I love chatting alcohol with Brett Escalera – as in the alcohol content in wine. Many seasoned sippers, after all, make judgment calls on wine based on the percentage marked on the label, with their predilection for lower alcohol based on the assumption that a wine with less booze will be a better match for […]
Annual Promo Takes on Extra Significance in 2021 Restaurant Weeks is a yearly promotion by the Santa Ynez Valley dining scene. It’s weeks, plural – two full weeks of prix-fixe menus and value pricing that highlight the remarkable food and wine options to be found in the six charming towns that define Santa Barbara’s wine […]
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For a limited time through the holiday, Ca’Dario Ristorante is offering a complimentary bottle of wine with orders of $75 or more. Seasoned chef Dario Furlati creates rustic Northern Italian dishes served family style. Pair your next meal with the merlot or viognier by Dard. Available for carryout. Ca’Dario is located at 1187 Coast Village […]
Giving Santa Barbarans yet another reason to venture out for wine is Aperitivo, an Italian-inspired wine bar from owner-operators Brian Dodero and Andrea Girardello – two food and beverage veterans who met while working at the Four Seasons Biltmore. Taking its name from the Italian tradition of gathering after work for a pre-dinner drink and […]
Santa Barbara winemaker Doug Margerum has certainly got something to smile about during these gloomy times. Wine Enthusiast Magazine has recognized his Margerum M5 white Rhône blend, Margerum Esate Vineyard, Los Olivos district, as a top 100 wine of the year, ranking it at number 30. The publication’s global team of editors and tasters cumulatively […]
Santa Barbara sunsets inspire cozying up next to a fire, winter sweaters and indulging in rich, soul-satisfying food and wine. One of my favorite wines of the season is the 2015 Jonata “Todos.” Jonata is best known for its world-class Cabernet Sauvignon and other single varietal wines crafted from its estate vineyard in Ballard Canyon […]
The new three-week stay-at-home order that befell California this month means Santa Barbara County’s wine tasting rooms are shuttered, 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 […]
Natural wine refers to wine made from grapes farmed without pesticides and with minimal intervention in the cellar, meaning nothing is added or removed. Devotees think of it as the purest form of wine, and something as essential as choosing to eat organic foods. The arrival of two new natural wine-focused bars to downtown Santa […]
Winemaker Paul Lato says, “there’s a really big gap between 99 and 100.” 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 […]
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It’s no secret that California’s Central Coast is a renowned wine destination, and one of the region’s greats is Daou Vineyards in Paso Robles. Its home on Daou Mountain has an extraordinary phenolic output – among the highest in the world – that yields rich, precision-based wines of prodigious color, texture, and structure. One of […]
Santa Barbarans know late summer well. As the dusty heat ripens the last of the summer fruits, we savor each gushing peach and musky melon. The tangy ripeness of Broc Cellars White Zinfandel (75 percent Zinfandel, 25 percent Trousseau Gris) is a shout-out to the bright sun on your hot patio. The Zinfandel grapes are […]
Grocery chains such as Bristol Farms, Lazy Acres, Whole Foods, Gelson’s, and the newly opened Sprouts (on Milpas) are perfecting the art of gourmet pandemic meals to-go. In addition to offering easy online shopping, you’ll find grocers are evolving their catering departments beyond social events to offer ready-to-heat and ready-to-eat pandemic meal options. No one […]
Paul Lato is the perfect contender for the Central Coast’s innovative wine offerings. He was a former sommelier at several fine restaurants in Toronto before taking the leap to work with seasoned wine maker Jim Clendenen, of Au Bon Climat in Santa Maria. Lato had several breakthroughs, including several 95+ point ratings from wine critic […]
Weekends are often highlighted by a great brunch outing. Sitting down with family and friends and leisurely enjoying a bottle of bubbles or mimosas with a late breakfast really does make the days off feel like the weekend. Hugh Davies and the team at Schramsberg craft this Blanc de Blancs, which loosely translates to “white […]
