Gourmet Wheels: Four Seasons Hotels Take Food on the Road

By Gabe Saglie, Senior Editor, Travelzoo
(published in the Santa Barbara News-Press September 20, 2013)

 

Several Four Seasons Hotels have found an ingenious way to share their gourmet fare with the public: they’re taking it to the streets.

 

The Four Seasons Taste Truck

The Four Seasons Taste Truck, a four-wheel truck outfitted to resemble a classic woody and decked out with a bevy of gourmet cooking appliances, hit the road this week on a culinary pilgrimage.  By the end of its promotional run, which includes one-week stops at eight Four Seasons resorts, including the AAA 5-Diamond Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara, it will have covered 1,133 miles across three states and over 55 days.  At each sojourn, the truck will become a kitchen-away-from-home for each property’s executive chef.

“I have about 50 cooks at the resort, so I don’t get to cook every meal,” says Executive Chef Alessandro Cartumini, who took the kitchen helm at the luxury hotel brand’s acclaimed Montecito property in 2010.  “But now I’ll be on the truck every day – just me and one sous chef – so I can tell guests that I cooked every one of your meals.  And that’s the exciting part for me.”

 

Click to enlarge

The Taste Truck turned its engines this week with a visit to the Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley at East Palo Alto; coincidentally, Chef Cartumini was part of this property’s launch in 2006, before transferring to the Biltmore.  Next week, it’ll pay a week-long visit to the 5-Star Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco before making the coastal drive south to Santa Barbara for a local visit September 30^th through October 6^th.  From there, it’ll visit Four Seasons properties in Westlake Village, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Scottsdale and Santa Fe.  (Find a detailed schedule here.)

While in town, Chef Cartumini will bring a bevy of dishes to the public by parking the Taste Truck at various venues.  In its first two days, it’ll welcome walk-ups along Butterfly Beach, right across from the resort.  In the days that follow, it’ll visit West Beach, the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, Telegraph Brewing Company, Santa Barbara’s Saturday morning farmers market, Oreana Winery in the Funk Zone and East Beach.  Times vary each day – twice, the chef will be doling out breakfast.  And there will some themed serving as well – on two days, the menu will include several Oktoberfest-inspired menu items.
 



Sweet Potato Fries w/Oregano Aioli

The main drive behind this unique culinary promotion is “to make food accessible, to take our food out on the streets and to show people what we can do,” says Chef Cartumini.  “People sometimes think of a resort like ours just for a special occasion.  What we want to show is that we are not just a big corporation, but that we also embrace our community.”

Translating the daily production and presentation of award-winning fare from a gourmet kitchen to a food truck offers challenges, to be sure.  But for the Four Seasons The Biltmore’s director of food and beverage, Bixente Pery, “it’s all about thinking outside the box.”

The way the food is made inside the Taste Truck will employ the same techniques used onsite.  “The produce is the same, the chef is the same, the preparation is the same,” says Mr. Pery, who will be with the truck each day.  “We just eliminate the china and the silverware, but the final product is still the same.”

 

Many of the items featured in a specially-designed menu for the Taste Truck’s visit will come off menus featured on the Montecito property’s restaurants, including the Bella Vista and the Ty Lounge; other items were custom-made for the occasion.  But one thing that will be different will be the price tag: most offerings range from $4 to $7 and no item is priced over $9.

“The food has to be good, it has to be quick and it has to be priced right,” insists the chef. 

Chef Cartumini's food truck menu features several items that highlight his knack for combining fresh California produce with flavors and techniques from his native Italy.  The Local Sea Bass Fritto Roll-Up ($9) features avocado and a pepperoncino aioli.  The Quinoa Sweet Potato Lettuce Burger ($6, pictured) comes with goat feta cheese and an avocado relish.   The BBQ Angus Beef Short Ribs ($8) features smoked mozzarella, arugula and salsa verde.

“Of course there will be some bells and whistles, since this is the Four Seasons,” says Chef Cartumini.  “But for me, it’s going to just be about the food, about what you’ll get for your money and about showing the community what we are doing at the resort every day.”

