tYlD-EUhcGSEp_3LyTqcNGCmAVP6hOwmR5DP8GXAMKKo8m7ICOJn3s0UGb_mhKoJ0oFv5nrmjJNapaPeu6PXmrmUm-NvKgLsj88n8AymeVF8yvDjM/s4032/Maui%20Dec2023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOUmKV6yNnkbOu07up4I5aEpX7ad5Ig2TEjNjWtH5A-GSKMwRVRGR1vABIsq1drZ3h6MHN-MLVxN6tYlD-EUhcGSEp_3LyTqcNGCmAVP6hOwmR5DP8GXAMKKo8m7ICOJn3s0UGb_mhKoJ0oFv5nrmjJNapaPeu6PXmrmUm-NvKgLsj88n8AymeVF8yvDjM/s320/Maui%20Dec2023.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Wailea sunset, Dec '23</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><b>Maui</b></div><div>I visited this beautiful Hawaiian island earlier this month -- my first visit since the Lahaina firestorm. (Read my Maui travel update <a href="https://gabesaglie.com/travel-blog/f/four-months-after-the-lahaina-fire-maui-is-calling-all-travelers" target="_blank">here</a>.) And while that historic town will remain off limits for awhile, as the healing continues, the rest of Maui is wide open and needy of travel dollars. Keep in mind: most Maui jobs are linked to tourism, so respectful, mindful visitation will go a long way to help Maui rebound. Hotel rates have not necessarily dropped, as they continue to house displaced residents and groups like FEMA, the Navy and the Red Cross. But airfare and rental car rates will remain competitive. And, thanks to a ton of reinvestment in resort communities like <a href="https://wailearesortassociation.com/" target="_blank">Wailea</a>, there's plenty that's new to experience. Visit the <a href="https://www.gohawaii.com/islands/maui" target="_blank">Maui Visitors Bureau</a> for updates and trip ideas.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Las Vegas</b></div><div>I'm hearing that 2024 is being touted as the official post-pandemic bounce-back year for Las Vegas -- and there's plenty that's new. For one, that famous skyline has a whole new look, thanks to the opening of eye-popping landmark attractions like The Sphere and the brand-new Fontainebleau Las Vegas hotel. The new year will also help establish Las Vegas as a legit sports town! The Super Bowl in February will only be the beginning, as the town formerly defined by gaming and shows will draw football and hockey fans in earnest. Check out <a href="https://www.visitlasvegas.com/" target="_blank">Visit Las Vegas</a> for events calendars and inspiration.</div><div><br /></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.ktvu.com/video/1388487" target="_blank">Watch my "Top 5 Destinations for 2024" segment on KTVU Fox 2!</a></li></ul><a href="https://www.ktvu.com/video/1388487" target="_blank"></a></div><div><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsd4zUhyvkDYf0TBg8uVrWu_A4KX6wV9cdqqGjYrVJPLgM9gASbXJ4lahia0wi2dYfgJ7P0CUESFcdMGFj07DYPhctl0BLA3xTEZTspWzoSlXgXk8ibgZXaS1VbPQaHloXqqYod3GCP63mKtfn0YyL3QcCkCWhEDyVol1Kt0KBFzZ20BFjiVD9WGD8-ivs/s4032/Palm%20springs%20Nov2023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsd4zUhyvkDYf0TBg8uVrWu_A4KX6wV9cdqqGjYrVJPLgM9gASbXJ4lahia0wi2dYfgJ7P0CUESFcdMGFj07DYPhctl0BLA3xTEZTspWzoSlXgXk8ibgZXaS1VbPQaHloXqqYod3GCP63mKtfn0YyL3QcCkCWhEDyVol1Kt0KBFzZ20BFjiVD9WGD8-ivs/s320/Palm%20springs%20Nov2023.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Talking wellness in Indian Wells, Nov '23</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><b>Greater Palm Springs</b></div><div>Want wellness? In 2024, the nine communities that make up Greater Palm Springs will be top of mind for travelers looking to recharge, reconnect and relax. The spa scene in places like Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage and Indian Wells has been totally reinvented, with spa menus reflecting new, upgraded self-care options. The outdoor adventure scene is booming, with more than 100 trails throughout the area. And the regional airport in Palm Springs, with new direct flights from throughout the U.S., is making it that much easier the get there. Visit the <a href="https://www.visitgreaterpalmsprings.com/" target="_blank">Greater Palm Springs</a> website for all the info.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Ireland</b></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbt1ef-EBo6nCzfJ9AFsGO0iLkjStBXMABwLNn2svCLg2Ju6p91Owd8BS-xPgszJslc8bJLHSh81VRx33hr1Oo4kU44qmh5Ww-eTNmXrjs7r7vNiHkDEQUQqx9u0vViYIm8htCC6RyITQOStZ84sQnQVY1KOAtwA0v-yt5iFa7Cgl9gjZYqDOifBy6UqwM/s4032/Ashford%20july2023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbt1ef-EBo6nCzfJ9AFsGO0iLkjStBXMABwLNn2svCLg2Ju6p91Owd8BS-xPgszJslc8bJLHSh81VRx33hr1Oo4kU44qmh5Ww-eTNmXrjs7r7vNiHkDEQUQqx9u0vViYIm8htCC6RyITQOStZ84sQnQVY1KOAtwA0v-yt5iFa7Cgl9gjZYqDOifBy6UqwM/s320/Ashford%20july2023.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ashford Castle, on the Wild Atlantic Way, July '23</td></tr></tbody></table>The Emerald Isle is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the designation of The Wild Atlantic Way in 2024. One of the longest driving routes in the world, at 1500 miles, the west coast of Ireland is a road tripper's dream, offering spectacular vistas and amazing destinations like Ashford Castle and the Cliffs of Moher, and famous spots like Limerick, Galway and Donegal. Hospitality reigns supreme here, and with airlines like United and Aer Lingus ramping up flight offerings to the west's Shannon Airport from cities like Boston, New York and Chicago, getting to the Wild Atlantic Way will be easier and more affordable in 2024, especially off-season. Get updates and inspiration from <a href="https://www.tourismireland.com/" target="_blank">Tourism Ireland</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3F8HlOteIVRlXXArBiqTupgYCCs5iql2vvaHCUo0Yq8QOt3NGRL2WjEPD9P_MVTUjG6S2cICQqTJBnvPFKGRm7igcfmXAEFpm5W8Q1rfI-NuhprTwZmqGq7GSEKdM5Hws0GTNvzG_tDTuKXinU7DOKW2tyrHK4G5fv6AuoymzsazFLBlmebWuNX9ncttT/s3088/Los%20Cabos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2316" data-original-width="3088" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3F8HlOteIVRlXXArBiqTupgYCCs5iql2vvaHCUo0Yq8QOt3NGRL2WjEPD9P_MVTUjG6S2cICQqTJBnvPFKGRm7igcfmXAEFpm5W8Q1rfI-NuhprTwZmqGq7GSEKdM5Hws0GTNvzG_tDTuKXinU7DOKW2tyrHK4G5fv6AuoymzsazFLBlmebWuNX9ncttT/s320/Los%20Cabos.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finding wellness in Los Cabos</td></tr></tbody></table>Mexico</b></div><div>Some of our favorite south-of-the-border destinations are aiming to attract U.S. travelers in 2024 with two key hooks: wellness and luxury. Destinations like <a href="https://www.visitloscabos.travel/" target="_blank">Los Cabos</a> are focusing on natural attributes -- crystal clue water, sweeping desert landscapes -- to appeal to people seeking wide open spaces and ways to rejuvenate and relax; a slew of new luxury resorts are also enhancing the appeal of Los Cabos. In <a href="https://visitnayarit.travel/en/" target="_blank">Nayarit</a>, luxe brands like St. Regis and Rosewood are opening their doors in 2024, and the traveler focus will be on gastronomy and nature. And in Valle del Guadalupe, robust investments are creating a unique adventure and foodie destination. Look for continued airfare competition to Mexico in 2024.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's to new adventures in 2024 -- follow along with me at #gabethetravelguy!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>###</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Gabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642052205583790227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3394139486819691598.post-27106783734850599892023-12-18T08:31:00.000-08:002023-12-18T15:27:19.835-08:00Four Months After the Lahaina Fire, Maui is Calling All Travelers<p>It's been just over four months since the August firestorm that destroyed the historic town of Lahaina, on Maui's northeastern shores. The Lahaina area, and the entire island, are healing. But as re-openings continue, and as other parts of the island still feel the pinch of the inevitable travel slowdown that followed, the call is out for visitors to come back.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0bqs75md81_kJ1nMw-xeOgzl0hUOKe3GYEMiNvXem72pfnekiDtt_SGMxUQh3qGY361jPmYhZZQ-mgcBa57Xn1P_xVJLx5nYvugJCQ6424ceYxVvmp6RdGN3vIVkQo1l0n9AyOM94qGpLclhGbFFbjbhgdqy58PCjjvm7APjYMATvEb0VoMWxWsUIL1Q/s4032/IMG_9722.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0bqs75md81_kJ1nMw-xeOgzl0hUOKe3GYEMiNvXem72pfnekiDtt_SGMxUQh3qGY361jPmYhZZQ-mgcBa57Xn1P_xVJLx5nYvugJCQ6424ceYxVvmp6RdGN3vIVkQo1l0n9AyOM94qGpLclhGbFFbjbhgdqy58PCjjvm7APjYMATvEb0VoMWxWsUIL1Q/w189-h252/IMG_9722.jpg" width="189" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Visiting just-reopened Leoda's</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Lahaina accounted for 15% of Maui's travel-related economic activity. Tourism is also responsible for 40% of Maui's economy and jobs, though when you consider the ancillary industries that dovetail from the hospitality industry -- ranchers, farmers, fishermen, artists, cab drivers -- that figure is likely double that. The year-over-year inbound numbers show the fire's devastating impact: down 11% from the U.S. west coast, down 55% from Japan, down 24% from Canada.</p><p>While the downtown Lahaina core remains off-limits, except for local residents and businesses with limited day passes, the surrounding area, and the totality of Maui, is open for business. Artists and shopkeepers who lost their Lahaina storefronts are hosting street fairs, and the popular <a href="https://www.leodas.com/">Leoda's Bakery and Pie Shop,</a> a short drive south of downtown Lahaina, reopened just last week. </p><p>In Wailea, the luxe destination about 45 minutes south of Lahaina, resorts, restaurants and shops are hoping that brand new offerings and experiences will lure travelers in 2024. At the <a href="https://www.fairmont.com/kea-lani-maui/">Fairmont Kea Lani</a>, Hawaii's only all-suite resort, set on 22 oceanfront acres, all 413 rooms and 37 two-story oceanfront villas have been totally renovated. A new 2000-sq.ft. cultural center, which will be open to the public, will premiere on Dec. 21. And a new bar, Pilina, featuring 100% sustainably- and locally-sourced cocktails and 52 ocean-facing seats, will open in January.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiru-dk9_Kx0EMFpMIOCan2_LQdV6QVNCMNyk_XTu7UfdoLD_9DLDYQnnwep2Kd1_9uay-gqCXFvdkxKASRbSPK2ysS8xmandbrxwloLZTfkrxNuBuDoT-7wySA-RyjZA8sB4PgEVqUlnKKZjrwtJkSRl4uYXj_7_P9uZ-Rmyv6-BsQN9BD8iOfm-xOUs8/s4032/IMG_9655.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiru-dk9_Kx0EMFpMIOCan2_LQdV6QVNCMNyk_XTu7UfdoLD_9DLDYQnnwep2Kd1_9uay-gqCXFvdkxKASRbSPK2ysS8xmandbrxwloLZTfkrxNuBuDoT-7wySA-RyjZA8sB4PgEVqUlnKKZjrwtJkSRl4uYXj_7_P9uZ-Rmyv6-BsQN9BD8iOfm-xOUs8/w320-h240/IMG_9655.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying the Wailea views from the Fairmont Kea Lani</td></tr></tbody></table>At the AAA 5-Diamond <a href="https://www.fourseasons.com/maui/">Four Seasons Resort Maui</a> next door, the popular Ferraro's Restaurant, totally reimagined, just reopened. The neighboring <a href="https://www.grandwailea.com/">Grand Wailea</a> has just reopened all its eateries after renovations. And the <a href="https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/hnmmc-wailea-beach-resort-marriott-maui/overview/">Wailea Beach Resort</a> has launched a brand-new category of rooms at their ground floor tower building, focusing on outdoor living and featuring outdoor soaking tubs and fireplaces.<p></p><p>The <a href="https://waileagolf.com/">Wailea Golf Club</a>, home to three ocean view, award-winning courses, just took delivery of a new fleet of energy efficient golf carts that lower electricity needs and reduce wear on the natural turf.</p><p>The west-facing positioning of Wailea makes it an idyllic sport for sunset-viewing and for enjoying whale-watching season, which runs from Dec. 15 through May 15.</p><p>Find out more at <a href="http://wailearesortassociation.com">wailearesortassociation.com</a>.</p><p>The call for tourists comes with a clear caveat: visit Maui mindfully and carefully and with respect for the local culture and population. The payback will be a relaxing, enriching travel experience in one of the most beautiful spots on the planet. Airfare deals, especially from the west coast, will offer plenty of incentive over the next several months.</p><p>For visitors who want to take their giving back further, there's a slew of volunteer opportunities, from food and donation sorting and distribution with services like the Maui Humane Society to coastal cleanup and shoreline restoration projects through various groups. Donations can also have a significant impact. Find out more at <a href="http://mauinuistrong.com">mauinuistrong.com</a>.</p><p>Aloha, and see you on Maui!</p><p><br /></p><p>###</p>Gabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642052205583790227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3394139486819691598.post-811956834361086512021-05-18T11:23:00.007-07:002021-05-18T11:59:33.963-07:00Santa Barbara Wine Legend Jim Clendenen, of Au Bon Climat, Passes Away<p><i>story to be published in <a href="https://www.montecitojournal.net/">The Montecito Journal</a> on 5/20/21</i></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">The Santa Barbara wine
industry – and the wine world as a whole – lost one of its superstars when Jim
Clendenen died over the weekend. He passed away at his home in Buellton, in his
sleep. He was 68 years old.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiujKlvoKUysHBqZ5yUB7fDoVvx7Fi5eywA_cAAQsN-sIHiokRtAVLC3SiC5qpYaC0trjZAC99LJAofiefdfaS1N0JT_e6pUxMF7eX1cw79JQUZ8bofZrDFbKQox1-2S770u-YRMj7lWb2W/s800/Jim+by+Bob.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Jim Clendenen (credit: Bob Dickey)" border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="654" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiujKlvoKUysHBqZ5yUB7fDoVvx7Fi5eywA_cAAQsN-sIHiokRtAVLC3SiC5qpYaC0trjZAC99LJAofiefdfaS1N0JT_e6pUxMF7eX1cw79JQUZ8bofZrDFbKQox1-2S770u-YRMj7lWb2W/w328-h400/Jim+by+Bob.jpg" width="328" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jim Clendenen (credit: Bob Dickey)</td></tr></tbody></table><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">Wine aficionados who
did not know him personally certainly knew his wine, especially his flagship
brand, Au Bon Climat. Loosely translated to “a well exposed vineyard,” the
label was the prime vehicle for his unapologetic approach to winemaking,
especially to making pinot noir and chardonnay. His wines were influenced by
his admiration of Burgundian techniques and were consistently fresh, balanced
and restrained.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">Those who did know him,
though, would say that the man behind the wines – or “The Mind Behind” as he
dubbed himself – was anything but restrained. When Jim Clendenen walked into a
room, people noticed. He was ebullient and exuberant, enthusiastic and
energetic. His loud shirts and flowing hair, in fact, were extensions of a
wonderfully dynamic personality.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">“It’s funny, I always
think that winemakers are their wine,” says fellow winemaker Doug Margerum. “But Jim wasn’t. If his wines were more reserved, he
was certainly larger than life.” He calls Mr. Clendenen, who was godfather to
his son Evan, a mentor. The two men were also business partners in the wine
project, Vita Nova.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">That was one of Mr.
Clendenen’s trademarks, actually – his imaginative approach expanded his
creative horizons, and he pushed out various boutique endeavors, like Barham
Mendelsohn, under which he crafted pinot noirs from Sonoma’s Anderson Valley,
and Clendenen Family Vineyards, for which he made artisan-style versions of
varieties like gewurztraminer, chenin blanc and petit verdot; his nebbiolo was
barrel aged for five years.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">But it was Au Bon
Climat, or ABC, that became his most famous calling card. It made him – and by
extension, his home base of Santa Maria Valley and all of Santa Barbara County
– recognizable in wine drinking circles both domestically and around the world.
