story published in the Santa Barbara News-Press on 5/17/18
The Hitching Post label is one of the most recognizable brands in Santa Barbara County. Consumers order it at wine shops and restaurants across the country, including the famous Buellton restaurant that shares its name. It’s never had its own destinations tasting room, however, until now.
This week,
business partners and co-winemakers Frank Ostini and Gray Hartley announced
that Hitching Post Wines’ first ever tasting will open in July. Mr. Ostini, the
well-known chef who owns the Hitching Post II restaurant, has leased property
that abuts his eatery, expanding his real estate holdings along E. State Route
246 from one acre to 12. The parcel is mostly open land that drops into a river
basin that borders the popular animal haven, Ostrichland, but it’s also home to
a wine tasting room that, until recently, housed the Loring and Cargasacchi
brands.
 |
| Gray Hartley & Frank Ostini |
“We’ve
always wanted to have a tasting room, just never a satellite one in a place
like, say, Santa Barbara or Los Alamos,” admits Mr. Hartley, who’ll be entering
his 39th wine grape harvest with Mr. Ostini this fall. “Having it
right next to Frank’s restaurant, though – that’s a natural.”
The
Ostini-Hartley team has been making wine in Santa Barbara County since 1979,
focusing primarily on pinot noir and on sourcing grapes from premier vineyards
in the Sta. Rita Hills and Santa Maria Valley. The Hitching Post label was born
in 1984. The brand was propelled into the limelight by Rex Picket’s book, Sideways, and the Oscar-winning film it
inspired in 2004. The restaurant is where the main character, Miles, comes to
quench his sorrows – usually with Hitching Post pinot – and where he meets his
love interest, Maya. The Hitching Post has been a household name among wine
aficionados ever since.
“The wine
business has always helped promote the restaurant, it’s always complemented
it,” says Mr. Ostini. “But then it began to grow in a very organic way, so that
now it stands on its own. And we’ve always been very serious about making it.
So giving it its own tasting room just makes sense.”
 |
| Hear ye, hear ye |
About 80% of
the Hitching Post’s 17,000-case annual production is sold through distribution.
The new tasting room will allow the winemaking duo to sell wine directly to
consumers. “It’ll also help us grow our wine club,” adds Mr. Hartley, which
ships wines out to members several times a year.
The Hitching
Post tasting room, which will become the 10th wine tasting venue in
the city of Buellton, will feature a patio and picnic grounds. Visitors will
have the option to purchase food from a new limited lunch menu, which will be
delivered “on foot or maybe by electric golf cart,” according to Mr. Ostini,
from the famous barbecue-themed restaurant next door.
The signage
for the new space, which will enjoy prime visibility near the Highway 101-SR
246 interchange, will also showcase a brand new look for the Hitching Post wine
label.
“We just
want to get people to the [Santa Ynez] Valley,” adds Mr. Ostini, “because it’s
the true wine country.”
For more
information, visit hpwines.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.