A Survivor Gives Back: New Wine Benefits Cancer Patients
By Gabe Saglie   |   October 3, 2019

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 […]

Everything’s Coming Up Sideways: Cult Wine Country Film Turns 15
By Gabe Saglie   |   September 5, 2019

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 […]

 

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Friendship Center Updates
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   August 29, 2019

Friendship Center’s 9th Annual Wine Down & Big Heart Awards will be Thursday, September 5 from 4 to 7 pm. Featuring tastings of wine, beer, spirits, and coffee from 10+ local businesses, this is a fun and festive event to support the adult day care facility.  Participating beverage purveyors include Buttonwood Farm Winery, Draughtsmen Aleworks, […]

A Toast to Age: Older Pinots Tell a Story
By Gabe Saglie   |   August 22, 2019

The pinot noir you buy at the local shop is, almost always, that winery’s latest release, and usually its youngest wine. A younger pinot – from the 2017 vintage, for example – usually delivers exactly what we pinot lovers want: it’s fruity and fresh, soft and supple, luscious and delicious. Vibrancy and flavor make a […]

Julia’s Back
By Richard Mineards   |   August 15, 2019

Montecito actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus‘ critically acclaimed HBO series Veep went on hiatus while she underwent treatment for breast cancer. Now Julia, 58, has opened up to the celebrity glossy, Vanity Fair, about her cancer diagnosis and returning to work after a life-threatening illness. On the cover of the Conde Nast monthly Julia wears a diaphanous […]

Staying on Brand
By Richard Mineards   |   August 15, 2019

Social gridlock reigned at the East Haley Street wine bar Uncorked when Santa Barbara TV game-show host Rebecca Brand marked the 18th anniversary of her 40th. Rebecca, who turned a small business hosting dinner parties and teaching French impressionist oil painting at her home into a culinary and travel TV show empire, has just returned […]

Annual Fête Celebrates Santa Barbara’s Sta. Rita Hills
By Gabe Saglie   |   August 8, 2019

A rose by any other name may still be a rose. But when it comes to wine grapes, nomenclature matters. Just ask anyone who makes wine in the Sta. Rita Hills. The 10 square-mile ag region nestled in the westernmost reaches of the Santa Ynez Valley – where Buellton gives way to Lompoc and where […]

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  • Every Sip Helps
    By Gabe Saglie   |   August 1, 2019

    Thirsty? May I suggest the “Storm Cellar” at Finch & Fork? After all, every sip helps! The mixology team at the popular restaurant and bar at Santa Barbara’s Kimpton Canary Hotel launched a unique charity drive this summer – Cocktails for a Cause. A new mixed drink is introduced each month and proceeds from the […]

    Museum Madness
    By Richard Mineards   |   July 4, 2019

    The popular food and wine festival at the socially gridlocked Museum of Natural History was a sold-out affair. The 32nd annual fest, which had 1,173 guests and raised in excess of $115,000 for the museum’s programs, featured more than 70 premier Central Coast wineries and 30 food vendors on the 11-acre oak-shaded Mission Creek campus. […]

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    Wine-sday
    By Richard Mineards   |   June 27, 2019

    Eight months after celebrating its first anniversary with a boffo bash at the Hotel Californian, Epicurean Santa Barbara was back at the tony hostelry for a Wine Down Wednesday at the Djinn cocktail bar in the Library Lounge. The third wine-oriented fest on the program, after events at the Rosewood Miramar and Mizza Pizza on […]

    Wine Not?
    By Richard Mineards   |   June 27, 2019

    Doug Margerum, a fixture on the Santa Barbara wine and restaurant scene for 35 years, was in party mode when he opened his eponymous tasting room at the Hotel Californian. The 3,000 sq. ft. two-level outlet, described as modern farmhouse meets couture boutique, was designed by Doug’s wife, Marni, with an expansive bar made of […]

    The Lark Wins 3rd Annual Cocktail Contest
    By Gabe Saglie   |   June 27, 2019

    For these five bartenders, this was a tall order, indeed: create a mixed drink that encapsulates the essence, the beauty, and the charm of Santa Barbara. They shook and muddled and stirred, and at the end of this annual bartender contest, The Lark came out on top. Their “Sticky Fingers,” a gin- and mezcal-based cocktail […]

    Foodies and Winos
    By Richard Mineards   |   March 21, 2019

    Gourmands and oenophiles were out in force at the Wine Shepherd when the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum threw an intimate bash to mark the 38th year of its popular wine and food festival in June, which is expected to raise $130,000 for educational programs. The fest on the 14-acre campus along the shaded banks […]

    Hey ‘19
    By Steven Libowitz   |   December 27, 2018

    As usual, there are all sorts of options for ringing in the New Year in Santa Barbara, including a brand new event in the increasingly trendy Funk Zone centered around the new Hotel Californian. Just about the entire neighborhood is involved, with events starting at 10 am with the preliminary rounds of the first annual […]

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