The various “Winemaker of the Year”-type accolades he won over the years came
from publications like The LA Times, Food & Wine Magazine and Germany’s
Wein Gourmet. The latter, actually, called him “Winemaker of the World.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">“He did a magnificent
job at spreading our message,” says winemaker Fred
Brander, who became fast friends with Mr. Clendenen in 1978, before either
became a torch bearer for Santa Barbara County wines. “If Robert Mondavi can be
credited with championing Napa, then Jim was his counterpart down here in Santa
Barbara.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPcb4UO0QkObx2UAJWxN-AYMNvsxO79uvvl6HjJGqUyGDLX4akf-mhSV2Jr2sDrZPiKE1QUG2CaLUQkjvzU41qaYAJIRWXHC5uKP9oEmWDToaa6s1jQYJP1ajuYhmqlPWbiP5Bth-aN0gB/s800/Jim+by+Bob2.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="524" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPcb4UO0QkObx2UAJWxN-AYMNvsxO79uvvl6HjJGqUyGDLX4akf-mhSV2Jr2sDrZPiKE1QUG2CaLUQkjvzU41qaYAJIRWXHC5uKP9oEmWDToaa6s1jQYJP1ajuYhmqlPWbiP5Bth-aN0gB/w263-h400/Jim+by+Bob2.jpg" width="263" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">photo credit: Bob Dickey</td></tr></tbody></table><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">It was Mr. Clendenen’s
friend and fellow culinarian Frank Ostini, of Hitching Post II fame, who
discovered Mr. Clendenen Saturday night, after several calls to Mr. Clendenen
from family had gone unanswered. “We were so blessed to have him a part of our
lives,” says Mr. Ostini, who enjoyed a 40-year friendship with Mr. Clendenen.
“I will dearly, dearly miss him.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">When Mr. Ostini moved the Hitching Post wine production to the Au Bon Climat
facility in 2019, it was “a homecoming,” he says, since the HP label produced
wines there back in the 1990s and moved out only when space became tight. (Mr.
Clendenen’s good friend Bob Lindquist also made wine at ABC for many years,
until he sold his Qupé wine brand in 2018.) What’s remained the same at Au Bon
Climat, says Mr. Ostini, are the faces of the employees – a team of close to 30
people, many of whom have worked at ABC for decades. That’s a testament to Mr.
Clendenen’s professional generosity.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">“These are such great
people who’ve now lost their leader,” says Mr. Ostini. “We’re here to hug them
and hold them, and to be a part of keeping the whole thing going.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">Mr. Clendenen’s
daughter, Isabelle, who works in sales at ABC, confirms that the world of Au
Bon Climat will live on. It is, after all, “a family business through and
through,” she says. “Even if you’re not related by blood, you’re still a member
of our family.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">Isabelle, 26, shared personal insights into the man so
many consider a superstar:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">“A lot of people are
focusing on what he did for the wine industry, but he was also devoted to
charity work. He supported charities in places as far away as Atlanta and North
Carolina and Alabama. He was really focused on children, because children were
the most important thing to him.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">“People say he was loud
and strong, but he was also a very sensitive person. He cried as easily as
anyone.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">“And he had a hatred
for social media. Especially Facebook -- that one was the worst. He was such an
emotional person that all he wanted was a physical connection with people.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">Isabelle’s brother
Knox, 21, resides in Japan. Jim Clendenen married and divorced twice, most
recently to Morgan Clendenen, a winemaker of viognier for many years under the
Cold Heaven label.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">“I know how Isabelle
and Knox feel,” says Drake Whitcraft, who took over Whitcraft Winery when his
father, the legend Chris Whitcraft, passed away in 2014. Drake, too, was in his
20s. “It’s indescribable how deep a void is created, losing your dad. You only
get one.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">On Mr. Clendenen, Drake
Whitcraft adds, “Jim is a force to be reckoned with in the wine industry – not
was -- is, even posthumously. Jim was not only a great winemaker… he had the
business savvy, too. And anyone who met him knows how he could captivate a room
with stories told with precise details, as if he were experiencing them right
then.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie4AWv2ZW3GKR6x4C03gJCbwGReI7F2lG7cCoY4XbQksfYHmb6exUgceKHzesZUHmdBx0uRwMJ6z8BEnVTTItA1hq7hsr1GNM1qpODx5TOFrBW6otSCwv0lEFAuLoMVTlhhzCLOP7DdOLT/s1600/Jim+%2526+Co.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1084" data-original-width="1600" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie4AWv2ZW3GKR6x4C03gJCbwGReI7F2lG7cCoY4XbQksfYHmb6exUgceKHzesZUHmdBx0uRwMJ6z8BEnVTTItA1hq7hsr1GNM1qpODx5TOFrBW6otSCwv0lEFAuLoMVTlhhzCLOP7DdOLT/w640-h434/Jim+%2526+Co.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">For a story I wrote in 2015, Jim Clendenen, center, met with fellow winemakers to reminisce about the Santa Barbara Wine Festival at the SB Museum of Natural History. Also pictured, from left: Bob Lindquist, Ken Brown, Richard Sanford, Doug Margerum, Drake Whitcraft and Fred Brander.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;"><br />Jim Clendenen was born
in Ohio and graduated with high honors in pre-law from UCSB in 1976. He’d
already been to Burgundy and Champagne, though – he turned 21 in France, in
fact -- and the allure of pinot noir and chardonnay would eventually win out. A
stint at Zaca Mesa Winery in 1978, under the tutelage of winemaker Ken Brown,
led to Mr. Clendenen working three global harvests, an amazing feat, in 1981 –
Santa Barbara, Australia and France. He founded Au Bon Climat in 1982 with
friend Adam Tolmach, who’d leave in 1990 to launch Ojai Vineyard. Mr. Clendenen
would go on to grow Au Bon Climat by using European-inspired, Old World
techniques, a course to which he stayed true even when California winemaking,
especially in the 1990s and early 2000s, leaned toward bigger, richer wines.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">“That’s to be admired,”
adds Mr. Brander. “He didn’t get caught up in fads or styles. He kept true to
Burgundy, to winemaking that was not modern or popular. He let the vineyards do
the talking.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">Mr. Clendenen took his
winery, which has a tasting room in downtown Santa Barbara, to a yearly production
of some 50,000 cases. He sourced grapes from a variety of vineyards, including
Sanford & Benedict and his own sustainably farmed Le Bon Climat. He was one
of the biggest fruit purchasers at the famous Bien Nacido Vineyard in the Santa
Maria Valley, which is owned by Santa Barbara’s Miller family.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">“I’ll remember him for
always sticking to his guns,” says Nicholas Miller, who runs sales and
marketing for the family’s wine enterprises. While Bien Nacido is best known
for its pinot noir and chardonnay, “we were growing things like merlot and
nebbiolo for Jim – he definitely pushed the limits at Bien Nacido.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">Mr. Clendenen was also
known for his hospitality. Lunches he hosted regularly at ABC, in fact, became legendary. “You never knew who’d show up or which wines would be poured,”
recalls Mr. Miller. Actually, Mr. Clendenen was known for one of the most
extensive library of older vintages on the Central Coast, many of which would
get poured at his lunches. And the cooking – homegrown but always gourmet, and
plentiful – was done by the Mind Behind himself.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">Those who knew him well
will say that the pandemic took its toll on Jim Clendenen in various ways. The
threat to his compromised health meant, by necessity, that he had to become
more reclusive. And a lifestyle defined by endless wine dinners,
meet-and-greets and journeys around the globe to promote wine coming to a
sudden halt – that was not an easy new reality for someone who thrived on the
human bond.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">“Him passing away –
that was something he was afraid was going to happen soon,” admits Isabelle.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">A
memorial for Jim Clendenen is being planned.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">###<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Gabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642052205583790227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3394139486819691598.post-57932929791097850312021-04-24T14:59:00.009-07:002021-04-24T15:04:05.134-07:00Everything’s Coming Up Rosés: These Santa Barbara Pinks are Perfect for Spring<p><i>published in the <a href="https://www.montecitojournal.net/" target="_blank">Montecito Journal</a> on 4/15/21</i></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgatifhkra5mby0cU3yy9mYLxzY5zN-8LP_zrGB5pu-MIlOn9lx-6jOvyhdtWeoLXEdcFUzEQZoSocBdZKXo-aHZ3vHdIikSjSgM3qCKaXii761VsEir-KaqoSREEo50dQT-IDCn02w7YgE/s2016/Fess+in+a+Glass.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgatifhkra5mby0cU3yy9mYLxzY5zN-8LP_zrGB5pu-MIlOn9lx-6jOvyhdtWeoLXEdcFUzEQZoSocBdZKXo-aHZ3vHdIikSjSgM3qCKaXii761VsEir-KaqoSREEo50dQT-IDCn02w7YgE/s320/Fess+in+a+Glass.jpg" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Timing has a lot to do
with rosé. That pink color – an alluring hue that can range from salmon to
blush – is the by-product of grape juice and grape skins coming in contact for
a few hours, or for a day, maybe two or three, until just enough tint bleeds into
the wine. The result, to the eye, can be spellbinding.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Then there’s the timing
driven by the calendar. With spring comes sunshine and warmth, along with that
nagging desire for an adult beverage that’s as quenching and refreshing as it
is pretty, and one that’s apropos to sip any time of the day or night. No wine
fits that bill better than rosé.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Winemakers push rosés
out young to preserve their freshness and verve, so you’ve likely seen a lot of
2020 rosé promos lately. No need to go far: some of the best in the market hail
from Santa Barbara County, and they represent some of the best wine values out
there. Here are six worth seeking out (and buying by the case) right now.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Tercero
2020 Mourvedre Rosé ($30)</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7NBDyC6wNHCNiDQPVM0eLRh25Xj22kiTuwKXkNPOBoxOPRm1_7pTVXo_jLVYakGJC9VzaC3kIT9d1O76W_A3hpB4JQoym4RDCmlSWlvVbc_0kFVuuWBGfwbysOFUSvFskVu4-9zSNGXcS/s2016/Tercero+Mourvedre+Rose.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7NBDyC6wNHCNiDQPVM0eLRh25Xj22kiTuwKXkNPOBoxOPRm1_7pTVXo_jLVYakGJC9VzaC3kIT9d1O76W_A3hpB4JQoym4RDCmlSWlvVbc_0kFVuuWBGfwbysOFUSvFskVu4-9zSNGXcS/w150-h200/Tercero+Mourvedre+Rose.jpg" width="150" /></a></b>: Winemaker Larry
Schaffer is already seeing this one fly out fast from his Los Olivos tasting
room. He stomped the grapes himself, by foot, and the juice only saw skin
contact for about an hour before going into a stainless steel tank for
fermentation at cool temps over four weeks. The mourvedre grapes – sisters to
syrah – came from Camp 4 Vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley. This wine is
brilliant and delicious, and it’s brimming with tropical notes (although that
could be because I enjoyed a bottle of this one on the shores of Maui last
week). Nab some of the Tercero 2020 Cinsault Rosé ($30), too – probably the
lightest colored rosé around! </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.tercerowines.com/" target="_blank"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">tercerowines.com</span></a></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Kimsey
2020 Grenache Rosé ($29)</b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">: Montecito
residents Nancy and Bill Kimsey hired right when they brought winemaker phenom
Matt Dees on board right when they launched their eponymous brand in 2008. The
grapes for this wine come from their lovely 22-acre estate vineyard in Ballard
Canyon, a prime growing region just north of Buellton that’s prime for Rhone
grapes, like grenache. Just over 30 hours of skin contact here, and a profusion
of uplifting citrus notes. </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.kinseyvoneyard.com/" target="_blank"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">kimseyvineyard.com</span></a></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">.</span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6rcexgF1djq921SlZUO-K0mrroeyAKmo8XQ1Gmad656Hsf91CC_gNkKtoyYh26Fww3rfRpTtweccuWvSvqr5JeSyBRBHhCLGKzWjjtELfPaV-ja63b1pDt9j3zbU2JudXYmJSVAD1YpFH/s2016/Epiphany+Rose.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6rcexgF1djq921SlZUO-K0mrroeyAKmo8XQ1Gmad656Hsf91CC_gNkKtoyYh26Fww3rfRpTtweccuWvSvqr5JeSyBRBHhCLGKzWjjtELfPaV-ja63b1pDt9j3zbU2JudXYmJSVAD1YpFH/w122-h200/Epiphany+Rose.jpg" width="122" /></a></b></div><b>Epiphany
2020 Grenache Rosé ($25)</b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">: The bright
acidity in this wine is enhanced by red berry aromas and watermelon flavors. A
very subtle suppleness on the palate makes it especially food-friendly and
super tasty. As part of the Fess Parker portfolio of wines, these grenache
grapes hail from the brand’s proprietary Rodney’s Vineyard along Foxen Canyon
Road. Fermentation took four months – half of it in neutral oak barrels and
half in stainless steel tanks. </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.epiphanywineco.com/" target="_blank"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">epiphanywineco.com</span></a></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Fess
Parker 2020 Pinot Noir Rosé ($25)</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">: This
rosé is elegant and polished. That may be the product of the fruit – pinot noir
sourced from Rio Vista Vineyard in the coveted Sta. Rita Hills region, just
west of Buellton. Kudos to winemaker Blair Fox and his team for another
mouthwatering rosé that balances refined notes of strawberries and cherries
with streaks of grapefruit and orange rind. Pop this one open at lunch and
finish off throughout the afternoon. </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.fessparker.com/" target="_blank"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">fessparker.com</span></a></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhdhJOW_5vSXsPmdf_f5TfGrj1PtDzlMGXZE93BUK4qA982kqPmpR-8xFNVo2L9pbPtXk0B6Z5KltA3K_T0DICRMnIrwiclvo-k9C2-eiHBGVhvpXxEgVepMGsV2wQFxQixcEls3WD_6ma/s1280/Zaca+Mesa+Rose.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="615" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhdhJOW_5vSXsPmdf_f5TfGrj1PtDzlMGXZE93BUK4qA982kqPmpR-8xFNVo2L9pbPtXk0B6Z5KltA3K_T0DICRMnIrwiclvo-k9C2-eiHBGVhvpXxEgVepMGsV2wQFxQixcEls3WD_6ma/w122-h200/Zaca+Mesa+Rose.jpg" width="122" /></a></div><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Zaca
Mesa 2020 Rosé of Grenache ($25)</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">: Winemaker
Kristin Bryden and her team have crafted a deliciously dry rosé from
estate-grown grenache grapes. This one screams spring, with its tasty tartness
and superfluity of stone fruit flavors – lychee, apricot, peach. The color is
also especially eye-catching, leaning toward diluted scarlet, and the texture
is lovely. This is the rosé you quaff at the beach, or poolside, at that exact
moment when the work week comes to an end. </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.zacamesa.com/" target="_blank"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">zacamesa.com</span></a></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Carhartt
2020 Chase the Blues Away Rosé ($25)</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">: The
Carhartt wine brand, with its popular cabin-style tasting room in Los Olivos,
has been rebranded to drive the family angle home – welcome to Carhartt Family
Wines. The “Chase” in the name of this grenache rosé is a loving tip-of-the-hat
to Brooke and Mike’s son; the trio handles all grape growing and winemaker
duties. This wine is big on minerality – most of the grapes were picked extra
early to harness acidity -- and the red berry and red apple flavors make it
utterly yummy. </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.carharttfamilywines.com/" target="_blank"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">carharttfamilywines.com</span></a></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Cheers!<span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">###<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Gabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642052205583790227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3394139486819691598.post-21859289468338422742021-03-04T14:55:00.006-08:002021-03-04T15:33:48.177-08:00Pinot Noir All Month Long: Famous Annual Wine Event Goes Virtual<p><i>published in the <a href="https://issuu.com/santabarbarasentinel/docs/mj_10_27_full/18" target="_blank">Montecito Journal</a> on 3/4/21</i></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Each year, pinot noir lovers have the first weekend in
March highlighted on their calendars. It is, after all, a weekend usually dedicated
to the World of Pinot Noir, the annual gathering of winemakers and wine
consumers feting Burgundy’s most famous red grape. The event launched in 2001
and, since 2014, has been held at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara in Goleta, drawing
more than 3000 thirsty oenophiles from all over the world.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This year, of course, Covid-19 had different plans for
WOPN (pronounced <i>Whoppin</i>’ by those in the know): no mingling with
winemakers, no hands-on tastings, no sit-down dinners. Creativity prevails,
though, And technology delivers.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP8UMm8PjZNEUbTWF-pi-u8fOPq0GahqoNTwDxHccVT6CSMLgr-lXM2eG76NXS_-ziFkc0HBjgM10gy2Ho-O4QmIj_MBKPAHAqSDCbP_84g50EmsrhxOGNTNvj7xrb1YpIrt8W4KOGbZis/s2048/WOPN4.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1378" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP8UMm8PjZNEUbTWF-pi-u8fOPq0GahqoNTwDxHccVT6CSMLgr-lXM2eG76NXS_-ziFkc0HBjgM10gy2Ho-O4QmIj_MBKPAHAqSDCbP_84g50EmsrhxOGNTNvj7xrb1YpIrt8W4KOGbZis/s320/WOPN4.jpeg" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This year, World of Pinot Noir is claiming the entire
month of March, and it’s going entirely virtual. “Attendees often say they’d
love even more content and more opportunities for intimate experiences with
winemakers,” says Laura Booras, CEO of Riverbench Vineyards in Santa Maria and
president of the WOPN Board of Directors. “This year, we actually have an
opportunity to grow these opportunities.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As WOPN goes from in-person to online, consumers will
have several chances every week this month to get up close and personal with
pinot noir – and all via live events broadcast across Zoom, Instagram and
Facebook. Wednesdays, for example, are dedicated to the WOPN Wine Case
Experience, where guests buy a case of rare, handpicked pinots and then join a
30-minute Zoom chat each week at 5pm for a guided tasting and discussion. The 12-bottle
compilation ($600, with a retail value of $800) features tough-to-get-your-hands-on
finds from regions all over the globe; some of the California standouts include
Brewer-Clifton’s 2016 Machado Vineyard Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir, a 93-point
winner from Wine Spectator, and Eden Rift’s 2018 Landsdale Cienega Valley Pinot
Noir, christened with 94 points by Robert Parker. The series is hosted by Master
Sommelier David Glancy, founder of the San Francisco Wine School.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thursdays feature deep-dive tasting seminars that
highlight the growing zones behind some of California’s best pinot noir wines,
including famed Bien Nacido Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley and vineyards of
the Santa Lucia Highlands near Monterey. The March 18<sup>th</sup> seminar spotlights
Sonoma’s diverse sub-regions, like the Russian River Valley and the Petaluma
Gap, through a winemaker panel and a tasting of wines that guests
pre-order for home delivery, including Banshee, La Crema and EnRoute. Seminars
range in price from $150 to $295, depending on the wine brands featured.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVFj8wZvkonF09LdqfyDQ5-ZQGU-h5H2CdEvrS3t31y1PXQ5mvKcVRAipccA9nbEd32cASju-VAwbIk2z05Kd118PgoRWCv9O_yc_pW-Uj1DGYZqsHqy4z59fmAdM_uqpSfFMfaVlj_rwL/s2048/WOPN1.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVFj8wZvkonF09LdqfyDQ5-ZQGU-h5H2CdEvrS3t31y1PXQ5mvKcVRAipccA9nbEd32cASju-VAwbIk2z05Kd118PgoRWCv9O_yc_pW-Uj1DGYZqsHqy4z59fmAdM_uqpSfFMfaVlj_rwL/s320/WOPN1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Free events include discussions and winemaker Happy
Hours every Wednesday at noon via Facebook Live and every Friday at 5pm via
Instagram Live. There’s an online charity auction, too, which gives consumers access
to a remarkable selection of hard-to-access bottles; lots include bottles of
prized pinots, including magnums, from labels like Paul Lato, Calera, Goldeneye,
Kosta Browne and Ampelos. According to the WOPN website, part of the auction
proceeds “</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="color: #393f51;">will be donated to non-profit institutions and/or scholarships