The Taste Truck’s Santa Barbara visit will also include a cocktail giveaway at the resort’s Bella Vista Restaurant.  Guests who share a photo or video of the truck, or food from the truck, on Instagram, using the #FSTasteTruck hashtag and the resort’s @FSSantaBarbara handle, can show it to their server in return for a signature sipper of their choice.  The eatery will feature a special food and drinks Food Truck menu during the month of October.

The truck’s local stint, in fact, coincides with the start of epicure.sb, Santa Barbara’s month-long culinary showcase, now in its fifth year, which will feature more than 100 events during the month of October.

In November, at the end of the Taste Truck’s 55-day tour, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts will donate a portion of total proceeds to Chefs to End Hunger, a charity that benefits local food agencies. 

 

 

New Vintage: Oreana Winery Founder Switches Gears with New "Avelina" Brand

By Gabe Saglie
(Published in the Santa Barbara News-Press on September 12, 2013)

 

The final touches are now going up at the tasting room for the brand new Avelina Winery in downtown Santa Barbara.  But nostalgic touches still prevail.  Like the old typewriter on the corner, which guests will use to join the mailing list.  And the sparkling jukebox by the front door, which feeds on quarters.  And the old 1959 GMC farm truck parked in the middle of the room, encircled by stools and its bed covered by wooden doors to create a no-frills, but very cool, wine bar.

 

Avelina's farm truck-turned-wine bar

Avelina is the brainchild of Christian Garvin, best known (until now) for Oreana, the Funk Zone winery that’s been drawing patrons as much with its wines as with its quirky events for almost a decade now.  Oreana changed hands about two months ago, when Garvin sold it to his friend and to his winemaker for the last eight years, Danny Miles.  The new proprietor will move forward with a brand that features pinot noir, syrah, chardonnay and a handful of affordably priced blends.

Garvin, himself, is now fully focused on Avelina.  He was ready for something new, he tells me.  A new creative outlet.

And although Avelina is brand new, it smacks of something nostalgic for its owner, too.  Avelina references Garvin’s Italian roots, for one.  “It’s a town so small, you can’t really find it on a map,” he says with a laugh.  It’s also a name Garvin used more than a dozen years ago on his first independent wine project – Kahn Winery – to denote a line of red wines.  “I bought the trademarked name back for $350,” he says.

The premiere release of Avelina wines – a 4000-case project with a focus on Italian varieties – includes a pinot grigio, sangiovese and freisa.  Its crowning jewel, though, may be a 2010 nebbiolo, sourced from the legendary Bien Nacido Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley.  It’s supple, smooth and generous with its fruit flavors.  All the Avelina wines will sell for $25 in the tasting room.

This project also includes a second label – Sands Point – which features non-Italian wines like chardonnay, pinot noir, merlot and cabernet sauvignon.  The price point on these is affordable by design – $15 a bottle, and probably less when it hits supermarket shelves – and will be available to taste at the winery, too.

Garvin made the first batch of Avelina wines at the Lucas & Lewellen Winery facility in Buellton.  But his downtown Santa Barbara space will feature all the winemaking equipment he’ll need moving forward.  Already, some gear, like fermentation eggs and a fruit crusher, grace the sleek, slip-resistant concrete floor.



Jen Gonzalez joins the Avelina mailing list

Avelina’s new home is in the heart of the humming Funk Zone.  Across the street, actually, from Oreana, and flanked by the new Figueroa Mountain Brewery tasting room and the railroad tracks.  It’s in the same building as Santa Barbara’s brand new and most buzzed-about eatery, The Lark, in a space formerly used to process fresh fish.

Aside from the production of wines, Garvin’s vision for his new space hinges on tapping into the Funk Zone’s still-ballooning appeal: a social spot, a watering hole of sorts, with an outdoor courtyard and a spacious interior that will also be marketed for private events.  “We’ll have a large movie screen here,” he says, pointing to the ceiling above stacks of sealed cases, “and we’re getting a digital projector delivered for movie nights.”

 

Those who know Garvin probably expect neat things to come, including unique events and memorable promotions.  The 39-year-old, after all, is as much a winemaker as an entrepreneur, with a knack for drawing crowds to wine not merely for the sake of sipping but, instead, to let the good times roll.

Avelina is the newest member of Santa Barbara’s Urban Wine Trail (which now boasts 26 member wineries!) and is located 131 Anacapa Street.  Its grand opening party is Friday, September 20^th.  For details, call the winery at 770-7210.

