A Matter of Taste: Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Welcomes Fall’s Flavors

Autumn is a season of considerable appetite. Squirrels are gathering acorns, bears are preparing for hibernation, and Santa Barbarans are developing a sudden interest in the finer points of fermented grapes.

Nature, it seems, has its priorities.

On November 7, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History will embrace this seasonal hunger with its inaugural Fall Tasting Festival, bringing together more than 40 food and beverage offerings beneath the oaks along Mission Creek. There will be wine. There will be beer. There will be spirits and seasonal delicacies. And unlike the squirrels, guests are encouraged to sample everything before deciding what to take home.

Of course, the Museum is hardly a newcomer to the business of good taste.

For 38 years, its Santa Barbara Wine Festival has been a beloved fixture on the local culinary calendar, bringing winemakers and enthusiasts together for an afternoon of sipping and socializing. Now that family tree is sprouting another branch.

Consider the Fall Tasting Festival the Wine Festival’s younger sibling. A little cooler, considerably more autumnal, and apparently eager to explore the wider world of adult beverages.

And like any younger sibling hoping to make an impression, it has invited quite a crowd.

Among the winemakers are familiar regional favorites including Andrew Murray Vineyards, Bien Nacido, Brander Vineyard, Fiddlehead Cellars, Grassini Family Vineyards, Margerum Wine Company, Melville Winery, and Sandhi Wines. From the Santa Ynez Valley to the Santa Rita Hills and beyond, the lineup offers a rather delicious geography lesson in Santa Barbara County’s wine country.

Beer enthusiasts can branch out with pours from Third Window Brewing, Draughtsmen Aleworks, Island Brewing, and Seaward Brewing, while High Seas Mead brings something a little different to the fermentation conversation. Hermanas Amigas Tequila, Ventura Spirits, and other distillers will keep the spirits high, with Beacon Coffee providing an alternative for those seeking a different sort of buzz.

Naturally, all that liquid education requires some sustenance.

The culinary lineup includes Convivo Restaurant, Bistro Amasa, Marisella, Luna Olivo, The Nook, Hotel Californian’s The Knock, and several other regional kitchens. Convivo will even bring back its ribs, a crowd favorite from the Museum’s previous Beer Festival.

A little something for the carnivores among us.

The festival unfolds across the Museum’s 17-acre oak woodland campus, where guests can wander between vendors, meet the makers, and discover the stories, science, and regional traditions behind their favorite flavors. It’s an opportunity to ask a winemaker about fermentation, a brewer about ingredients, or a chef about the peculiar alchemy that makes a dish memorable.

And there’s a rather worthwhile reason for all this indulgence.

The festival serves as a fundraiser for the Museum and Sea Center, with 100% of net proceeds supporting science and nature education programs. Those funds help cultivate curiosity in the next generation of scientists, naturalists, and environmental stewards.

General admission is $125, with festivities running from 2 to 5 pm. Early-entry tickets are $165 and allow guests to begin exploring at 1 pm. All tastings are included in admission.

So while the squirrels spend November preparing their winter provisions, Santa Barbarans have another way to celebrate the season’s abundance.

After all, some of the best things growing on the family tree are meant to be shared.  

For tickets and information, visit sbnature.org