that help further educate and enlighten the world about the storied pinot noir
grape.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq0Z8hkjURtSCXmTANzL4f7ymowmjf7VKMsuhGdj0cTXh68xsXK6N2uFHWUpwbeZpzAIQEsi-QC3_f7hkJChYS7F7FtUamXXEGUWB4soE0FAMcks2Fkq79pCIL4lgkyX7_JxgfwOOfMdI5/s2048/WOPN2.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq0Z8hkjURtSCXmTANzL4f7ymowmjf7VKMsuhGdj0cTXh68xsXK6N2uFHWUpwbeZpzAIQEsi-QC3_f7hkJChYS7F7FtUamXXEGUWB4soE0FAMcks2Fkq79pCIL4lgkyX7_JxgfwOOfMdI5/s320/WOPN2.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="color: #393f51;">To register as
a bidder, and for more information on WOPN 2021, check out </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.worldofpinotnoir.com/"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">worldofpinotnoir.com</span></a></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="color: #393f51;">.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #393f51;">WOPN is an
international affair to be sure, tapping into the unique allure of pinot noir,
with its dependably eclectic aromatics, its complex flavor profile and awesome
ability to match most any meal. It makes sense, though, that it would be hosted
by Santa Barbara. The grape, native to Burgundy and with cultivation dating back
to the 4</span><sup style="color: #393f51; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">th</sup><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #393f51;"> century, is grown all over, most prominently in
California, France and Germany. But Santa Barbara County enjoys a distinctive
ability to produce pinots that stand out: the east-west traverse of the Santa
Ynez Mountains, which funnel marine air and create enviably pronounced diurnal
shifts in temperature, and special soils – all buoyed by a talented pool of
winemakers drawn by the area’s potential and promise. May the stars align so
that WOPN returns as an in-person experience in 2022.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="color: #393f51;">Cheers!</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">###</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></p><p></p>Gabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642052205583790227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3394139486819691598.post-33400645329370078132021-02-12T11:13:00.004-08:002021-02-12T11:13:59.866-08:00Sense of Place: J. Wilkes Wines Focus on ‘Appellation Expression’<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;"><i>published in the Montecito Journal on 2/11/21</i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">When I
launched my wine writing career in Santa Barbara some 20 years ago, Jeff Wilkes
was one of the first personalities I came to know. His enthusiasm for the wines
he shared with me was infectious. And his energy and sense of humor made him a
fantastic wine sipping companion.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm6mZNV7rbOblEOPwzw_nfZ2bGmmsOajVCSrABGtcJ7JROrF2I-e009OW-YL6SqK80WjRoKXz396Zc8mh8THSZDDGqxGHoJQn0C7fQRkQMoDWb6bgui72Z2eMTxhtuJGl5LcxrmsyjQcA2/s2016/IMG_3709.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm6mZNV7rbOblEOPwzw_nfZ2bGmmsOajVCSrABGtcJ7JROrF2I-e009OW-YL6SqK80WjRoKXz396Zc8mh8THSZDDGqxGHoJQn0C7fQRkQMoDWb6bgui72Z2eMTxhtuJGl5LcxrmsyjQcA2/s320/IMG_3709.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Wilkes
was a salesman for the iconic vineyards owned by Santa Barbara’s Miller family:
Bien Nacido and Solomon Hills, both nestled in the Santa Maria Valley, and
French Camp, located in the warmer highlands of Paso Robles. He was a
passionate champion of these unique grape growing regions, and, even more, an
ambassador for the world-class wines they produced. He launched his own
eponymous label, J. Wilkes, in 2001, as a vehicle to spotlight the potential of
the Central Coast’s wine growing appellations, and he’d go on to enjoy a
successful career as a vintner until his untimely passing in 2010. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In
homage to Jeff Wilkes, the Miller family carried his label forward. It remains
part of a varied portfolio of labels that also includes Ballard Lane, Barrel
Burner, Smashberry and the newly-acquired Butternut. “Regardless of which of
our wines they’re drinking,” director of winemaker Jonathan Nagy told me this
week, “we want people to be impressed by the quality of the wine for the price
they paid.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">But J.
Wilkes stands out for its singular focus: Nagy calls it, “appellation
expression.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Nagy
is especially familiar with the Santa Maria Valley appellation, which became
recognized by the feds as Santa Barbara County’s first AVA, American
Viticultural Area, in 1981. After a stint with Robert Mondavi in Napa, he moved
back home to Cambria Winery in Santa Maria in the late 1990s, and he’d go on to
spend close to 20 years at neighboring Byron Winery. He joined Miller Family
Wine Co. last year.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq99T1Z9RL2DZCUjuOHj1Fg1nKM-NxOsRCgTlnYSgfNC0WaPGG8wRoeQWPSLazDWMPHBXDpoM_nqYj9mDnMHIcUPubWYafUs7gDmH9Hf3cIXGata78uNwwssgB-NbApF668ljQnCqXnp05/s1643/IMG_3711.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1447" data-original-width="1643" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq99T1Z9RL2DZCUjuOHj1Fg1nKM-NxOsRCgTlnYSgfNC0WaPGG8wRoeQWPSLazDWMPHBXDpoM_nqYj9mDnMHIcUPubWYafUs7gDmH9Hf3cIXGata78uNwwssgB-NbApF668ljQnCqXnp05/s320/IMG_3711.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Sandy
soils are key to wine growing in the Santa Maria Valley, and so is the
east-west valley created by the Santa Ynez Mountains that give vineyards here
“a straight shot to the ocean,” says Nagy. “We have one of the longest growing
seasons in the world. We get bud break in February and aren’t picking until
October or November.”</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In the
20-plus years that he’s been making wine here, “vine age and technology in the
vineyard now allow us to maximize quality,” he adds, making the J. Wilkes chardonnay,
pinot noir and pinot blanc produced here “more expressive, more concentrated
and more complex.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">By
comparison, the Paso Robles Highlands, set on the eastern side of San Luis
Obispo County wine country, “has nice elevation and a really good diurnal
shift,” says Nagy. “It can get really hot during harvest days – 100 degrees or
more – but then at nighttime there’s a 40- to 50-degree shift, and that means
that vines can really maintain acidity." Among the J. Wilkes wines grown here:
zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon and petit sirah.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I
tasted my way through three J. Wilkes wines this week:</span></p>
<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><b>2018 J. Wilkes Pinot
Blanc ($20)</b>: refreshing and bright, this white wine from the Santa Maria Valley
features green apple and pear notes and a luscious mouth feel. A perfect afternoon
quaff and a tasty match for grilled shellfish, salads and mild cheeses.</span></p></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><b>2018 J. Wilkes Viognier
($25)</b>: grown in the Paso Robles Highlands District, the aromas on this lovely
white wine are alluring: white flowers, nectarines and apricots. Dense and
fruit-driven, with honeysuckle overtones, the mild acidity and bone-dry finish
make it especially food-friendly – think grilled chicken, lobster and any
cheese-and-nuts platter you come up with.</span></p></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><b>2018 J. Wilkes Pinot
Noir ($30)</b>: a classic Santa Maria Valley pinot, with earthy, peppery and black
cherry notes. Just enough ripeness to make it elegant and just enough fruit
character to make it delicious. Mushroom tarts, roasted duck and any Brie or
mild blue cheese will pair nicely here.</span></p></blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">There’s
great undercover value with these wines: while various third-patty vineyards
are sourced each year for the sake of achieving that “appellation expression,” fruit
from those proprietary high-profile vineyards – Bien Nacido and Solomon Hills from Santa
Maria and French Camp from Paso, which are regularly featured on labels that two or
three times the cost – are regular ingredients in the J. Wilkes wines.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The J.
Wilkes tasting room in downtown Santa Barbara is back open. Various flights,
wines by the glass, a chocolate-and-wine pairing option and a menu of paninis,
salads and cheese boards are available seven days a week, from noon to 7pm. You'll find it inside
the Hotel Californian at 35 State Street. Reservations are recommended and
masks are required. You can also buy wine at </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.jwilkes.com/"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">jwilkes.com</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">###<o:p></o:p></span></p>Gabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642052205583790227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3394139486819691598.post-27027284221444392932020-12-20T15:19:00.006-08:002020-12-20T15:48:24.130-08:00Fizzle and Pop: These Santa Barbara Bubbles Will Help You Send 2020 On Its Way<p><i>published in the <a href="https://issuu.com/santabarbarasentinel/docs/mj_51_26_full/22" target="_blank">Montecito Journal</a> on 12/17/20</i></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">The new three-week
stay-at-home order that befell California this month means Santa Barbara
County’s wine tasting rooms are shuddered, again. Your own hunt for great local
wines to grace the holiday table and end-of-year festivities, though,
continues. So keep in mind that, while the deadline for many shipments to
arrive by Christmas has passed, there’s still time to order directly from
wineries, which desperately need locals’ support, for curbside pickup.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">Bubblies will be atop
many of our shopping lists, of course, as there’s no better way to usher in a
new year – and to send 2020 off with a really good kick in the rear – than the
effervescence of a really good sparkling wine.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWnc9UwNW6Rt0vDbkWtHJVOpREFgtBAzbBOrJ5HdkMNd9Wi2SB4c4bRLBLFDmlNqIljItE1qlDRLxOFpr4BMbq0p9mA0lZjGI-afAD0A7-ivIpR6O6sYsKcrs6S-EJ2voNNeDZr17O4PIs/s2016/Riverbench1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1326" data-original-width="2016" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWnc9UwNW6Rt0vDbkWtHJVOpREFgtBAzbBOrJ5HdkMNd9Wi2SB4c4bRLBLFDmlNqIljItE1qlDRLxOFpr4BMbq0p9mA0lZjGI-afAD0A7-ivIpR6O6sYsKcrs6S-EJ2voNNeDZr17O4PIs/w400-h263/Riverbench1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>When it comes to Santa
Barbara’s sparkling wine production, Riverbench continues to stand out with its
annual release of four unique Cork Jumper sparklers, the handiwork of winemaker
Clarissa Nagy. This is the property in the heart of the Santa Maria Valley that
planted its first pinot noir and chardonnay vines – primary ingredients in the
world’s great bubblies – in 1973. Riverbench really began to take bubbles
seriously in 2014, though, when they grafted the county’s very first pinot
meunier, still a rarity in California but a long-time darling among producers
of the fizzy stuff in France. Riverbench just released their 2017 all-Pinot
Meunier Cork Jumper ($68), a super bright and energetic bubbly with dark berry
notes, a fresh feel and supple finish. A very limited 92 cases were produced. I
sipped this one recently, while popping cold slices of Gala apples and hunks of
Dubliner cheese. Yum.<p></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">Riverbench’s
all-chardonnay 2017 Blanc de Blancs ($48) is an homage to Champagne, with its
citrusy flavors and yeasty finish; and the all-pinot 2017 Blanc de Noirs ($48)
is a rosé lover’s dream, with deep tangerine flavors and a velvety finish.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3CgpefiVs8HnjfF-yGnI5xj_MD32xk45pWQ__GlHE76Yly_KWMatbZdiVNyxfr8_esnwZwTkdtiA7VOEYhYRPnkCs4ISLQI4Ni-03pvrgK9Ix8jo_a0W3McdzUqAA5pRUwC4_uWKnEB4E/s1719/Riverbench2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1328" data-original-width="1719" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3CgpefiVs8HnjfF-yGnI5xj_MD32xk45pWQ__GlHE76Yly_KWMatbZdiVNyxfr8_esnwZwTkdtiA7VOEYhYRPnkCs4ISLQI4Ni-03pvrgK9Ix8jo_a0W3McdzUqAA5pRUwC4_uWKnEB4E/w400-h309/Riverbench2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The
crowning jewel of Riverbench’s sparklers is the 2018 Cork Jumper Cuvée ($68), a
vibrant blend of equal parts pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier that’s a
real snapshot of the label’s estate vineyards. How does the pinot meunier
enhance this bottling? By adding “<span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">an interesting austerity to the wine,” Riverbench director of winemaking
Laura Booras once told me. “Chardonnay in Santa Maria tends to have really
bright citrus fruit character, so pinot meunier might help tone that down some,
for the sake of achieving a truly balanced, flavorful wine.”</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">The pop of color
and rush of bubbles here is titillating, while the stone fruit aromas and
creamy flavors are downright delicious. A real crowd pleaser, even if your
holiday crowd is a lot smaller this year.</span><p></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Order
Riverbench bubbly at </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.riverbench.com/" target="_blank"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">riverbench.com</span></a></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5xDgeBfgdyn__Em1-JfV4gucHK5oO47989r7HNrOhc2zj0y_gUUg6dQn_tISY3eZdmseRBIzG3kyDAtDDv9hB3_QlMC4FH8hlg4GrMQbMigoTFK6oT1ZRVNTDKd3Vi6gKEHj8BjtXd1Sb/s955/Fesstivity+Brut+Rose.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="299" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5xDgeBfgdyn__Em1-JfV4gucHK5oO47989r7HNrOhc2zj0y_gUUg6dQn_tISY3eZdmseRBIzG3kyDAtDDv9hB3_QlMC4FH8hlg4GrMQbMigoTFK6oT1ZRVNTDKd3Vi6gKEHj8BjtXd1Sb/s320/Fesstivity+Brut+Rose.png" /></a></div>Lovers
of bubbles have dozens of other Santa Barbara County options, of course. Norm
Yost and his Lompoc-based Flying Goat Cellars label are a pioneer in this
arena. Other Santa Barbara County winemakers, including Greg Brewer and the
late Chris Whitcraft, had dabbled in bubbles before Yost launched his own line
of sparklers in 2005. But Yost gets credit for being the first to make his
bubblies an annual endeavor. Currently, he’s crafting five bottlings of Goat
Bubbles each vintage, ranging from $40 to $60, and featuring fruit from various
top-of-the-line vineyards. Buy them at <span lang="EN-GB"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://flyinggoatcellars.com" target="_blank">flyinggoatcellars.com</a></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">.</span><p></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">The
Fess Parker team entered the world of bubbles in 2015 with their Fesstivity
label and a quaint destination tasting cabin in Los Olivos known as The Bubble
Shack. Their current 2017 Blanc de Blancs, 2016 Blanc de Noirs and 2016 Brut
Rosé all feature premium Sta. Rita Hills grapes and are available as a holiday
three-bottle gift pack for a discounted $140 at </span><span lang="EN-GB"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://fessparkerwineshop.com" target="_blank">fessparkerwineshop.com</a></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">And a
tip of the hat to winemaker Laura Roach, who launched her LouBud label, a play
on her childhood nickname, in 2015. Her limited-edition bubblies, made by hand
in the Methode Champenoise style, are consistently fresh. Roach announced on
social media this past weekend that all her past sparkling wine releases are
sold out, except for her new all-pinot noir 2019 Brut Rosé. It’s “delicate and
crisp with pretty red fruits and rose petals on the nose,” she writes. “Bright
entry of pink grapefruit, Asian pear and croissant dough with a clean, bright
finish!” Buy it for $45 at </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.loubudwines.com/" target="_blank"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">loubudwines.com</span></a></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">Still
looking to sip French?</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCRHpdm0cjXOyomTlxoXNBJDgPyz7Ku3AKqYyjpdP15DPR10Aq9hJJ95la7wL3V05MpDCKdtwbTbyHMRNSxBNxfK5Aa_UwjjIV9ywb7CkU-DpmoZzEulLF0aizimPyWjERr7snmbx8XDs1/s1080/Provencal1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1056" data-original-width="1080" height="391" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCRHpdm0cjXOyomTlxoXNBJDgPyz7Ku3AKqYyjpdP15DPR10Aq9hJJ95la7wL3V05MpDCKdtwbTbyHMRNSxBNxfK5Aa_UwjjIV9ywb7CkU-DpmoZzEulLF0aizimPyWjERr7snmbx8XDs1/w400-h391/Provencal1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">If
it’s not from Champagne, you can’t call it Champagne, so the sparklers that
Montecito resident Frank </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Caterinicchio</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;"> is importing from boutique producers in Provence are,
simply, French sparkling wines. But they are still delicious. At $19, the
Domaine du Tix “Des Bulles au Cerveau” (Bubbles in the Brain), made with
cinsault grapes, is a phenomenal value. With no added sulfites, it’s racy and
refreshing, and the label featuring a cartoon diver blowing bubbles from his
breathing apparatus means it’s a conversation piece before you even pour. A metal
crown bottle cap, in lieu of a cork, makes it even more fun.</span><p></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;">Caterinicchio also has the Effervescence by Domaine Vintur
($28), which is crisp, dry and fizzy and comes in a bell-bottom bottle. “Makes
for a great mimosa or Apreol spritz,” he says, although, on its own, it’s
palate-cleansing and thirst-quenching.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Proven</span><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; letter-spacing: -0.75pt; line-height: 107%;">ç</span></i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">al Collective, which
Caterinicchio, a former political consultant, launched three years ago after a serendipitous
trip to France’s southern Rhone Valley, features an exclusive line of organic
wines. Find out more in my feature for the <a href="https://issuu.com/santabarbarasentinel/docs/mj_m_13_1_full/96" target="_blank">Winter 2020-2021 issue</a> of Montecito
Journal’s quarterly glossy. To beat the
holiday rush, Caterinicchio is hand-delivering his imported wines throughout
Montecito. Order directly from him at </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.provencalcollective.com/" target="_blank"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">provencalcollective.com</span></a></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;">Cheers, and Merry Christmas!</span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">###<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Gabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642052205583790227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3394139486819691598.post-3732319031554885342020-11-21T11:50:00.004-08:002020-11-22T15:53:15.675-08:00A Santa Barbara First: Brewer-Clifton's Greg Brewer Gets "Winemaker of the Year" Honor<p style="text-align: left;"><i>published in the <a href="https://www.montecitojournal.net/mjnewspaper/" target="_blank">Montecito Journal</a> on Nov. 19, 2020</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">The
latest honor for winemaker Greg Brewer is a perk for Santa Barbara County, too:
it’s the first time a Santa Barbara-based vintner has been named Winemaker of
the Year by the popular publication, Wine Enthusiast.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">“The
accolade is flattering because my name is on it,” admitted Mr. Brewer in an
exclusive interview for the Montecito Journal last week, just after the award
was announced.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNRrnfrQyUptv9Fxroe2bBta1_ZPxEvrU6hOFGNoMednS4ODnFcDs-ivktEEHrO9N0_HykgMDZzGlIHr4l-_lKjdhwUzR2rO3SSdmFMgmjUjv5jtD3XpD-QMHuzJ0iyGT7mNhtBOXDl6aZ/s960/Gabe+and+Greg.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="754" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNRrnfrQyUptv9Fxroe2bBta1_ZPxEvrU6hOFGNoMednS4ODnFcDs-ivktEEHrO9N0_HykgMDZzGlIHr4l-_lKjdhwUzR2rO3SSdmFMgmjUjv5jtD3XpD-QMHuzJ0iyGT7mNhtBOXDl6aZ/w251-h320/Gabe+and+Greg.jpg" width="251" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me & Greg Brewer at an Aug. 2019 event</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">“But
it’s really Santa Barbara’s award – I really mean that,” he continues. “Wine is
a reflection of place – in our case, Santa Barbara and the Sta. Rita Hills. And
the manner in which we craft our wines is transparent and vulnerable. So I’m
most prideful of that – the fact an award like this elevates our area in
people’s awareness around the world.”</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">Wine
Enthusiast Magazine’s Wine Star Awards, now in their 21</span><sup style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">st</sup><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;"> year,
honor international wine brands and players across 15
categories, and they are the result of multiple layers of nominations and votes
by the publication’s staff. Mr. Brewer beat out four other high-profile
nominees from Northern California, Italy and South Africa for the 2020 win.