Retrospective Tasting at Fess Parker Winery

On August 17^th, at the inaugural SummerFess event at Fess Parker Winery, I got to moderate a special retrospective tasting inside the barrel room.



Winemaker Blair Fox pours for the crowd

Winemakers Eli Parker (Fess’ son) and Blair Fox (who became head winemaker in 2005) and winery president Tim Snider (Fess’ son-in-law) led the sell-out group through Ashley’s Vineyard chardonnays and Bien Nacido pinot noirs dating back to 2002, and Rodney’s Vineyard syrahs from as far back as 1999. 

My own take-away?  The ageability of these wines, even the whites, was remarkable.  With the chards – all from Ashley’s Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills – Fox credited the grapes’ remarkably high acidity, which have allowed these wines (especially the 2004, 2005 and 2006 vintages) to retain their freshness and zing. 

With the pinots – all sourced from the legendary Bien Nacido Vineyard in Santa Maria, which celebrates its 40^th anniversary this year – the consensus was unanimous: age does these wines well.  Snider pointed out that even the 2002 vintage pinot retained its vibrancy, and I thought the 2005 pinot noir was beautifully structured, supple and lengthy.

The syrahs were a crowd favorite and would have made Fess Parker, who declared his preference for syrah to me on a few occasions, very proud.  Sourced from the winery’s estate Rodney’sVineyard off Foxen Canyon Road, even the 1999 vintage revealed balance of fruit and earth and I thought the 2002 and 2006 syrahs – full-bodied, layered and sophisticated – were gems.

In other Fess Parker Winery news: with Dave Potter having recently left the winemaking team to pursue his own endeavors full time (including Municipal Winemakers and GoodlandWines), David Baird has just been appointed assistant winemaker; previously, he was cellar master at Justin Winery in Paso Robles.

Blair Fox, and his wife Sarah, are also the powerhouse couple behind the ultra-boutique wine project, Blair Fox Wines.

Food Truck Confessions: BBQ Pro Muses on Wine

By Gabe Saglie

(published in the Santa Barbara News-Press on August 29, 2013)

Brian Parks knows barbecue.  He’s made it the cornerstone of his business, after all – a roving food truck that draws crowds by doling out grub that’s tangy as it is sweet and as saucy as it is good.  When I ask him about the name speckled throughout his truck – Georgia’s Smokehouse – he tells me that it personifies “the Southern charm and girl-next-door image that we wanted to have.”

Chef Parks was the Executive Chef at Coast Restaurant inside Santa Barbara’s Canary Hotel for four years – and one of the best things the property had going for it – until the boutique Kimpton brand took it over last year.  He turned the engine on his new culinary venture-on-wheels just this past March.  But, with a tasty blend of culinary prowess and approachable food, he’s quickly enticed a following, especially in the local wine scene.

“We do go to several wineries for weekly stops,” he says.  “We stop at Carr, Pali, and AVA Santa Barbara [in Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone] on a regular basis and have visited Bridlewood, Longoria, Fess Parker, Kalrya, Sunstone, Coghlan, and Koehler for special events.”

Suffice it to say, pairing wine to barbecued food is not necessarily intuitive.  Flavors are pronounced and diverse, and the sides that complete a great barbecue meal add myriad layers of tastes and textures.  Parks, himself, admits that the perfect wine match “really depends on the style of BBQ.  Our Southern style has more acid and spice.  I have found that pinot noirs and zinfandels go really well with it, even a fruity and crisp sauvignon blanc.”

When he’s enjoying his own fare, Parks confesses that he’s partial to pinot by Carr Winery’s Ryan Carr, which “pairs nicely with the spice on the ribs.”

 I was thinking lunch, not wine, when I and my two boys – Gabriel and Greyson – approached the order window last week.  Our choices hit the spot.  But, after the crowds had dispersed to enjoy their own tastes of Southern hospitality, they also gave me a chance to explore wine options with the man behind the grill.

