Tag archives: wine

Montecito dynamic duo Jon and Brandis Deitelbaum, producers of Beau Joie champagne, have teamed up with the Georgina Chapman, creative director and co-founder of the fashion label Marchesa. The groundbreaking new collaboration will include several new products available on beaujoiechampagne.com and cross-marketed globally beginning with luxury retailers, and eventually rolling out to high-end resorts, hotels […]

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 […]

You could call chardonnay Santa Barbara County’s darling grape. There’s more of it growing here than any other wine grape, blanketing more than 7500 acres. Much of it is gobbled up by wine producers in Northern California – the chard here is simply better – while Santa Barbara winemakers aim each year to make Burgundy’s […]

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. The French and […]

Social gridlock reigned at the Margerum Wine tasting room at the Hotel Californian when owners Doug and Marni Margerum hosted a bustling bash for Santa Ynez Valley author Frances Schultz‘s latest book California Cookery & Southern Style, featuring 100 classic recipes by Stephanie Valentine, inspired menus and gorgeous table settings. Frances, a North Carolina native, […]

Too many cooks didn’t spoil the broth when Epicurean Santa Barbara celebrated its second anniversary at the Chase Palm Park Recreation Center with 120 guests. The food and wine social club, which has 150 members who attend around four events each month, featured four chefs and their culinary wizardry at the boffo bash. “Our goal […]

Loyalty has its rewards. That’s certainly a fact in the travel industry, where repeat stays at your favorite hotel and repeat flights on your favorite airline can translate to upgrades, freebies, and being made to feel like a VIP. Oenophiles can tap into special perks, too, thanks to wine clubs, which can be a boon […]

At its core, it is business as usual at Alma Rosa Winery – nothing’s changed. The popular label founded in 2005 is still in the hands of wine legend Richard Sanford, still growing grapes organically and still producing some of the best pinot noir and chardonnay that Santa Barbara County has to offer. But a […]

It was a night on the tiles when the Santa Barbara’s Wildlife Care Network hosted a Rose on the Roof sunset soiree at the Union Bank on Anacapa Street for 60 guests. As well as quaffing the wine, donated by co-chair Gretchen Lieff, the animal lovers noshed on a variety of treats from Santa Barbara […]

Jason Djang is crystal clear about the Brave & Maiden philosophy. “We want to change the dynamic of the wine tasting experience,” he tells me, as we meander through his 70-acre estate in the heart of the Santa Ynez Valley. He’s explaining the one-on-one approach to tasting here, which is by appointment only and unhurried […]

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. “I set out with the idea of showcasing where the grapes are grown. This is about the land and the people […]

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 […]

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. There was one thing about this wine that was especially remarkable, though: it […]

When the boundaries for the Santa Maria Valley AVA were drawn, they excluded a thousand-acre plot of land so far west, it was considered too cold to grow grapes. An AVA, or American Viticultural Area, is a carefully outlined ag area that’s been determined by the federal government, through myriad considerations like topography and climate, […]

Friendship Adult Day Care Center (FADCC) just held its ninth annual Wine Down and Big Heart Awards. It’s such a lovely facility anyway with its open courtyard, but it’s especially pretty when dressed up for this fête. Guests arrived and picked up a wine glass from which to savor wines, spirits, and coffee: Buttonwood Farm […]

The rotunda at the Hilton was jammed when the 38th Taste of the Town threw its 10th annual Connoisseurs’ Circle gala, co-chaired by Lori Farnsworth and John O’Neill, for 213 foodies and wine lovers 48 hours before its popular Riviera epicurean festival with a tidal wave of restaurateurs, caterers, winemakers, and breweries serving samples of […]

Over the last few years, Coast Village Road has seen the arrival of more than a handful of new eateries, offering Montecito’s lower village an array of exciting dining options, the majority of which are locally owned and operated. In an effort to showcase its burgeoning restaurant scene, the Coast Village Association presents the inaugural […]

Little known fact about the 2004 cult film Sideways: if George Clooney and Brad Pitt had gotten their way, the heartthrob pair would have seen their own names on the movie’s marquee. Director Alexander Payne turned them down, though, opting instead to cast lesser known names that wouldn’t steal the spotlight from the story or […]