Santa Barbara County was nominated as 2020 Wine Region of the Year, along with
Adelaide Hills in Australia, Rias Baixas in Spain and Mendoza in Argentina, all
of whom lost out to Trentino, Italy.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">Mr.
Brewer’s win is a nod to his groundbreaking accomplishments as winemaker for
the renowned Brewer-Clifton label, which he launched in 1996 with then-business
partner Steve Clifton. Mr. Brewer sold the label to Jackson Family Wines, and
stayed on as winemaker, in 2017. “The best years of my career to date,” says
Mr. Brewer of his business relationship with the Santa Rosa-based mega-producer,
for a blend of support and autonomy that he says allows him to thrive.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4wg-apcei8J9MvmqcoYbNYtQme-SKz7dF_ucvGUg0WIqGurc20bHS5KenpujQRZRU6mYuHaWHx8brsDmTfvLChuBAB61R51GxkcOWQD2f2vT7Wo1R5Z-4khr0ubk2o3uNYZgIKLiWU1Ta/s2736/Brewer+Clifton+pinot.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="733" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4wg-apcei8J9MvmqcoYbNYtQme-SKz7dF_ucvGUg0WIqGurc20bHS5KenpujQRZRU6mYuHaWHx8brsDmTfvLChuBAB61R51GxkcOWQD2f2vT7Wo1R5Z-4khr0ubk2o3uNYZgIKLiWU1Ta/w108-h400/Brewer+Clifton+pinot.png" width="108" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">But
Brewer-Clifton was already a darling among wine buffs by then, with Mr. Brewer
crafting multiple world-class renditions of pinot noir and chardonnay each year
from select vineyards in the prestigious Sta. Rita Hills. This prime growing
region located between Lompoc and Buellton first caught Mr. Brewer’s attention
when he left his UCSB job as a French teacher to learn wine production at Santa
Barbara Winery in 1991, and it really came into focus when he was hired to
develop Melville Winery in 1997. Mr. Brewer was among the team that worked to
get federal recognition for Sta. Rita Hills as an AVA, or American Viticultural
Area, in 2001 for the unique wine growing conditions created by its geology,
weather and soils.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">“It
all starts with the ocean,” says Mr. Brewer, referencing the unrelenting
influence of marine winds that blow east from the Pacific across the region’s
3,000 acres of grapes, creating major diurnal swings in climate that allow Burgundian
grapes like pinot and chardonnay to thrive.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">“The
ocean is the critical thing and, to me, it is both serene and savage, both
contemplative and calming but also intimidating and scary,” he continues, in
almost poetic fashion.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">“The
wines in this region </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">channel and demonstrate that
duality. There’s something very confident and composed about the wines we’re
making here. But there’s intensity beneath, as well – something pent-up and
intense and wound-up tight and explosive. It’s that energy that excites me, and
it’s that energy in the wine that people love to discover.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">“That makes Sta. Rita
Hills such a special place. And to be a quiet voice, a steward of that, to get
that message out to the world, is such a privilege, professionally.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">The limited-edition
Brewer-Clifton wines are made available through two allocations a year, in
spring and fall, which can be accessed by signing up at </span><span lang="EN-GB"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="http://brewerclifton.com" target="_blank">brewerclifton.com</a></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">Mr. Brewer, who left
Melville in 2015 and now crafts all his wines at a facility in Lompoc, also
makes a line of lean chardonnays under the "diatom" brand and small lots of
cool-climate syrahs under the label, Ex Post Facto.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;">Another first? The Wine
Star Award winners, who are usually feted during a lavish affair drawing
hundreds of wine enthusiasts in person, will be honored virtually during a
three-day online event in January.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">###<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p style="text-align: left;"></p>Gabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642052205583790227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3394139486819691598.post-49531632443140543352020-10-11T13:22:00.003-07:002020-10-11T13:36:09.491-07:00A Perfect Wine: Santa Barbara Co. Syrah Earns Elusive 100-Point Score<p><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>published 10/8/20 in the Montecito Journal</i></span></strong></p><p><strong><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="color: #1d2228; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">For winemaker Paul
Lato, “There’s a really big gap between 99 and 100.”</span></strong></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 11.2pt;"><strong><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="color: #1d2228; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The celebrated
vintner, a Polish native who was a sommelier in Canada before he moved to the Central
Coast in 2002, has earned many coveted scores for wines under his eponymous
label, along with a fervent consumer following. But 100 points for any wine is
as illustrious as it is elusive.<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 11.2pt;"><strong><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="color: #1d2228; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></strong></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 11.2pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1d2228;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_IRSJX_xGNHt8WYB3v_tVAQkx2Z2SCQM6UbqFo-rXwy_GeurDBwdF0GM03ceFH_fqrKKFgOMB7XYNpBayRxs1wDlQuzuOHSpyDALMHMY2DFosHk68UBla0US7DcUrtnLzBxV3d5jjnwyE/s2048/Paul+Lato+Wine.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1367" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_IRSJX_xGNHt8WYB3v_tVAQkx2Z2SCQM6UbqFo-rXwy_GeurDBwdF0GM03ceFH_fqrKKFgOMB7XYNpBayRxs1wDlQuzuOHSpyDALMHMY2DFosHk68UBla0US7DcUrtnLzBxV3d5jjnwyE/w268-h400/Paul+Lato+Wine.jpg" width="268" /></a></div>As impressive as
they are, “getting a 97 or a 98 or a 99 – it still means you’re one of many,”
continues Mr. Lato. “A 100, though, means your wine is truly special.”<p></p><p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 11.2pt;"><strong><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="color: #1d2228; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">That makes Paul
Lato’s 2018 “Il Padrino” Syrah, for all intents and purposes, the perfect wine.
The 100-point score comes from respected critic Jeb Dunnuck, who applauds the
wine for exhibiting “everything I look for in a great wine: richness without
heaviness, incredible complexity, a singular character, and the ability to
deliver both intellectual and hedonistic pleasure.” He goes on to note its “masculine,
peppery and gamey” characteristics.</span></strong></p><p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 11.2pt;"><strong><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="color: #1d2228; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></strong></p><p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 11.2pt;"><strong><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="color: #1d2228; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The winemaker
offers his own description: “It has ripeness, beautiful blackberry, cherry,
with some vanilla and violet flavors. And there are other nuances that open up
with decantation and with air, as the wine sits. You get different aromatics
and structure. Tannins come up, the fruit changes, and the wine becomes darker
in the glass.”</span></strong></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 11.2pt;"><strong><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="color: #1d2228; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></strong></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 11.2pt;"><strong><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="color: #1d2228; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The perfect score
is a triumph not only for the artisanal Paul Lato label, which is a staple at
luxe restaurants like Montecito’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lucky’s
Steakhouse</i> and Santa Barbara’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">bouchon</i>,
but for the wine’s place of origin, too. Indeed, this marks the first time ever
that a wine harvested at Bien Nacido Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley has
earned 100 points. The legendary vineyard was planted in 1973 by Santa
Barbara’s Miller family and remains one of the most sought-after sources in the
state for pinot noir and chardonnay, primarily, as well as syrah. Mr. Lato has
been contracting syrah grapes from the same specific hilltop block of Bien
Nacido for nearly two decades.<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 11.2pt;"><strong><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="color: #1d2228; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></strong></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 11.2pt;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="background: white; color: #222222;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1jJ9GEokSF5xhtw_vYe3wJR-72PbNK-X1qEfHTqsDbgyB4bfuXxCZMBTBRCTxR8iqxY7n2j50MtH27QVolqsWqNF-1NbyAFnp97tQOLuMMWVQ_Gz1tFD4ZnsyUlCNiftu3Z8EOWlBHZi/s1620/Paul+Lato.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1620" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1jJ9GEokSF5xhtw_vYe3wJR-72PbNK-X1qEfHTqsDbgyB4bfuXxCZMBTBRCTxR8iqxY7n2j50MtH27QVolqsWqNF-1NbyAFnp97tQOLuMMWVQ_Gz1tFD4ZnsyUlCNiftu3Z8EOWlBHZi/w266-h400/Paul+Lato.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul Lato<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="background: white; color: #222222;">“Paul has been a great supporter of our vineyards over the
years, and…we’re honored to have Bien Nacido be part of this superb wine,” says
Nicholas Miller, VP of sales and marketing for The Thornhill Companies, which,
aside from Bien Nacido, also owns Solomon Hills Estate and French Camp
vineyards, boutique labels like J. Wilkes and the custom crush facility Central
Coast Wine Services. “And I can’t help but echo Jeb’s sentiments when
describing the wine: it’s beautiful, concentrated, and powerful without feeling
heavy.”</span><p></p><p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 11.2pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">Descriptors from experts and fancy points aside, Mr. Lato
says he’s committed to staying humble and to continuing to make wines that are
defined, in large part, by where they’re consumed, and with whom. “Many times,
a wine will make you turn to your spouse or someone you love, at sunset, with
the barbecue on – and it makes you want to say, ‘Honey, life is good,’” he
muses. “That can be a perfect achievement, and any wine can become a
100-point wine!”</span></p><p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 11.2pt;"><strong><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="color: #1d2228; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></strong></p><p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 11.2pt;"><strong><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="color: #1d2228; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The 2018 Paul Lato “Il
Padrino” Syrah, with a retail price of $90, is sold out. The winemaker expects
the price to go up slightly in vintages to come. The bulk of Mr. Lato’s 4000-
to 5000-case annual production is vineyard-designate pinot noir and chardonnay
wines from throughout Santa Barbara County, which can be purchased through his
website, </span></strong><span face=""Arial","sans-serif""><a href="http://paullatowines.com">paullatowines.com</a></span><strong><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="color: #1d2228; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">. </span></strong></p><p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 11.2pt;"><strong><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="color: #1d2228; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></strong></p><p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 11.2pt;"><strong><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="color: #1d2228; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">###</span></span></strong></p>Gabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642052205583790227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3394139486819691598.post-67258040032149959592020-10-08T09:03:00.002-07:002020-10-11T09:42:49.297-07:00Buellton's Alma Rosa Winery Opens Outdoor "Weingarten"<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYVgwWleUVrjfdM4DU2GYvtBTBkbShuNYplx74UgcuKlFJcdPrXJBUI-tabU-yk2PeH2uXcIVqoEy1N8yhNYmbYEWt-O4rWuACzyyIZBqhEpjqirv24tohOB3BeqPjqvPEt_A4ZxlNlqhJ/s1080/Alma+Rosa2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYVgwWleUVrjfdM4DU2GYvtBTBkbShuNYplx74UgcuKlFJcdPrXJBUI-tabU-yk2PeH2uXcIVqoEy1N8yhNYmbYEWt-O4rWuACzyyIZBqhEpjqirv24tohOB3BeqPjqvPEt_A4ZxlNlqhJ/s320/Alma+Rosa2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><strong><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="color: #1d2228; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><i>10/8/20 (as seen in the Montecito Journal)</i></span></strong><div><strong><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="color: #1d2228; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></strong></div><div><strong><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="color: #1d2228; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">As California’s
guidelines for wine tasting room visitation remain ubiquitously prohibitive,
Santa Barbara’s vintners have become increasingly creative, moving much of
their guest experiences outdoors. </span></strong><p></p><p><strong><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="color: #1d2228; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I found one of my favorite creative solutions
at the Alma Rosa tasting room in Buellton, where the tasting room patio has
been reconfigured into an outdoor “Weingarten.”