The Georgia’s Smokehouse burger is like a canvas, in that it allows patrons to get creative with their own add-ons, from bacon to fried egg; we chose smoked cheddar in all its melted glory.  “We use a third-pound patty and season it with kosher salt and smoked black pepper,” he says.  “Every burger starts with whiskey-caramelized onions and herb-roasted tomatoes on a toasted brioche bun.”  My own match for this would be a juicy red, like a grenache on Mikael Sigouin’s Kaena label or the Hitching Post Hometown pinot by Gray Hartley and Frank Ostini.  But Parks’ pick strikes me as refreshing: “I think a nice, stainless steel-aged chardonnay might work with this because of the herbs and onions on the burger,” he suggests.

The Brisket Sandwich was hearty and flavorful, and the beef was sumptuously tender, cradled by a roasted brioche hoagie roll.  Parks smokes the meat over hickory wood for up to 12 hours before it’s set to rest overnight, trimmed off the fat and then rubbed with proprietary BBQ spices.  It's topped generously with coleslaw – red cabbage, thyme, caraway seeds, red wine vinegar and salt – and crowned with homemade BBQ sauce.  “It has some spice, a little smoky flavor and that great meaty texture,” says the chef.  “I would think a rich cabernet or maybe an old-vine zinfandel would hold its own with brisket and sauerkraut.”

Georgia's Smokehouse making a lunchtime pitstop

If we’re talking favorites, I pick the Pulled Pork Sammy.  Boneless pork shoulder is seasoned with Parks’ BBQ rub, hickory-smoked for six hours and baked with a touch of BBQ sauce for another two.  Once it’s shredded, it snuggles into that toasted hoagie roll along with coleslaw – this one’s made with green cabbage, carrots, Brussels sprouts, Granny Smith apples and an apple cider vinegar-oregano dressing – and crispy onions.  Delectable.  And it “goes best with a pinot noir,” according to Parks.

I agree, especially if it’s a nuanced pinot with natural fruit and earth flavors by the likes of Drake Whitcraft or Byron’s Jonathan Nagy.

Yet, this sandwich has me thinking of a dry riesling by Graham Tatomer, too, with its elegant flavors, shapely frame, mineral overtones and generous dose of acidity.  Or a glass of rosé sparkling wine by Flying Goat Cellars’ Norm Yost, with bouncy berry flavors that lead the way to an effervescent finish.

And therein may lay the key to matching those varied barbecue flavors in the first place – in experimentation and in the willingness to put up several wines to food that’s as satisfying to savor as it’s fun to eat.  Just make sure you’re starting out with really good barbecue. 

Georgia’s Smokehouse has a concise menu, and each item’s a sure bet; the pillowy bacon-and-cheddar Hush Puppies and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich with smoked cheddar and bacon are also standouts.  Specials are often featured depending on the stop.  A three-week schedule of upcoming stops is kept on its web site – www.georgias-smokehouse.com – and updated on its Twitter and Facebook pages.  

Back in Business: Los Olivos’ Historic Mattei’s Tavern Reopens

By Gabe Saglie

(published in the Santa Barbara News-Press on July 18, 2013)

 

When the doors reopened at Mattei’s Tavern in Los Olivos Friday, July 19th, it marked a fresh new chapter on a historic hotspot.  As a popular stagecoach stop run by Felix Mattei, it quenched the thirst of weary travelers as far back as 1886.  Its most recent stint as a destination eatery came under the direction of brothers Jeff and Matt Nichols, who moved out last year after a decade in business to open up a now-thriving eatery just around the corner.
 

The Mattei’s Tavern story continues now with Chef Robbie Wilson and his wife and business partner, Emily Perry Wilson.   The couple, married three years, most recently lived in Nashville, where they opened four restaurants.  But a new partnership with Charles Banks, the former investment manager who runs a bevy of boutique wine brands through investment firm Terroir Capital and who just this year got final approval for a new hotel project right across the street from Mattei’s, has brought them to Santa Barbara wine country.

“We have found our forever place,” says Mrs. Perry Wilson, 40, who adds that she’s fascinated by the diversity of people – “from ranchers to film executives” – who live in the Santa Ynez Valley.

Her husband quickly continues, “We choose to live here and raise a family first, and to open a restaurant second.”

But it’s the opening of a high profile dining spot that’s certainly consumed their lives for almost a year now.  The two made the move to Los Olivos last October “to work on the concept of the restaurant,” says Mr. Wilson, 43.  They broke ground on enhancements and improvements in February of this year, with final touches taking place right through their “soft opening” tomorrow.