The space is shaded by umbrellas and features various six-seater tables
spaced more than six feet apart, where wine lovers can savor a selection of
five wines for $20. Wines can also be bought by the glass. </span></strong></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiudgyKPaKdamnbk-OdVHM6UukpPNp5p-vjaIsbWtFiGp5SD18rhhULRI_IBKyKkI55Qij4k3I8ObsEUFRls6p8SFeWX3m9XDNW0kH4nVAjx4GXqQkP_ante4jiRXFfkEtJqezMtWqzzc2V/s1080/Alma+Rosa3.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiudgyKPaKdamnbk-OdVHM6UukpPNp5p-vjaIsbWtFiGp5SD18rhhULRI_IBKyKkI55Qij4k3I8ObsEUFRls6p8SFeWX3m9XDNW0kH4nVAjx4GXqQkP_ante4jiRXFfkEtJqezMtWqzzc2V/s320/Alma+Rosa3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><strong><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="color: #1d2228; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Alma Rosa, which was
founded by local wine pioneer Richard Sanford in 2005 and purchased in 2014 by Bob and Barb Zorich, produces some of the best pinot
and chardonnay in California; I was also impressed by the 2018 Santa Ynez Valley Grenache
Blanc ($30) and the 2017 Donnachadh Vineyard Syrah ($68) I tasted during my
recent pop-in. </span></strong><p></p><p><strong><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="color: #1d2228; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The tasting room is easy to access: just off Highway 101 and
along Industrial Way, right next door to what may be Buellton’s best eatery,
Industrial Eats. Hours are Sunday through Wednesday, 11am-5:30pm, and Thursday through Saturday, 11am-6pm. Walk-ins are welcome but reservations are recommended. Check out </span></strong><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><a href="http://www.almarosawinery.com/">almarosawinery.com</a><span style="color: #1d2228;"> or call 805-691-9395.</span></span></p><p><strong><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="color: #1d2228; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">###</span></strong></p></div>Gabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642052205583790227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3394139486819691598.post-31978434604536170392020-09-01T08:42:00.008-07:002020-10-11T09:41:34.835-07:00Grape Recognition: Santa Barbara County Gains 7th Wine AVA<p>9/1/20: Santa
Barbara vintners are celebrating the feds’ decision last week to greenlight the
county’s newest AVA, Alisos Canyon.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">AVA stands
for American Viticultural Area and refers to a region recognized by the federal
government for its unique ability to grow quality wine grapes. The distinction
denotes pedigree and signals that site-specific factors, such as climate and
soils, converge to create a special winegrowing destination. It also allows
wine producers who may have used more broad identifiers on their labels in the
past – phrases like “Santa Barbara County” or “Santa Ynez Valley” – to more
specifically showcase that their wines come from “Alisos Canyon.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFMyBo3lg9MvJz1OyqCQF3Eu2Vbgb59rxFwW0C44sV1eLeSltjvmph3RrczVjui0L-joGNI6K-Gp0UYAeOWxk-rl8Cb_70ViFHYrmjoZyf-qQAsk-hh8AcqtSKRi90-MLEL-NVW7gQHHi/s720/Martian+Ranch+Vineyard.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="720" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFMyBo3lg9MvJz1OyqCQF3Eu2Vbgb59rxFwW0C44sV1eLeSltjvmph3RrczVjui0L-joGNI6K-Gp0UYAeOWxk-rl8Cb_70ViFHYrmjoZyf-qQAsk-hh8AcqtSKRi90-MLEL-NVW7gQHHi/w400-h265/Martian+Ranch+Vineyard.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Martian Ranch Vineyard is inside the new Alisos Canyon AVA</td></tr></tbody></table><br />This new AVA
covers 5774 acres nestled in the Los Alamos Valley, roughly between the Santa
Ynez and Santa Maria Valleys. Here, a steady influx of marine air and fog
create some of the greatest variation in daytime and nighttime temps on
California’s Central Coast, and the soils are primarily weathered sandstone and
shale. Well-known vineyards like Dovecote (formerly Thompson), Martian Ranch
and Watch Hill call Alisos Canyon home.<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Winemaker
Wes Hagen, brand ambassador for the Miller Family Wine Co. and the primary
petitioner for the new AVA, calls Alisos Canyon a “Goldilocks Rhone Zone”
that’s ideal for growing Rhone grapes – reds like syrah and grenache and whites
like viognier and roussanne. “They are all going o be fantastic here,” he said
in a video release following last week’s AVA announcement, “along with cabernet
franc.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">One other
topographical feature that makes Alisos Canyon stand out is the fact it’s at
end of a 24.5-mile watershed, the San Antonio Creek basin, that stretches out
toward the Pacific. Two other watersheds – the Santa Maria River, which leads
to the renowned Bien Nacido Vineyard, and the Santa Ynez River, which leads to
Ballard Canyon – are equally distant from the shore. “How cool that exactly
24-1/2 miles down these regions we have these beautiful places for growing
Rhone varietal wines,” Mr. Hagen adds.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">If a new AVA
is a boon for vintners who can now highlight a special growing region, it’s an
asset for consumers, too. Anyone looking for world-class syrahs or viogniers
can now seek out the “Alisos Canyon” nomenclature on a wine label and, by
extension, make a more informed purchase.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Alisos
Canyon is Santa Barbara County’s 7<sup>th</sup> AVA, following Santa Maria
Valley (established in 1981), Sanat Ynez Valley (1983), Sta. Rita Hills (2001),
Happy Canyon (2009), Ballard Canyon (2013) and Los Olivos District (2016).</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">###</p>Gabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642052205583790227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3394139486819691598.post-89503747214875092032020-07-09T11:34:00.001-07:002020-10-11T09:23:00.689-07:00New Hands at the Helm: Santa Barbara's Folded Hills Hires New Winemaker<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">An important
change of the guard at Folded Hills: the popular winery has hired a new winemaker.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8JkhKM-T1Ob7nzShx9hlj-LjqqZOEEpKvzp9ALC4a4fXTFwkM3QdcTDOmZQXNlAEx49C7QUDOISHyDIbHeG0fYhVBUf5Mbfgs38kQv3hBdFb_p_kiSZNz4GBZ_FdenDMBR6mX-_R9yz7N/s1600/FD.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="213" data-original-width="800" height="106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8JkhKM-T1Ob7nzShx9hlj-LjqqZOEEpKvzp9ALC4a4fXTFwkM3QdcTDOmZQXNlAEx49C7QUDOISHyDIbHeG0fYhVBUf5Mbfgs38kQv3hBdFb_p_kiSZNz4GBZ_FdenDMBR6mX-_R9yz7N/s400/FD.png" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Michael
Brughelli brings a diverse background to the Folded Hills project, which
operates a sprawling estate and vineyard off Highway 101 in Gaviota and an
elegant tasting room in Montecito. The 38-year-old Nipomo resident gained
particular acclaim with Scar of the Sea, a label he co-founded that’s become a
darling of wine media and consumers, and his stake in which he sold early this
year. Mr. Brughelli has also been director of sales for renowned Bien Nacido Vineyard
and currently operates the wine industry advisory company, Vignerons
Consulting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Most
winemakers are honed-in in one direction, running the vineyard or the winemaking,”
he says. “What I bring to the table is that I know vineyards really well and I
know winemaking really well, and the two form a unique perspective.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mr.
Brughelli’s official title is consulting winemaker, though he says his role is
far more hands-on than the position typically implies. And, as with his
previous viticultural projects, his approach to the Folded Hills wines will be
focused on the estate: its proximity to the coast, its exposure to winds and
its unique soils. “We’ll let the vineyard guide the winemaking process,” he
says. “You let the vineyard inform the decisions you make season after season.”<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOwZWwm-zzGU4Zv4O_7pniIFuJ8Nqps_2wYDRvTJJLIGm_r_NEB9uVtoe0ziZLHYBm258v6FOtWrX_XwTRYBncB50j_wWsUtwzptPHs7yFxbnEeHgx1O_Jfg3X9SZDaCH1NPDZYumqDOZQ/s1600/Michael+Brughelli.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOwZWwm-zzGU4Zv4O_7pniIFuJ8Nqps_2wYDRvTJJLIGm_r_NEB9uVtoe0ziZLHYBm258v6FOtWrX_XwTRYBncB50j_wWsUtwzptPHs7yFxbnEeHgx1O_Jfg3X9SZDaCH1NPDZYumqDOZQ/s400/Michael+Brughelli.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michael Brughelli</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mr.
Brughelli is replacing winemaker Angela Osborne, a New Zealand native who’s
been with Folded Hills from the beginning but who’s leaving now to focus on her
own label, Tribute to Grace, which she founded in 2007. “<span style="background: white; color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">It is a great honour to have a family’s trust be placed in
one’s winemaking hands (or feet),” she sayidin a press release issued last
week, “and I will always be grateful to [owners] Kim and Andy [Busch] for this privilege.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></o:p></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Adds Kim Busch: “Angela Osborne has been a pivotal part of
the success of Folded Hills. Her style of winemaking has been a wonderful
expression of place.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mr.
Brughelli says he’s excited about joining the Folded
Hills team. “It’s a chance to work with great people and to tap into the great
potential on that ranch,” he says.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Folded Hills
launched in 2017 as the pet project of the Busch pair, members of the family behind St.
Louis-based <span style="background: white; color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Anheuser-Busch, the largest
brewery in the world. Aside from close to 1000 animals, their 600-acre Gaviota farmstead
is home to more than 15 acres of grapevines—grenache and syrah grapes that are
farmed organically and biodynamically and that produce most of the Folded Hills
portfolio of close to a dozen wines and an annual output of 5500
cases.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mr. Brughelli’s role begins with oversight of the 2020
vintage, which he says “looks really good” thus far. Grapes will be harvested
this fall and the wines will be made at the state-of-the-art Dierberg/Star Lane
facility in the Happy Canyon area of the Santa Ynez Valley.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Folded Hills tasting rooms are open but operating on a
limited basis due to COVID-19. Reservations are required for visits to the
Gaviota estate and are highly recommended for tastings at the Montecito salon.
Find out more at </span></span><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">foldedhills.com</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mr. Brughelli is also working on his own eponymous label,
Brughelli. His first wines, pinot noir and chardonnay from the 2018 vintage,
should see public release this fall.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">###</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Gabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642052205583790227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3394139486819691598.post-62787725161879397732020-06-22T22:19:00.001-07:002020-10-11T09:25:00.232-07:00The Fairmont Kea Lani's MOANA MIST...as seen on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0IG7xJyV0I" target="_blank">Episode 10 of</a><br />
<div>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0IG7xJyV0I" target="_blank">THE GABE SAGLIE SHOW!</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjabOlpMmDFHuX5IvBDhQOeZEifj_5mt4c9i7-H6LwTD5D2KCPP5INDnlSCX1JLomv5vu2xPEq-ejO-XeyyZ9O4N0cQwFbwCmgYfZCFl1lpR4LguslLfeb9IdFAROHdHd18RPvxO4SscExn/s1600/fkl_cutout_coaster_bottle_recipe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="555" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjabOlpMmDFHuX5IvBDhQOeZEifj_5mt4c9i7-H6LwTD5D2KCPP5INDnlSCX1JLomv5vu2xPEq-ejO-XeyyZ9O4N0cQwFbwCmgYfZCFl1lpR4LguslLfeb9IdFAROHdHd18RPvxO4SscExn/s640/fkl_cutout_coaster_bottle_recipe.jpg" width="589" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Check out <a href="http://fairmontkealani.com/" target="_blank">fairmontkealani.com</a>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
##</div>
Gabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642052205583790227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3394139486819691598.post-81480596118937704082020-05-27T21:44:00.001-07:002020-10-11T09:26:29.535-07:00No Corkscrew, No Problem: Latest Fess Parker Wines Come in a CanYou hear
someone say that they’re about to enjoy a really good glass of rosé. So your
ears perk up and you prepare yourself: will it be the pop of a cork you hear
next, or the turn of a screwcap? With the latest releases from the Fess Parker
family of wines, it’s the cracking snap-back of a pull tab that grips your
attention, and then a big, refreshing, thirst-quenching gulp.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #ffe599;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">To hear more about this latest Epiphany release, check out Gabe sipping with Fess Parker Winery's Ashley & Tim Snider on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEKjPNvnjVc" target="_blank">Episode 5 of The Gabe Saglie Show</a>!</span></i></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2BqVqa8TB1vyjtds0DkaAHhew5DGSZymQqqUYogKqh_hBioQAfrZRXam0paSiyK-Qh1ornqIxzEGI3bx6QYbRwqUpLhwWuC7RF54qIMDtS_v5x5cMeQD1_0u_tjtMFflCca21QqD6wGxz/s1600/epiphany+cans1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2BqVqa8TB1vyjtds0DkaAHhew5DGSZymQqqUYogKqh_hBioQAfrZRXam0paSiyK-Qh1ornqIxzEGI3bx6QYbRwqUpLhwWuC7RF54qIMDtS_v5x5cMeQD1_0u_tjtMFflCca21QqD6wGxz/s400/epiphany+cans1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Epiphany
Cellars, a label specializing in Rhone wines that was launched by Fess’ son,
Eli, and that’s celebrating its 20<sup>th</sup> anniversary, launched two wines
this month that come in 375-ml. aluminum cans. True, wine-in-a-can is not new. But
the caliber of what’s in these cans, along with their portability and
approachability, makes them remarkable.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Both cans –
a Grenache Rosé and a Grenache Blanc – feature grapes sourced from Rodney’s
Vineyard, a noteworthy plot planted in 1989 that sits in the heart of the
Parker Family ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley. For years, it’s produced
sophisticated, complex, award-winning syrahs – some of the best syrahs out of
Santa Barbara County. The 2017 Rodney’s Vineyard Syrah sells for $54 on the
Fess Parker Winery website.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The fruit
source alone, then, adds to these wines’ remarkable value: the cans, which are
the equivalent of a half-bottle, or two tall glasses, sell in four-packs for
$44, or $11 a can, or $5.50 a glass.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
“It’s a
personal portion, if you will,” quips Ashley Parker, Fess’ daughter, as we sip
on the rosé. “Let’s be honest, hardly anyone I know has just one glass of wine,
they have at least two!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Grenache
Rosé is beautiful – worth pouring out of the can and into a glass simply to
gaze at it, with its brilliant watermelon hues. It was <span style="color: #1d2228;">100%
barrel fermented in neutral French oak for four months. Aromas remind you of
cherries, flavors smack of pink grapefruit and the pop on the tongue is
bracing. It’s delicious. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1d2228;">The Grenche Blanc was aged five months in a 100%
stainless steel tank, so it’s zippy and fresh. “This one, I drink right out of
the can,” adds Ashley. I ask if a straw would be OK. No problem. Honeydew hits
the nose, zesty citrus hugs the palate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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“When we were
going down this road and thinking thru this project, we wanted wines that were
approachable right now,” adds Fess Parker Winery president (and Ashley’s
husband) Tim Snider. “We wanted wines that were fresh and bright and that lent
themselves to going to the beach, going on a hike – even, these days, socially
distanced happy hours.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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“Someone
asked me, ‘What’s their shelf life?’” he continues. Both cans are super young,
from the 2019 vintage. “These styles of wines are made to drink now, they’re
not intended for aging. Enjoy them, drink them, we’ll make more!”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228;">The artwork for the cans was inspired by the natural
beauty of California as viewed from the family estate and Rodney’s Vineyard:
the iconic California poppy for the Grenache Blanc, and hand-drawn roses
for the Rosé. The cans were designed by Buffalo Brothers Studios in Santa
Barbara, the same firm that led Epiphany’s original branding when the
label launched in 2000.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228;">The canned wines, ideal for summer sipping, are available
for pickup at the Epiphany tasting room in Los Olivos or can be bought online
at </span><a href="http://www.epiphanywineco.com/">epiphanywineco.com</a><span style="color: #1d2228;">; the winery is offering $10 flat rate shipping for any
online orders through May 31. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2228;">An interesting side note: with tasting rooms mandated closed
for more than two months, the Fess Parker team has pivoted hard toward
e-commerce, which has resulted in online sales jumping an amazing 300%.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Find out more at </span><a href="http://www.fessparker.com/">fessparker.com</a><span style="color: #1d2228;">.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
Cheers!<br />
<br />
<br />
###Gabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642052205583790227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3394139486819691598.post-65428891294343674142020-05-12T13:57:00.001-07:002020-10-11T09:25:52.226-07:00Cookie Alert: Greyson's Scrumptious Snickerdoodles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<strong>AS SEEN ON:</strong></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEa1rx6aJAc" target="_blank">THE GABE SAGLIE SHOW, EPISODE 1</a></strong></div>
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Gabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642052205583790227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3394139486819691598.post-87003918882014067192020-04-24T12:00:00.002-07:002020-10-11T09:28:44.924-07:00Clink for a Cause: Santa Barbara Couple Selling Unique Wine Glasses to Aid Restaurant Industry<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Sarah Boggs
likes to reminisce about living out her formative years in New Orleans.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“People were
constantly outside, constantly enjoying neighbors and friends, constantly going
to festivals,” she recalls.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“And they
were always drinking!”</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Her move to
Santa Barbara provided much of the same: an outdoor-driven lifestyle and plenty
of good wine to drink. “We’re always outside, hiking or going to the beach, and
the weather is always perfect,” says the mother of two and professor of English
at Santa Barbara City College.</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT3cVBwMC14pIlkDOPkijJe1HdUvC6ueW4D_PoNcTV7VfemuJ78aXTK4HuBi1FMOCgk_dkYkPYO5_IPVEKlsx8LCXE-B5MIfRkmDosivYOShjFtvJ5BzXDLPmyDnylocKFRLb7-Pj-tfJl/s1600/wine+outside3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT3cVBwMC14pIlkDOPkijJe1HdUvC6ueW4D_PoNcTV7VfemuJ78aXTK4HuBi1FMOCgk_dkYkPYO5_IPVEKlsx8LCXE-B5MIfRkmDosivYOShjFtvJ5BzXDLPmyDnylocKFRLb7-Pj-tfJl/s400/wine+outside3.jpeg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">But one
thing was missing: “I just wanted to be able to drink good wine outside from a
nice, unbreakable wine glass.”</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Boggs and
her husband, Peter Oblander, a geologist and environmental consultant, launched
Wine Outside in 2015. The premise of their side business: provide a drinking
vessel that looks good, feels good and makes sipping outdoors safe and
convenient, even elegant.</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2oO9Ft0lLnJpvYwsobBZUovxwu719ugtoZSMqdigg9zH60_s5ptw_5gYo3c348TofGbF52faYD4tALwihoo5MdqEYiWCkbK4E5nTnHJZh9eOUq4-NpKwl5JhyyjexNQkviRDAGGDRUhh8/s1600/wine+outside1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2oO9Ft0lLnJpvYwsobBZUovxwu719ugtoZSMqdigg9zH60_s5ptw_5gYo3c348TofGbF52faYD4tALwihoo5MdqEYiWCkbK4E5nTnHJZh9eOUq4-NpKwl5JhyyjexNQkviRDAGGDRUhh8/s400/wine+outside1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sarah and Peter and their daughters, Maddie and Grace</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Wine Outside
features a diverse line of 18-ounce stemless tumblers that look a whole lot
like crystal.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“One of the
things that’s extraordinary is that you can’t tell – until you pick it up –
that it’s not glass,” says Boggs. “They also hold their shape, just like glass,
unlike the give of some of those cheaper plastic glasses. And the rim is really
smooth.”</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Making it
especially well-suited for sipping poolside or at the beach or in the middle of
a forest: they are, for all intents and purposes, shatterproof.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“If you drop
it on the floor, nothing happens, it just bounces,” says Boggs. It’s a quality
that actually makes them indoor-friendly, too, especially in households with
thirsty kids and mishap-prone adults who want something simple but stylish from
which to sip.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The Wine
Outside products are made from Eastman Tritan, a plastics alterative – a co-polyester
– that is tough, lighter than glass and warp-resistant. The glasses are free of
industrial chemicals like BPA and EA. And they are dishwasher-safe.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The glasses
sell throughout the South Coast, including Santa Barbara Gift Baskets, the
Riviera Towel Company and the El Capitan Beach Store. Gelson’s and the
gates-side sundries shop at the Santa Barbara Airport carry them, too, at $25
for a four-pack of plain glasses or a two-pack of glasses printed with a Santa
Barbara logo. The Canary Hotel in downtown Santa Barbara uses them for their
guests’ welcome pour at check-in and when the rooftop bar – with those awesome
360-degree views – is open.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">And now, a
new set of Wine Outside glasses. Two weeks ago, driven to act by the COVID
fallout, the company introduced glasses printed with logos in the shapes of
California and Texas – golden backdrops with a single heart in red, pink, teal or
silver. Fifty perfect of the proceeds from the sale of these limited-edition glasses
-- $40 for a set of four and $24 for a pair – go to Houston-based <a href="https://southernsmoke.org/" target="_blank">Southern Smoke Foundation</a>, whose emergency drive provides funds to people in the food and
beverage industry affected by the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Being a
foodie, and going out to eat lot, I really feel for restaurant workers,” says
Boggs. “It’s one of the most obvious parts of our community that needs our
support.”</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Check out <a href="http://www.wineoutside.com/" target="_blank">wineoutside.com</a>. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">### <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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Gabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642052205583790227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3394139486819691598.post-13625831454895497732020-04-02T09:23:00.002-07:002020-10-11T09:23:33.587-07:00Finding Opportunity in a Shutdown: How Santa Barbara’s Wine Industry is Taking on Coronavirus<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The grinding
halt wrought by a virus sprinting across the globe has certainly not spared the
Santa Barbara wine industry. These are businesses that depend on foot traffic,
on one-to-one connections, on personalized experience. Shut that down, as the
recent mandate by Governor Newsom (understandably) did, asking all wineries and
tasting rooms to temporarily close, and that critical connection, and the
revenue it inevitably generates, comes to a standstill.</span><br />
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</div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Even the big
players get hurt. Most Santa Barbara wineries, though, are individual
endeavors, passion projects, and labors of love for many of our friends and
neighbors. For them, the current reality is a scramble to stay afloat until
we’re all on the downward slide of the coronavirus curve. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">And to that
end, local winemakers are doing everything but standing still.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Riverbench used a 2-camera setup to livestream its virtual tasting on<br />
Facebook last week and then archive the video on YouTube</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">This week,
Riverbench Vineyards launched a virtual tasting of the wines in their latest
wine club shipment, which went out to thousands of club members in early March.