The pair is not oblivious to some of the buzzing concern in the community about the changes coming to a revered and highly coveted property.  So they make no qualms about their focus.  “This is all about paying homage to this property and to one of the greatest valleys in the world,” says the new chef, adding with a laugh, “We’d be morons if we changed the name of the place!”

Indeed, their attention to historical detail has been well scrutinized.  Revamping Mattei’s has meant adhering to a bevy of requests by HLAC, the Historic Landmarks Advisory Committee, which designated the property a Santa Barbara County Historic Landmark three years ago.  Doorways, fireplaces and wainscoting had to remain intact, for example.  Colors had to be approved.  And experts had to be hired to advise on a slew of restoration details.

But in the midst of jumping through hoops, the Wilsons have accomplished something impressive, especially in the way they’ve coupled historic reverence with a fresh, new, exciting take on wine country dining.

The new Mattei’s Tavern offers no less than five separate dining venues, “each with its own personality,” says Chef Wilson.  To the right of the main entrance is the bar, decked out in rich, dark hues, like the historic Essex Green on the walls.  A quaint dining alcove has been built around the fireplace, above which a ceiling mural of the Santa Ynez Valley will be painted soon.  The dinner menu will be available here, though the signature dish is a $14 hamburger, decked out with bacon marmalade and homemade pimento cheese and served on a toasted brioche bun.

To the left of the main doors is the Stage Room, where ticket holders once waited for their stagecoaches to arrive.  Now, it’s designed as a hangout for cocktail aficionados.  There are 14 old world-inspired concoctions on the menu, like “The Gov’ner,” featuring Yamazaki 12-year whiskey, toasted cardamom, agave and orange, and the “Cousin Bob Fails His Driving Test,” made with Johnny Drum bourbon, sweet Carpano Antica vermouth, sake and bitters.  All spirits are kept on a rolling cart, since all cocktails – priced at $14 – are made tableside.

Mr. Wilson envisions the adjoining Red Room as an ideal spot for private events.  The club-like atmosphere here is marked by flickering gas lights and old black-and-white photographs.  The original red wallpaper still hangs on the walls, accentuated by mohair banquets with matching red velvet.

The Whicker Room gives diners an open, bright place to enjoy a meal, as well as wide outside views.  The centerpiece here may be what the Wilsons call “The Table,” with seating that can be altered to accommodate groups of varying size; proceeds from dinner checks at this table will go to a local charity, which will be rotated monthly.

Outside, in the back, the “Watering Hole” plays up Los Olivos’ en plein air charms and features picnic tables with umbrellas, fire pits and bocce ball courts.   Vintage red coolers will allow diners to chill their bottles.  A wood shed, with chalkboards on the walls, will give children a place for creative distraction.  And a large wood burning pizza oven (where Chef Wilson is experimenting with avocado wood) will crank out pies to order.  (This area abuts the new Terroir Wines tasting room, which features the impressive lineup of Mr. Banks’ proprietary labels, including Sandhi, Leviathan and Mayacamas.)

Mattei’s Tavern’s brand new kitchen is an exhibition tour de force and, by Santa Ynez Valley restaurant standards, quite large.  Diners have a few special spots to sit, eat and watch the culinary action here, including a couple of counter chairs and a stunning Winemakers Table, made from a local tree by neighbor artisan Frank Palmer; area winemakers will be invited to sit here, sign in on a hanging board and open their bottles with no corkage fee.  “We want the energy of these people here,” insists Chef Wilson.

The kitchen features brand new, custom-built Viking ranges.  And a large Santa Maria-style red oak-burning barbecue grill comes complete with oversize butcher block, where “we’ll be slicing up big bone-in rib-eyes and beautiful, large rotisserie chickens,” says the chef.  “It’s our interpretation of what Mattei’s used to be.”  The butcher station will be adorned with a mural depicting Gin Lung Gin, the Chinese cook who was Felix Mattei’s original full-time chef.

The back kitchen, where the chef pipes in jazz music for his staff, features custom refrigeration units, a specialized pastry area and a cold butcher room “to break down meats,” says Mr. Wilson.

When it comes to the menu, Chef Wilson clearly designed it with the region in mind.  “All of our produce is from this valley, 80% of our proteins are from this area and all of our seafood is right from our own Pacific Ocean,” he says.  But perhaps more remarkable is the creativity and whimsy with which dishes, like these specialty platters, were created:  “Morro Bay’s Greatest Hits” ($59) features oysters, sweet shrimp and Hamachi served on a Lazy Susan-turned record player; “Felix Mattei’s Dirty Laundry” ($33) is a charcuterie selection served on a tiny clothes line; and “An Assortment of Lettuces” ($36) features local leaves presented in a flower pot and cut on to the plate at the table by your server.
 

To further illustrate whimsy: the kids’ menu – playfully dubbed “Anklebiters” and featuring items like cheeseburger, pasta, salmon and “Grilled Steak with a Stick Coming out the End of it!” – is printed inside a bright red, real-life Viewfinder.

Much of the menu – with starters ranging from $12-$19 and main dishes from $21-$29 – is separated historically.  Items inspired by Felix Mattei, and designated “1886,” include grilled artichoke, beef tartar, pork shank, skirt steak and wood-fired chicken.  Dishes inspired by a modern-day Los Olivos, under the heading “2013,” include Hamachi chorizo, grilled octopus, a 36-hour-cooked brisket, slow-roasted sea bass and on-the-bone Salisbury lamb.

Numerous sides, like crispy brussel sprouts and cream corn brulée, are meant to encourage diners to customize their meals.

The wine list here is easily one of the most comprehensive in the area.  There are close to 20 wines by the glass and the by-the-bottle options, arranged by grape variety, surpass 200.  The lineup of vintage Champagnes includes several coveted Dom Perignon selections.  And while the focus is certainly on local wines – including celebrated labels like Ojai Vineyard, Au Bon Climat, Tatomer, Liquid Farm, and Foxen – international wine growing regions like Burgundy, Alsace, Tuscany, South Africa and Germany are also very well represented.

As the clock tick-tocked toward its grand reopening, Mrs. Perry Wilson was quick to call this very detailed culinary project a “labor of love.”  And her husband, who shies away from discussing his impressive background in this industry (which includes several high-profile restaurants, like French Laundry), focused on what’s ahead.  “We want people to come here and linger here,” he said, “because this is all about Los Olivos and a celebration of the spirit of this valley.”

 

Mattei’s Tavern, 2350 Railway Ave., Los Olivos.  805-688-3550. Dinner Wed.-Sun from 5pm and lunch Fri.-Sun. (starting July 26)

Split Personality: New Brand’s Debut Becomes Winemaker’s Revival

By Gabe Saglie

(published in the Santa Barbara News-Press on February 28, 2013) 

Andrew Murray’s got a split winemaking personality, and he’s a better man for it.

Andrew Murray

“I like to say, ‘There are two Andrews now,” he tells me, sitting on a covered porch next to sun-drenched vines at his Santa Ynez backcountry winery.  “I love this new outlet.  It’s more refreshing, and it’s liberating.”

He’s talking about his new brand – a wine trio dubbed “This is E11even Wines” – which launched its newest releases just this past Saturday.  Here in the Tri-Counties, it’s carried exclusively by Whole Foods Market; you won’t even find them at the Andrew Murray tasting room in Los Olivos.  But at the price – currently $14.99 a bottle – these may well be Santa Barbara County ’s very best value wines in the market right now.

Of course, this new chapter in Murray ’s life is part of a story 20 years in the making.  At age 18, he entered the wine business when his family planted a vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley.  The Andrew Murray label’s first commercial release was 1994, though its first “decent vintage” – the winemaker’s words, not mine – was 1997.  Today, the brand is synonymous with some of the state’s premier Rhone wines, from sell-out vineyard-designate syrahs (Murray’s 2010 Terra Bella Vineyard syrah out of Paso Robles just earned 93 points from Wine Spectator) to wildly popular blends (his famous Tous les Jours blend of syrah from multiple Santa Ynez Valley vineyards accounts for half of the label’s yearly 8000-case production).

But his family’s decision to sell its namesake vineyard ranch in 2005 became a crossroads for Murray ; the loss of the estate grapes that fueled a thriving brand, and a winemaker’s own identity, led him professionally – and personally – to reassess, rethink and redirect.