The tasting was led by the winery’s Director of Hospitality, Danae Smith, and
was broadcast live on Facebook. Those who tuned in got insight into, and
tasting notes for, Riverbench’s 2018 Estate Chardonnay, 2016 Reserve Pinot Noir
and 2017 Blanc de Blancs Sparkling Wine, all grown from grapes on the label’s
Santa Maria Valley property. They also got to sip with others, of course, which
is always better than drinking alone. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">A second
DSLR camera recorded the session, which allowed the team to upload the video to
YouTube. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“We didn’t
want to something just for tomorrow,” says Riverbench communications director
Wil Fernandez. “If we’re going to create content, let’s think long term, let’s
do something we’ll continue to do [even after the coronavirus scare] because it
just make sense.” Indeed, moving forward, Riverbench is planning on doing
virtual tastings in conjunction with all wine club shipments, which go out three
times a year.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Riverbench is hosting a virtual tasting of library wines on April 4th, a virtual vineyard tour on April 8th and a virtual Easter egg hunt on April 11th. Check out <a href="http://facebook.com/Riverbench" target="_blank">Riverbench's Facebook page</a>.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinrMbKOjRsgpy05AwOXaEZgAdl8D4lxjhWs1ZU-lW2hKwQOCflVQSUo9JGX295a06Hru1v8ty-iRV0IykMFTt7B_qji9xUYP3ClgJGXWVufYC4XYHNNZvrFXdtwANh5kVMKOlrS5Q7gU_5/s1600/Pouring-Wine-Portrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1217" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinrMbKOjRsgpy05AwOXaEZgAdl8D4lxjhWs1ZU-lW2hKwQOCflVQSUo9JGX295a06Hru1v8ty-iRV0IykMFTt7B_qji9xUYP3ClgJGXWVufYC4XYHNNZvrFXdtwANh5kVMKOlrS5Q7gU_5/s320/Pouring-Wine-Portrait.jpg" width="243" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Keeping wine
club membership engaged is key for a company like Riverbench, whose club
accounts for about a third of its business. The other two-thirds are almost
entirely driven by visitation to its two tasting rooms in Santa Maria and in
Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone, which remain shuttered. Third-party retail, a very
small portion of the business under usual circumstances, is being ramped up now
to offset the fallout, with distributors in states like Missouri and Kansas,
along with California, pushing Riverbench wine into grocery store chains like
Ralphs.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">And to support employees in the short
term, the way business is done at Riverbench has also changed. Instead of
outsourcing wine club shipments, which can take weeks, tasting room employees
have taken on the task. And the winery’s phone number – 805-937-8340 – has been
turned into a wine tasting hotline, meant to encourage customers to call in
with orders, questions or “just to chat with someone else,” says Fernandez.
Calls are forwarded to the cell phones of different employees, who are working
from home now, each day, and average call times have gone from under two
minutes to more than 15.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Virtual tastings have become the flavor
of the day across the wine industry, with myriad wineries tapping their
customer base through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, among other
platforms. With the J. Wilkes Wines tasting room inside the Hotel Californian
closed to visitors, for example, winemaker Wes Hagen launched daily 5pm virtual
tasting and educational conversation on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/wes4wine/" target="_blank">his Facebook page</a>. And the
Wine Militia, an LA-based marketing company, this week launched daily virtual
tastings at 6pm on their Instagram account (@thewinemilitia), featuring a
different Santa Barbara County label each day; consumers are linked to online
shops to purchase featured wines ahead of time so they can sip along when they
tine in.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Online commerce, of course, is the
primary defense against the coronavirus consequence. Most every local winery is
offering incentives to get imbibers to shop online, in lieu of visiting their
tasting rooms in person. Shipping is either included or deeply discounted on
most orders. And then you’ve got creative hustlers like Jamie Slone, who, after
having to close his tasting room in Santa Barbara El Presidio neighborhood to
visitors, is hand-delivering wines for free to doorsteps from Goleta to Ventura; check out the <a href="http://jamieslonewines.com/" target="_blank">Jamie Slone Wines website</a>. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">I<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDMy1moPo50CHO1RVrv_1JkBncvvutAK1YnUZ7amcKRm2Dj8-3r5gJ6EFnRBqol9HglZoOHQ-CsAKtAOn1Qno0LTmSAY1o1AIfVa5a0FQLdlYV2LeaBe28ieLH7cbf8ny9o-1m2th6rDB7/s1600/Tercero+shipping.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDMy1moPo50CHO1RVrv_1JkBncvvutAK1YnUZ7amcKRm2Dj8-3r5gJ6EFnRBqol9HglZoOHQ-CsAKtAOn1Qno0LTmSAY1o1AIfVa5a0FQLdlYV2LeaBe28ieLH7cbf8ny9o-1m2th6rDB7/s400/Tercero+shipping.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Tercero Wines tasting rooms is ground zero for shipping orders</td></tr>
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n Los Olivos, Tercero winemaker Larry Schaffer,
who can’t welcome visitors at his popular Los Olivos tasting room right now,
admits he’s concerned about the next few weeks. “Margins, in the short term,
will not be good,” he admits. But he sees opportunity during the coronavirus
crisis, too, especially in the way wineries like his, which are driven by
direct-to-consumer sales, are now able to focus on bolstering client
relationships. “I’m sending longer handwritten notes along with each shipment
right now,” he says, “and I’m not sending anything out until I’ve confirmed
addresses on my mailing list on a one-by-one basis.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Schaffer is gearing up for his own
virtual tasting soon, and he’s including shipping and offering a 20% discount
(30% for his wine club members) on all orders of six bottles or more, at
<a href="http://tercerowines.com/" target="_blank">tercerowines.com</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Cheers.</span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">###<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Gabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642052205583790227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3394139486819691598.post-4863999350037865182020-02-07T09:54:00.002-08:002020-10-11T09:30:09.841-07:00The Bet on Rhone that Paid Off: Epiphany Cellars Turns 20<span style="font-family: "calibri";">When Eli
Parker launched his pet project, Epiphany Cellars, 20 years ago, his dad had
doubts.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbFjOVsSAv77sslZvbnMrkVXoP-J052FyqCMOu1r_FrJMstoIGZ9pjsP8FfF-eoiXTeRnel9N2rq4KRUKCbgUCe4KMtizXtuK98txERfjcOPrJERjxW0Hr_pySTun6LrKUf2G2kIT6pLBK/s1600/Epiphany+bottles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbFjOVsSAv77sslZvbnMrkVXoP-J052FyqCMOu1r_FrJMstoIGZ9pjsP8FfF-eoiXTeRnel9N2rq4KRUKCbgUCe4KMtizXtuK98txERfjcOPrJERjxW0Hr_pySTun6LrKUf2G2kIT6pLBK/s400/Epiphany+bottles.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“He was not
thrilled with what he perceived to be a distraction at the time,” says the
vintner, referencing Fess Parker, the Disney icon who launched his eponymous
wine brand in 1989. Ten years in, the label, anchored on a sweeping 700-acre
ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley that remains the family homestead today, had
already won fame for a diverse portfolio of wines. A new label might dilute its
visibility in the marketplace.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The new
venture was timed right, though, thanks to several factors that had come into
play in the 1990s; indeed, the family’s beloved patriarch would soon have a
change of heart. Syrah, the flagship grape of the Rhone grape varieties – as
in, originating in the Rhone region of France – saw a surge in popularity
during the final decade of the 20<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> century. It meant, on the one
hand, that the marketplace became flooded with cheap renditions of syrah.
“Consumers embraced it at the $10-to-$12 price point but then couldn’t
understand the other, more expensive end of the spectrum,” recalls Mr. Parker.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">But the
younger Parker’s own travels in the 90s to places like France, where Rhone wine
production was well established, and Australia, where wines like syrah were
getting a fresh new spin, solidified his love for all things Rhone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The more I drank those wines, the more I
loved those wines,” he says, and he quickly came to the realization that “the
Rhone set is really what I had a passion for.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin01Jo0JA5kBnbIa7f23LTadmoHdLA-jnjyzM3LE2Dm6GBaQ-xbVFrO6-fcZS3CbKDjYSyuKTM_KfI8V_mHzronPXwmk9zS7xR2XIQbV43c4MMMfC65i_TS7QuRncUB94yfNC_EMbo4GOg/s1600/Eli+Parker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin01Jo0JA5kBnbIa7f23LTadmoHdLA-jnjyzM3LE2Dm6GBaQ-xbVFrO6-fcZS3CbKDjYSyuKTM_KfI8V_mHzronPXwmk9zS7xR2XIQbV43c4MMMfC65i_TS7QuRncUB94yfNC_EMbo4GOg/s400/Eli+Parker.jpg" width="352" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eli Parker</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">At this time
– the clock was quickly ticking toward a new millennium – the Fess Parker label
was fine-tuning its own focus in earnest, thanks to new leadership from Tim
Snider, an E & J Gallo alum who joined the family business in 1999 (and
who’d soon become Eli’s brother-in-law). The brand’s hard pivot toward pinot
noir and chardonnay cleared the way for Eli to focus on Rhone varieties in
earnest: syrah, for sure, plus lesser-known red grapes like grenache and
mourvedre, and whites like viognier, roussanne and grenache blanc. The first
releases of wine under the Epiphany Cellars label were small lot experiments
that Eli conducted with then-winemaker Brett Escalera (who’s with the Sanger Family
of Wines in Solvang now), including the syrah-grenache amalgam known as
Revelation ($49), which remains a flagship Epiphany blend to this day.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Twenty years
later, Epiphany Cellars is one of the best vintage-by-vintage snapshots in all
of Santa Barbara County, and in all of California, of the potential of Rhone
grapes. The label produces various vineyard-specific syrahs, bottles rare finds
like the red grape counoise on their own and produces phenomenal blends,
including one of my favorites, Gypsy ($29). Grapes are sourced locally,
including Rodney’s Vineyard on the family ranch for some of the best bottlings,
and as far away as Napa. With Eli taking a more supervisorial role, the label
is in the hands of winemaker phenom Blair Fox.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“He’s a
Rhone fanatic, too, and we have similar palates,” says Mr. Parker. “If I had to
hand over the program to anyone, Blair was a no brainer. His whole team is
amazing.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqB8qzYkMJIbCj5AECTfUkIBtI5AL_K6uF0_sJJhY_uKOjt8AZQy46t1wMptJaeZsiurqhGRiEkvEUItltba5G60cqDG6T4yDe_9zpMymqhwbs46arCeXuxI7w0C6SUhudZkhwBNte5XDG/s1600/Epiphany+tasting+room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqB8qzYkMJIbCj5AECTfUkIBtI5AL_K6uF0_sJJhY_uKOjt8AZQy46t1wMptJaeZsiurqhGRiEkvEUItltba5G60cqDG6T4yDe_9zpMymqhwbs46arCeXuxI7w0C6SUhudZkhwBNte5XDG/s400/Epiphany+tasting+room.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Epiphany tasting room in downtown Los Olivos</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Indeed, Mr.
Blair and his crew handle winemaking for the Parker family’s entire production
of more than 70,000 cases a year, including the Fess Parker label, the
Fesstivity group of sparklers and the Addendum line of high-end Napa cabernet.