This is E11even Wines, then, was the product of some serious soul-searching.

The label first hit the marketplace in 2011; but the winemaker admits the brand has only now – with the three wines released a few days ago – found its stride, thanks to a three-pronged focus on price, blends and packaging.

On price: it’s refreshing to see that a great Santa Barbara County wine, made by a guy clearly preceded by a stellar reputation, can cost under $15.  To be clear, the introductory $14.99 price tag is meant to promote the brand new Whole Foods splash; when the brand eventually hits other markets – mainly East Coast outlets like Boston and New York , as well as very limited presence in Los Angeles -- the price will creep up another dollar or two.  But the huge value to the consumer is unmistakable; keep in mind that the price tag on the Andrew Murray line of wines averages twice as much.  “As an entrepreneur, I am fully aware that I have to be profitable,” says Murray .  “But when you get ego out of it and you sharpen your pencil, pricing a wine like this is totally possible.”

On the blends: Murray says his approach to winemaking hasn’t changed and that quality-for-price still reigns supreme.  But this new label has become a fresh outlet for a certain amount of irreverence, allowing Murray to create blends that buck industry expectations or take him outside his own Rhone comfort zone.  The 2011 Unplugged is a 50-50 white blend of chenin blanc and sauvignon blanc and is a delicious, fresh, bright drink.  The 2010 Big Bottom Red is a nearly 50-50 blend of cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon (“I think cab franc is the best Bordeaux grape we’re growing in the Valley,” Murray declares) and is a bold, balanced wine with a supple mouth feel, generous fruit and a wild edge.  The third wine in this lineup is a pinot noir featuring five clones that Murray, himself, planted six years ago on a Santa Maria ranch near Rancho Sisquoc that’s owned by his father-in-law; Murray’s made pinot for private clients for years but never before for his own label, and this one exhibits an archetypal pinot nose and tart, fleshy flavors that counterpoints many of the oft-overly extracted pinot noirs coming out of our area.

On the packaging: this is where Murray ’s creativity – “Flights of fancy in my sleep,” he calls it – may shine brightest.  This is E11ven is inspired by Murray ’s favorite movie of all time, the mockumentary Spinal Tap.  “Growing up, I had no musical talent whatsoever,” he admits, “but I was a music nerd – that geeky kid who always hung out at record stores.”  Murray admits to watching the movie, or clips from it, more than 100 times and asserts that the flick, which pokes fun at popular rock movies by the rock heavyweights like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, “defined my generation!”  In it, the “This is eleven” phrase is used to signify anything that goes to the extreme and surpasses expectations.  Similarly, these wines are a revelation at their price.  And the rock-and-roll motif is alive and well throughout.

The 12-bottle case box for the This is E11even Wines resembles a vintage black-and-white music amplifier.  The labels on the wine bottles are round, like a vinyl record.  Those classic rock lightning bolts (the logo of the edgy rock group AC/DC features one prominently) appear throughout.  Press materials for the brand are being distributed to media through flash drives that look like cassette tapes.  Murray even designed a black rock-and-roll tour T-shirt to promote his new venture.

“I think people these days are pushing back against all things digital,” Murray tells me.  “People are making mixed tapes again.  Converse are cool again.  Levi’s are as cool as they’ve ever been.  So with these wines, we’re riding the wave of retro-cool!”

The current total production of This is E11even Wines (www.thisis11.com) stands around 900, though Murray intends to grow it to five or six thousand in the next couple of years.

The winemaker admits that his biggest challenge with the new brand is personal: learning to balance a long-standing, serious, uncompromising approach to winemaking with a product that’s fun, uncomplicated and widely appealing by design is not necessarily easy.

But as I hear Murray speak of this new outlet – and I’ve been lucky to chat wine with him many times over the years – I detect a newfound sense of pride, confidence and satisfaction.  It’s a refreshing turn of a new page, which is part and parcel to the personality of the new brand, itself.  And as this winemaker flourishes anew, to his imbibing public go the spoils.

Rock on!

Gabe Saglie is an expert air guitar player, especially after a glass of wine.  He’s also senior editor for www.travelzoo.com.  You can reach him at gabesaglie@yahoo.com.