The Epiphany lineup is available for tasting daily at its sleek, breezy tasting
room along Grand Avenue in Los Olivos.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Epiphany’s
20<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> birthday will be celebrated February 29th from 6-9pm during a
special event inside the Fess Parker Winery barrel room. Open That Bottle
Night, an annual commemorative day launched by Wall Street Journal wine writers
Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher, encourages wine fans to – finally – open and
enjoy that special bottle that’s long been sitting in their wine racks,
awaiting a special occasion. At the Parker family’s event, library wines,
including bottlings from throughout Epiphany’s 20-year history, will be poured,
and guests are encouraged to bring their own special wine to share. The event
is limited to 80 people, so get your tickets at <a href="http://epiphanywineco.com/" target="_blank">epiphanywineco.com</a></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">. I’ll see you
there!</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Cheers!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">###</span>Gabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642052205583790227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3394139486819691598.post-16094072276628450782020-01-25T07:40:00.005-08:002020-10-11T09:30:58.181-07:00More Than Just Food: Santa Ynez Valley Restaurant Weeks Target Wine Lovers, Too<span style="font-family: calibri;">Have you
seen all the promos for Restaurant Week? It’s a national phenomenon throughout
the winter season, actually: destinations leveraging the appeal of their top
chefs (and the allure of value) to entice consumers and beef up foot traffic
during a historically slow travel time of the year. Santa Barbara’s Restaurant
Week returns February 21 through March 6 and will feature prix-fixe menus at
top-tier eateries all around town; in Montecito, they’ll include Lucky’s and
the Biltmore’s Bella Vista.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8LMvDyIv0Pwn8FaqAnJ8B16Me8n2V9FvsT5YWFQxvs7lCB4GU8V5mYu0cn4dxrJY2SmV9PN1DmWlsBwP_ZV1hO0fk-UAdq-3YfbQmR8pPDWfziT2YJ5M1dXEBmP8el1sD2R4VhnwB5UIV/s1600/SYV+Restaurant+Weeks3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8LMvDyIv0Pwn8FaqAnJ8B16Me8n2V9FvsT5YWFQxvs7lCB4GU8V5mYu0cn4dxrJY2SmV9PN1DmWlsBwP_ZV1hO0fk-UAdq-3YfbQmR8pPDWfziT2YJ5M1dXEBmP8el1sD2R4VhnwB5UIV/s400/SYV+Restaurant+Weeks3.jpeg" width="270" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The $20.20 3-course menu at Solvang's First & Oak includes<br />
a chocolate mousse dessert w/dulce de leche &crisp honeycomb<br />
(credit: Tenley Fohl Photography)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The one I’m
really excited about is the one happening throughout the Santa Ynez Valley
right now. It’s Restaurant Weeks, actually – plural – since its run from this
past Sunday through January 31<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> will have offered hungry travelers
almost two full weeks of tasty savings. The promotion screams “staycation,” by
the way, with several hotels offering discounts and free upgrades during the
Weeks’ run.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Santa Ynez
Valley Restaurant Weeks launched in 2010 and has successfully spotlighted the
remarkable dining that the zone’s six towns – Buellton, Solvang, Ballard, Los
Olivos, Santa Ynez and Los Alamos – have to offer. To be sure, though, it’s a
dining scene that’s an offshoot of the viticulture that’s been flourishing there
for decades.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="color: #201f1e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“We’ve had
incredible wine crafted in the Santa Ynez Valley for over 50 years, but our
burgeoning culinary scene is relatively new,” says Shelby Sim, President and
CEO of Visit the Santa Ynez Valley. “Restaurant Weeks is a great time to sample
all that we have to offer at an unbeatable price: at $20.20 for a three-course
meal, you can visit several restaurants over the two weeks without breaking the
bank!”</span></span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjryAT2Sa4JwS470tOmS6Ab5a9DZsFpf22Z4TVQQWal7WR5Y0uuuSGIhgDtuvCRarirKEmjlqXlOaF7nkfSDZdexbDlAFwQ1wHEinilIqqaQkkvnFJsmcWGhzMGfNSJlpqeYV0Mp60kBchZ/s1600/SYV+Restaurant+Weeks2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjryAT2Sa4JwS470tOmS6Ab5a9DZsFpf22Z4TVQQWal7WR5Y0uuuSGIhgDtuvCRarirKEmjlqXlOaF7nkfSDZdexbDlAFwQ1wHEinilIqqaQkkvnFJsmcWGhzMGfNSJlpqeYV0Mp60kBchZ/s400/SYV+Restaurant+Weeks2.jpeg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The $20.20 3-course menu at Los Alamos' Cisko Kid includes<br />
a Smoked Lamb Pozole Verde w/Santa Ynez Valley heirloom corn<br />
(credit: Visit Santa Ynez Valley)</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #201f1e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="color: #201f1e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="color: #201f1e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">More than 30
restaurants are participating this year. At Cecco Ristorante in Solvang, home
to what is probably the best pizza crust in all of Santa Barbara County, Chef
David Cecchini’s special three-course menu features starter options like a
seared diver scallop crudo and smoked salmon carpaccio and entrée selections
like Risotto al Mercato, Pizza Bianca and Bistecca al Vino Rosso; everyone gets
Affogato for dessert, that sumptuous espresso-gelato treat. A mouthwatering
deal, indeed, at $20.20.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #201f1e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="color: #201f1e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="color: #201f1e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">First &
Oak in Solvang, which nabbed special recognition in Michelin’s California guide
last year, has a trio of courses that includes a wild mushroom risotto main and
chocolate mousse for dessert; they’re also doing a four-course menu for $40.20
and a five-course meal for $58.20. And at the Los Olivos Café in the historic
haven of Los Olivos, the $20.20 prix-fixe main options include sage fettuccini,
buttermilk fried chicken and rock shrimp risotto. </span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #201f1e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="color: #201f1e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="color: #201f1e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Chef Conrad
Gonzalez at Cisko Kid [in Los Alamos] will use locally sourced heirloom corn to
take his dishes to the next farm-to-table level,” Sim told me, “while Luca
Crestanelli and his team at S.Y. Kitchen [in Santa Ynez] will offer dishes not
part of the regular menu, like Zuppa Celestina, which features a clear beef
broth with thinly sliced crepes.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #201f1e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="color: #201f1e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="color: #201f1e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">In Buellton,
Jeff and Janet Olson of Industrial Eats continue their annual charitable push
with a culturally-inspired menu which, this year, features recipes from the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) and whose proceeds benefit
humanitarian causes in that Central African nation. Down the street, at the
Hitching Post II, beef buffs get to choose from a top sirloin steak, a New York
steak or sirloin-and-quail combo, along with chicken, pork chops and fish
dishes; there’s bittersweet chocolate tart with whipped cream for dessert and,
as a bonus, special pricing on their popular Hometown pinot noir.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI4-vISinB_hWB2ZYhSyVMbtYbaBhjHh_YKlqSb4py-V-W0hldbLO6Lx4dnEYki-XfTXTr0PaT0XekmFv_Dha7_yOGoa379pzQqCyTFVVnHiBiW23X_3HcMGgQtx-YVFSqN2nzJtosM-VO/s1600/HP1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI4-vISinB_hWB2ZYhSyVMbtYbaBhjHh_YKlqSb4py-V-W0hldbLO6Lx4dnEYki-XfTXTr0PaT0XekmFv_Dha7_yOGoa379pzQqCyTFVVnHiBiW23X_3HcMGgQtx-YVFSqN2nzJtosM-VO/s400/HP1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In Buellton, the Hitching Post Wines team -- Frank Ostini & Gray Hartley -- are offering<br />
special pricing on lunch &wine during Santa Ynez Valley's Restaurant Weeks</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #201f1e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="color: #201f1e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="color: #201f1e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">In fact,
wineries and tasting rooms are taking part in Restaurant Weeks, too. At their
new wine tasting room right next door, the Hitching Post team is offering a
special $20.20 pricing on bottles of their outstanding Santa Maria Valley
pinot, along with an exclusive lunch-with-wine menu. At nearby Alma Rosa
Winery, the pet project by wine pioneer Richard Sanford, a special $20.20
tasting fee adds their delicious bubbly to the regular lineup, and guests enjoy
artisan cheeses. At their Gaviota tasting spot off Highway 101, Folded Hills is
offering a charcuterie board accompanies the wine tasting. And at sprawling
Pence Vineyards off Highway 246, on the way toward the coast, $20.20 is the
price for wine sipping with cheese and charcuterie, as well as a vineyard tour.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #201f1e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="color: #201f1e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="color: #201f1e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Here’s the
bottom line: some of the best eating in California exists in the Santa Ynez
Valley. If a promo like Restaurant Weeks succeeds in filling seats during low
season with lovers of food and wine who would have otherwise missed out, then
it’s a win-win to be sure. Check out the menus and plan your visit at <a href="http://dinesyv.com/" target="_blank">DineSYV.com</a></span></span><span style="color: #201f1e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">. </span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #201f1e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="color: #201f1e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="color: #201f1e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Cheers!</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #201f1e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="color: #201f1e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="color: #201f1e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><em>Want more wine, food & travel stories? Follow me on <a href="http://twitter.con/gabesaglie" target="_blank">Twitter </a>& <a href="http://instagram.com/gabesaglie" target="_blank">Instagram</a>!</em></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">###<o:p></o:p></span>Gabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642052205583790227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3394139486819691598.post-63746252758695686072019-12-27T11:51:00.002-08:002020-10-11T09:31:55.817-07:00Seasonal Suds: Santa Barbara Sparkling Wines Abound<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Sales of
sparkling wines are on the rise right now, historically soaring between the
Thanksgiving and New Year’s holidays. Sparklers connote celebration, of course.
They’re a great option to have on hand for rich holiday meals, too, since the
effervescence in every sip cleanses the palate of the richness in every bite.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvvL5jMHAFoyDiIA0TDCwEGUuueHFhkZlPpDxM6VqhY-EkHOFh4uKmSfOv94CPG3YoXbx2QYmm43NMrejd-tTwNGH0rumeRalodU7o2aks5n2xhSZNVyWbq_pGYXUaJJZCTPwriad9trC1/s1600/Lafond+sparkling+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvvL5jMHAFoyDiIA0TDCwEGUuueHFhkZlPpDxM6VqhY-EkHOFh4uKmSfOv94CPG3YoXbx2QYmm43NMrejd-tTwNGH0rumeRalodU7o2aks5n2xhSZNVyWbq_pGYXUaJJZCTPwriad9trC1/s400/Lafond+sparkling+4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The French
and their fancy Champagnes give us plenty of options, of course, as do the
Italians with their prosecco, the Spaniards with their cava and the Germans
with their sekt. Napa and Sonoma producers have fantastic alternatives, too.
But why go any further than Santa Barbara County?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Mirroring a
surging consumer demand for all things sparkly, the number of Santa Barbara
County wine producers dabbling in bubbly has popped in recent years. My own
rudimentary county puts the number at close to 50, which means about a third of
our region’s wineries have decided that the extra mile they must go to produce
wines awash in tiny pearls is well worth it. The newest entry comes from a true
original, Santa Barbara Winery, the county’s very first winery, established by
architect-turned-vintner Pierre Lafond in 1962. I admire the way this
recognizable brand continues to run on a family-driven ethos: when I visited
their downtown winery last month, Mr. Lafond himself was on site, inspecting
the day’s shipments, along with daughter Michelle and son David, as well as
several longtime employees. Granddaughter Madeleine was there, too; it was her
social media post a few days earlier that had alerted me to the release of
their first-ever sparkling wine.</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPzw9PYnU3kurTPLXRywa38c64cyjbeCrppLPmrloh6aHU278qJlRiBMLk-pRCXsJoUIQF2Q8oYyyx9nwVV01IUrTHOL8w5zSJI4ffXt132cplyWJQsOWsFl2wPQMHTYPqu0uNErGAU9xb/s1600/Lafond+sparkling+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1460" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPzw9PYnU3kurTPLXRywa38c64cyjbeCrppLPmrloh6aHU278qJlRiBMLk-pRCXsJoUIQF2Q8oYyyx9nwVV01IUrTHOL8w5zSJI4ffXt132cplyWJQsOWsFl2wPQMHTYPqu0uNErGAU9xb/s400/Lafond+sparkling+3.jpg" width="295" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“It felt
like it was time,” winemaker Bruce McGuire told me as he handed me a bottle of
the 2017 Sparkling Rosé ($49). McGuire has been making wine here since 1981,
and his new foray into bubbles was driven by the Lafond family’s desire to add
something new and special to their remarkable portfolio of wines. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sparkler is made with pinot noir from
Burning Creek Ranch in the lauded Sta. Rita Hills region near Lompoc. The still
wine was made first and then shipped to a Sonoma facility called Rack &
Riddle that took it through the traditional <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">methode
champenoise</i> to bring the bubbles to life. Periodic samples were sent down
to Mr. McGuire throughout the nearly two-year process, until he made the
ultimate call that it was ready for bottling. The Lafonds tasted it for weeks
before the call was made in November that the bubbly was ready for
release.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Only 200
cases of the 2017 Sparkling Rosé were made, split evenly between the Santa
Barbara Winery and sister Lafond Winery brands. Regardless of label, this wine
is Champagne-inspired and refreshing and delicious at once, with red berry
aromas, clean citrus flavors and a dry, elegant, lip-smacking finish. Buy it at
the tasting room at 202 Anacapa Street, just down from State Street, or <a href="https://www.sbwinery.com/product-page/2017-sparkling-ros%C3%A9-sta-rita-hills" target="_blank">online</a>.</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBb1T-QLzYOFji8zb1cTPSxkZ6Y1hX-uvhfAEdnyrIXUeueXFHZ9xMLYfZI90f8xQjrk0AoZc6B7jCBBJYokyfqGynbmjcVaGmQvU8X_F1B8guidoQbQsOpTlBHUoUnOWgdzkrIDCif54L/s1600/Lafond+sparkling+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1080" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBb1T-QLzYOFji8zb1cTPSxkZ6Y1hX-uvhfAEdnyrIXUeueXFHZ9xMLYfZI90f8xQjrk0AoZc6B7jCBBJYokyfqGynbmjcVaGmQvU8X_F1B8guidoQbQsOpTlBHUoUnOWgdzkrIDCif54L/s640/Lafond+sparkling+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Santa Barbara Winery/Lafond Winery team welcomes their new bubbly, including founder Pierre Lafond (far left) and winemaker Bruce McGuire (second from left)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEpFPIRGJuMFJ6tu8rezpOUPw1FJtm99cujhfitBBTnlnt_N6VAiRPgR4SH13BmSIsRv1iXCHBLhHnEA3IOrlV3TStYMx4SVHIfofRY-zEqDMtssXeDMr1quB9MHXS_SnIVHhdXRKqsXA_/s1600/Folded+hills+sparkler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEpFPIRGJuMFJ6tu8rezpOUPw1FJtm99cujhfitBBTnlnt_N6VAiRPgR4SH13BmSIsRv1iXCHBLhHnEA3IOrlV3TStYMx4SVHIfofRY-zEqDMtssXeDMr1quB9MHXS_SnIVHhdXRKqsXA_/s320/Folded+hills+sparkler.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Folded Hills' new bubbly</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The sparkler
from Folded Hills is new, too. Their 2017 Sparkling Lilly Rosé ($65), from
winemaker Angela Osborne, is a tribute to matriarch Lilly Anheuser and the six
generations of formidable Anheuser-Busch women since.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Zesty, crisp and brimming with berry notes,
this bouncy bubbly is made with grenache grapes grown on the family’s sprawling
Santa Ynez Valley estate near Gaviota, just off Highway 101. Folded Hills
officially launched the Sparkling Lilly Rosé during a wine club members-only
affair at its Coast Village Rd. tasting room in early December.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Other
regional producers of sparkling wines of note include winemaker Norm Yost’s
Flying Goat Cellars, which launched its Goat Bubbles lineup of sparkling wines
10 years ago; Yost, who now makes five distinct sparkles each year, and all by
hand at his Lompoc winery, is considered the first serious sparkling wine
producer in Santa Barbara County. Fess Parker Winery impresses every year with
its own traditional expressions of the bubbly stuff; their Bubble Shack in
downtown Los Olivos is a haven for seekers of all things fizzy. And Riverbench
Winery, which sources pinot noir and chardonnay from its Santa Maria Valley
vineyards for its annual sparkling wine releases, puts out consistently great
bubblies, too.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Cheers!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">###<o:p></o:p></span>Gabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642052205583790227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3394139486819691598.post-86261547325216202682019-11-10T11:09:00.001-08:002020-04-21T12:10:57.387-07:00Bye-Bye Bottle: Wine in Aluminum Cans is Becoming All the Rage<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I enjoyed a
lovely rosé wine over the weekend. It was refreshing, with a pretty light pink
hue, a delicate fizz on the tongue and yummy flavors of red berries and citrus.
The finish was especially quenching – dry, perky and clean.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii6shBYP4sk-IX9opGHiU4JBC0CsduIKSMf3Df9tOI-rGzhDscO1uZhZVyYZLwDY3t0Wd7-vhPSONl1XxXOErkVB_qrjzbi83lfbUcAGm2XDQ2uYNIAFq9kku-GAadB2WFmufg6pJMRemO/s1600/Nomikai1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii6shBYP4sk-IX9opGHiU4JBC0CsduIKSMf3Df9tOI-rGzhDscO1uZhZVyYZLwDY3t0Wd7-vhPSONl1XxXOErkVB_qrjzbi83lfbUcAGm2XDQ2uYNIAFq9kku-GAadB2WFmufg6pJMRemO/s400/Nomikai1.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">There was
one thing about this wine that was especially remarkable, though: it came in a
cute little aluminum can.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">To be sure, many
avid wine drinkers will think twice about the idea of a fine wine in a tin can,
if not reject it altogether. We tend to be traditionalists, we understand the
glass bottle, and we’ve learned how to extricate the wood cork like pros. Isn’t
the fact that we’ve expanded our minds to accept the proliferation of the
screwcap progress enough?</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQYAw1K7P6MQec7Cwh3fGuHG6as9K4XjbMIBAB-yt-F75BelEklfSOziK_zj2x1bAIZp2OCioKD7vAjcIy2SqqG3y7Hffbqb5k5_VmutQuu0Az4h5ZsPGRA8DAWPsEobohOKKmWIcdWsiO/s1600/Nomikai3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQYAw1K7P6MQec7Cwh3fGuHG6as9K4XjbMIBAB-yt-F75BelEklfSOziK_zj2x1bAIZp2OCioKD7vAjcIy2SqqG3y7Hffbqb5k5_VmutQuu0Az4h5ZsPGRA8DAWPsEobohOKKmWIcdWsiO/s400/Nomikai3.jpg" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Fact is,
wines in a can, which have been an increasingly pervasive part of the wine
marketplace for the better part of the last decade, are quickly becoming a
consumer favorite. According to Nielsen, canned wine sales surpassed $69
million in 2018, way up from the $2 million they netted in 2012. Their
convenience, their no-frills attitude and the fact that better wines are going
into these little aluminum vessels these days are giving this sector of the
industry an ever-larger piece of the consumer pie.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The wine I
supped this weekend is new – Nomikai, a Northern California-based brand named
after the Japanese word for drinking parties. The wines come in 187-ml. cans,
or the same as one-fourth of a regular 750-ml bottle (or what many of us call,
a glass of wine). The Frizzy Rosé is made up of various white grape varieties,
plus grenache. There’s a California Red, too, which I did not like as much
because of the sweet-leaning fruit character; however, for those who like zing
in their reds and who like the idea of sipping it chilled on a warm afternoon,
by the pool perhaps, this wine might fit the bill nicely. The wines are sold in
24-pack singular or mixed cases, or the equivalent of six bottles, for $96 on
the Nomikai website.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A growing number of
retailers carry it, too, though none yet (ironically) in California.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_H44WwDpK3NJnYlCUmXQsHyo6CFqobG9zZjlxPkg4oQCBJbYPle5_CtlrKAW1HCI88sHntoT3M93tsVggoMJgrn8kJHy6KpqMB2_RbCe4ya8KHCNnQZs5xbgjcOnQQOJUef15f9qdd7k/s1600/Alloy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="498" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_H44WwDpK3NJnYlCUmXQsHyo6CFqobG9zZjlxPkg4oQCBJbYPle5_CtlrKAW1HCI88sHntoT3M93tsVggoMJgrn8kJHy6KpqMB2_RbCe4ya8KHCNnQZs5xbgjcOnQQOJUef15f9qdd7k/s320/Alloy.jpg" width="249" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">You will,
though, find plenty of other canned wine options at your local wine shop or
supermarket, since the movement is being driven by some of the industry’s
largest players, like E. & J. Gallo. Foley Family Wines, founded by magnate
and former Santa Barbara resident Bill Foley, announced earlier this year its
lineup of rosé, chardonnay, pinot gris and pinot noir in 375-ml. cans under the
Oregon-based Acrobat label; a project like this coming from the same folks who
put out myriad top-tier California labels, including Foley, Lincourt and
Firestone in the Santa Ynez Valley, is promising for consumers. I’ve tasted
nice wines from Union Wine Co. in Oregon, whose quarter-million-case output of the
canned Underwood label wines last year accounted for more than half of its
total production. Canned wines from Alloy Wine Works in Paso Robles are worth a
few yanks of the pull-tab, too.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt60atQj4dnN6mqa0BUNtjN3hP2taVPuDxmngg-jMVFop5eV1ROpMyY-Cy0kq61madFwl2fkYvcXO-QTbPnueLyLt-0lHXNoaWBQ3aksKUzwiaBj3XxLQLgN6Kdcb-q1aHdy8okde_YRWn/s1600/Rosalie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="865" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt60atQj4dnN6mqa0BUNtjN3hP2taVPuDxmngg-jMVFop5eV1ROpMyY-Cy0kq61madFwl2fkYvcXO-QTbPnueLyLt-0lHXNoaWBQ3aksKUzwiaBj3XxLQLgN6Kdcb-q1aHdy8okde_YRWn/s320/Rosalie.jpg" width="216" /></a><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">One of the
great canned adult beverages in the marketplace now is Rosalie, a half-wine/half-beer
experiment from Firestone-Walker Brewing Co. that sees both components – <span style="background: white; color: black;">chardonnay,
viognier, sauvignon blanc, riesling and muscat grapes plus hops and
pilsner malt – f</span>ermented together. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hibiscus flowers are added to create a drink
that appeals to wine and beer lovers alike: i<span style="background: white; color: black;">t’s wine upfront, with a bouncy mouth feel
and flavors of berries, and it’s beer on the back end, with a subtle hops
essence and a refreshing effervescence. At 5% alcohol per volume, it’s prime
for multiple pours, too. Target sells a six-pack of 12-ounce Rosalie cans for
$9.99.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The approachability of aluminum cans, and their affordability, make this packaging appealing, or at least intriguing – and not only for a new wine audience, but even for fervent wine consumers looking for that sweet spot where value and quality converge. It’s still hit and miss overall, but the growing market is bound to show at least a few new stars.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The Nomikai folks tout the eco-friendly angle, too: their cans are 99% recyclable and while four cans equal one glass wine bottle in volume, the waste they produce weighs 13% as much. So drinking red, it turns out, can help you go green. Check out <a href="http://drinknomikai.com/" target="_blank">drinknomikai.com</a></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> for more information.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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color: black;"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Cheers!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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Gabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642052205583790227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3394139486819691598.post-36863254148446437852019-10-22T08:01:00.001-07:002020-04-10T15:37:44.904-07:00Wine Through the Lens: New Hardcover Book Spotlights Santa Barbara Wine Industry<span style="font-family: calibri;">“There are
plenty of photography books on how wine is made, and by whom, and what tasting
rooms look like,” declares George Rose, who happens to be a real whiz behind the
lens, himself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“I set out
with the idea of showcasing where the grapes are grown. This is about the land
and the people – it’s about the place.”</span></span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4JXo5q_tgSPVomuFXyR01-eAiXu8GLY6JC0ecfFHkuBhwmndtFH14Ue7XpL2qUc1gAmjEJAhkSpvf6dx7D40vlb01udcq5N0x_IT6VHhNA_8T0TnsHaQsfh171_IpvPgRu9lYAW6WkmHL/s1600/George+ROse1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="914" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4JXo5q_tgSPVomuFXyR01-eAiXu8GLY6JC0ecfFHkuBhwmndtFH14Ue7XpL2qUc1gAmjEJAhkSpvf6dx7D40vlb01udcq5N0x_IT6VHhNA_8T0TnsHaQsfh171_IpvPgRu9lYAW6WkmHL/s400/George+ROse1.jpg" width="285" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George Rose</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Rose’s
latest coffee table book is, in fact, a beautiful tribute to Santa Barbara
County’s wine region, delivered in sweeping, moving images. The hardcover “Wine
Country: Santa Barbara County” ($80, including California sales tax and
shipping) is almost 200 pages long, weighs more than three pounds and takes
full advantage of its 11-by-14-inch format. “I wanted to present the pictures
as if people were walking through a gallery,” says the photographer. “When you
turn the page, and that image doubles in size – it makes an impact.”</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Rose’s style
makes the various vineyards depicted in the book look downright spectacular,
like a sun-drenched stretch of Stolpman Vineyards along Ballard Canyon, or the
starry harvest sky above Dierberg-Star Lane Vineyards near Lompoc, or a blanket
of fog hugging the vines at Grassini Vineyards in Happy Canyon. Portions of the
book guide the reader through several wine growing hot spots, like the pinot
noir haven that is Sta. Rita Hills, the much warmer Los Olivos District and the
Foxen Canyon Trail.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">But Rose’s
book goes well beyond the wine, reaching for that sense of place he mentions,
capturing the people who live in the towns that make this particular portion of
California special. “There’s a very Western flavor to Santa Barbara County that
makes it unique and different from Napa and Sonoma,” says Rose, who published a
similar book on Sonoma County’s wine region in 2017.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Solvang is
represented by the young ladies doling out aebleskivers during Danish Days, the
dancers twirling down Mission Drive during the 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> of July parade
and the legendary Rancheros Vistadores traversing the open range on horseback.
Buellton, Lompoc and the Santa Maria Valley star, too. And even Santa Barbara
gets a chapter, with big pictures of families at dinner, friends out on bikes
and plenty of smiling sippers in the Funk Zone. “I’ve been fascinated watching
the wine tasting idea in an urban setting really explode,” says Rose.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">One of the
book’s most poignant sections is its spotlight on the women and men who work
the vineyards. Dozens of photos capture the oft-grueling physical task of
harvesting grapevines – plucking and sorting thousands of berries by hand, and
often in the cold, dark hours between midnight and dawn. “I feel strongly that
California is rooted in agriculture,” says Rose. “There’d be no wine industry
without these people --<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>they are critical
to the success of California wine. And it’s very important that we keep hitting
on that topic. With all the politics today, that message gets lost.”</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_SpWm_mlaLAFjaF9VD1IGtJmDdkKBXv0k8Qs6hMJt7kd-ErRNY95TsiSWMtT_M82JMWILABhEDz3z-rrBFhMDsdhI6msK_Lksz19JXAZtfChYVcqWoKACSRXEDSPpw5dIgGvFg5FZIbhI/s1600/George+Rose6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="951" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_SpWm_mlaLAFjaF9VD1IGtJmDdkKBXv0k8Qs6hMJt7kd-ErRNY95TsiSWMtT_M82JMWILABhEDz3z-rrBFhMDsdhI6msK_Lksz19JXAZtfChYVcqWoKACSRXEDSPpw5dIgGvFg5FZIbhI/s640/George+Rose6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0gCfJmWDIkpuCODliQz2rizzHx1-8C6lGXCFr_FeUxt9eSRPEFAOMFMbgqdu2z693Olul-2bjbjRkxhCKMvGSefkijib9S3UKJMO91AgvJIvlQeJL-1EeMHWZqSWEMwnHLlkZEG3jVtn0/s1600/George+Rose5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1280" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0gCfJmWDIkpuCODliQz2rizzHx1-8C6lGXCFr_FeUxt9eSRPEFAOMFMbgqdu2z693Olul-2bjbjRkxhCKMvGSefkijib9S3UKJMO91AgvJIvlQeJL-1EeMHWZqSWEMwnHLlkZEG3jVtn0/s640/George+Rose5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photos from George Rose's "<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Wine Country: Santa Barbara County”</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Rose, who
moved from Healdsburg to Solvang six years ago, brings a lifetime of
behind-the-camera experience to his new tome. He was in his 20s when he worked
as a staff writer at the L.A. Times and, soon after, as an in-demand freelancer
for Newsweek, Time and Rolling Stone. More than 13 years followed, as an
official photog for the NFL. Serendipity stepped in when Rose was offered a job
in wine industry marketing, a job he held for 25 years with companies like
Fetzer and Kendall-Jackson. But Rose, who never stopped honing his shooting
skills, decided to return to photography full-time in 2012, and he’s been gazing
at vineyards through his lens ever since. “I realized quickly,” he says, “that
my style worked well with vineyards’ own growing social media needs.”</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Wine
Country: Santa Barbara County” is self-published by Rose, who secured funding
from myriad tourism groups, like Visit Santa Barbara and Visit the Santa Ynez
Valley, and local wineries, including Zaca Mesa, Foxen and Bien Nacido. The
book is available at all sponsor tasting rooms, as well as Rose’s own website, <a href="http://georgerose.com/" target="_blank">georgerose.com</a></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">An art exhibit
featuring many of Rose’s recent landscape photography, titled “Santa Barbara
County & Beyond,” will open at the Wildling Museum in Solvang on November
16<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Cheers!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">###<o:p></o:p></span>Gabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642052205583790227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3394139486819691598.post-1511684133420682422019-10-07T07:24:00.000-07:002020-04-10T15:37:55.944-07:00A Survivor Gives Back: New Wine Benefits Cancer Patients<span style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Winemaker Brittany Rice doesn’t wallow in her struggles. She beat cancer once when
she was three – acute lymphatic leukemia, which was eradicated after seven
years of experimental trials. And she beat it twice when she was 39 – ovarian
cancer, from which she’s free and clear today. The youngest of three who grew
up in Palm Springs and the Santa Ynez Valley, she lost her mother, Linda, to
cancer, too – breast cancer – in 2010.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">“</span><span style="background: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Lots of good, and many tragedies,” admits Rice, 41, who was
recently divorced. “But I feel it's a responsibility of a survivor to tell the
story so others having to go through it can learn."</span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr1MF4CfPmMf6yjgaTvo16JSxrWfic1LazjF0dWyeLBH6jeKRMdkZutq5FZuz9JmNDvbhbrD5Qjmu89pV5fyq0tqYkvxiO8XT4VOiDQrj0bQw_k_zppskBXRKDVO0UrYdi4Kf0QmBGY6MM/s1600/Teddy+Bear+Wine1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr1MF4CfPmMf6yjgaTvo16JSxrWfic1LazjF0dWyeLBH6jeKRMdkZutq5FZuz9JmNDvbhbrD5Qjmu89pV5fyq0tqYkvxiO8XT4VOiDQrj0bQw_k_zppskBXRKDVO0UrYdi4Kf0QmBGY6MM/s400/Teddy+Bear+Wine1.jpg" width="300" /></a><span style="background: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="background: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="background: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">So
Rice isn’t wallowing. No self-pity here. Rather, she’s melding her struggles
and her talents to do good.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="background: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="background: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Rice
just launched a new private wine label in honor of the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation,
which supports families living in Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo
Counties who have a child battling cancer. The non-profit focuses not only on
the child, but on the family as a whole – close to 200 families in 2019 alone –
providing wide-ranging financial, educational and emotional support. That’s a
big deal for Rice.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="background: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="background: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">“</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Growing up having
cancer, there wasn’t a lot of support for kids with cancer,” she says. “A lot
of the guide and reassurance and balance weren’t there, so I think it’s amazing
that Teddy Bear is there to support kids – and their entire families – that
way.”</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Rice is donating 25%
of the sale of each Teddy Bear bottle to the Foundation. The 2017 Grenache Rosé
($42) was fermented for four days, “so it has a lovely red color, with
raspberry and red currant notes, and a nice finish,” says the winemaker. The
2017 Viognier ($34) was fermented in stainless steel tanks, for a crisp mouth
feel and flavors of apricot and Asian pear. And the 2015 Cabernet Franc ($48),
“a soft, elegant wine that’s really bold and juicy, and with high tannins,”
according to Rice, was aged in oak barrels that once stored dessert wine,
giving the cab franc nuances of “caramelization, bourbon vanilla and a maple,
though dry, finish.”</span></span></span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfU6R-K62VVQ1FWQjFBd7xBJqDDg5hqS1BdmXPn7_TdnUP6fYdzcUFgqhW_IDnsJ55KwQcoXJIcT2zhQqzA8XW7qVKGEAuLWFXuf6BmuX8QfeqXKpgkH2eU-r2Lq7iQkAe15OGdExxEKyG/s1600/Teddy+Bear+Wine2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfU6R-K62VVQ1FWQjFBd7xBJqDDg5hqS1BdmXPn7_TdnUP6fYdzcUFgqhW_IDnsJ55KwQcoXJIcT2zhQqzA8XW7qVKGEAuLWFXuf6BmuX8QfeqXKpgkH2eU-r2Lq7iQkAe15OGdExxEKyG/s400/Teddy+Bear+Wine2.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Millesime Cellars tasting room in Camarillo</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Rice was born into an
entrepreneurial family who, in 1990, established one of Santa Barbara County’s
great wine labels, Sunstone Winery; the family's 52-acre ranch in Santa Ynez features 28
acres of organically farmed wine grapes, including merlot, cabernet franc and
syrah. Rice worked on the Sunstone team in the early 2000s and, in 2005,
founded her own boutique label, Mill</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">é</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">sim</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">é</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> Cellars, to produce small lot, unfiltered Bordeaux
blends. Mill</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">é</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">sim</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">é</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> produces about 800
cases of wine a year and sources organically grown grapes from throughout Santa
Barbara County; the wines are showcased at a facility in Camarillo, where Rice
has helped individuals and organizations create their own custom wine labels.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Rice’s other passion
is food, which led her to earn a degree from the California Culinary Academy
and, in 2010, found her own organic catering business, Rustik Chef. She’s also
been a pastry chef at the Four Seasons Biltmore in Montecito and, until last
week, at the Four Seasons Westlake Village. This week, with the 2019 harvest
in full swing, Rice returned to Sunstone as director of winemaking,
overseeing an annual production of about 14,000 cases.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">“It’s a little
daunting,” she admits, “but totally exciting, too.”</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">The Teddy Bear wines
are all sourced from vineyards throughout the Santa Ynez Valley and showcase a
golden ribbon on a sky blue watercolor label. They’re available through <a href="http://millesimecellars.com/" target="_blank">millesimecellars.com</a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> and by emailing the winemaker directly: <a href="mailto:Brittany@millesimecellars.com" target="_blank">Brittany@millesimecellars.com</a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">To learn more about
the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation, go to <a href="http://teddybearcancerfoundation.org/" target="_blank">teddybearcancerfoundation.org</a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">. You can donate to them directly by
texting TEDDY to 444999.</span></span></span></span></div>
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Gabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01642052205583790227noreply@blogger.com2