Tag Archives: Carr Vineyards & Winery

Cocktail Corner: Passport Weekend at the Urban Wine Trail

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Urban Wine trail 2015 passport-poster-v3A spirited toast to all things alcoholic! By Leslie Dinaberg

Have you been wanting to check out what’s new on Santa Barbara’s Urban Wine Trail? If so, then the upcoming passport weekend (June 5-7) is your perfect opportunity.

The annual festivities feature a Passport to the Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail for the weekend, and a Red & White AVA Seminar. TheSanta Barbara Urban Wine Trail Passport will be happening all

Lafond Winery tasting room, photo by Mercedes Lowe

Lafond Winery tasting room is one of 26 wineries featured on the Urban Wine Trail’s special passport event June 5-7, photo by Mercedes Lowe

weekend long—Friday to Sunday—at all of the 26 tasting rooms. The Passport includes special wine tasting opportunities and complimentary tastings, including the chance to meet winemakers, reserve vintage exhibitions, light bites and live musical entertainment. Passport holders will also get a 10% discount on wine purchases at all member tasting rooms that weekend.

Guests  begin their wine tasting adventures by picking up their Passport and signature logo glass at any one of the three check-in points, including Carr Winery, Santa Barbara Winery and Margerum Wine Company.

The tasting  kicks into high gear on Saturday, June 6, from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the Wine Cask restaurant with the Red & White AVA Seminar featuring eight of Santa Barbara’s top winemakers. I went last year and this is a MUST ATTEND event for wine lovers who want to learn more about our region.

Guests can sip through and learn about all of the AVA’s in Santa Barbara County.  Each of the eight winemakers will share one of their finest wines that represent the AVA where it was grown. Mitchell Sjerven, owner of the renowned Bouchon restaurant, will moderate the seminar and guide guests through each of these unique and notable wines.

Last year's Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail red and white AVA seminar, photo SB Urban Wine Trail Facebook.

Last year’s Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail red and white AVA seminar, photo SB Urban Wine Trail Facebook.

Presenting winemakers are some of the most respected names in the business: Margerum Wine Company – Doug Margerum; Santa Barbara Winery – Bruce McGuire; Pali Wine Co. – Aaron Walker; Sanford – Steve Fennell; Carr Vineyards & Winery – Ryan Carr; Jaffurs – Craig Jaffurs; Kunin Wines – Seth Kunin; and Riverbench – Rawley Hermreck.

Passport tickets are $75 and AVA seminar tickets are also $75, or you can purchase a VIP All Access ticket for $125, which includes both events.

Photo courtesy Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail.

Photo courtesy Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail.

Urban Wine Trail member wineries include:  Area 5.1 Winery, Au Bon Climat,  Carr Vineyards & Winery, Cebada Vineyard and Winery (inside Isabella Gourmet Foods), Cottonwood Canyon, Deep Sea Tasting Room, Fox Wine Co., Grassini Family Vineyards, Happy Canyon Vineyard, Jaffurs Wine Cellars and Kalyra Winery.

Kunin Wines, Lafond Winery, Margerum Wine Company, Municipal Winemakers, Oreana Winery, Pali Wine Co., Riverbench Winery, Sanford, Sanguis, Santa Barbara Winery, Silver Wines, Summerland Winery, The Valley Project (a.k.a. AVA Santa Barbara) and Whitcraft Winery are also on the trail.

For more information visit, www.urbanwinetrailsb.com.

Cheers!

Click here for more cocktail corner columns.

Leslie Dinaberg

When she’s not busy working as the editor of Santa Barbara SEASONS, Cocktail Corner author Leslie Dinaberg writes magazine articles, newspaper columns and grocery lists. When it comes to cocktails, Leslie considers herself a “goal-oriented drinker.”

Originally published in Santa Barbara Seasons on May 29, 2015.

Cocktail Corner: The California Directory of Fine Wineries

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CA Directory of Fine Wineries

A spirited toast to all things alcoholic! By Leslie Dinaberg

The newest volume of The California Directory of Fine Wineries: Central Coast Edition (Wine House Press) takes a good thing and improves upon it, which isn’t always that easy to do.

Editor Tom Silberkleit has the tough job of navigating through hundreds of Central Coast wineries and tasting rooms and selecting the very best places to sip and savor throughout Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. Then writers K. Reka Badger and Cheryl Crabtree (both frequent Santa Barbara Seasons contributors), joined for this edition by Daniel Mangin, get to write profiles of the top 50 destinations, which each feature lush, full-color photographs by Robert Holmes, along with sidebars listing locations, specialties and nearby attractions.

It’s no surprise that this beautiful, visually-appealing book is featured in most of the top hotel rooms in the county. It would also make a great gift for the wine-loving people in your life.

Carhartt Vineyard tasting room, courtesy California Directory of Fine Wineries Facebook page

Carhartt Vineyard tasting room, courtesy California Directory of Fine Wineries Facebook page

Among the Santa Barbara County wineries that made the cut are Alma Rosa Winery & Vineyards, Beckmen Vineyards, Blair Fox Cellars, Byron, Cambria Estate Winery, Carhartt Vineyard and Carr Vineyards & Winery.

Also featured are Costa de Oro Winery, D’Alfonso-Curran Wines, Demetria Estate Winery, Fess Parker Winery & Vineyard, Foley Estates Vineyard & Winery, Foley Food & Wine Society and Foxen.

Grassini Family Vineyards, Hitching Post Wines, Loring/Cargasacchi Tasting Room, Pali Wine Co., Sanford Winery & Vineyards, Silver Wines and Zaca Mesa Winery & Vineyards are also featured in The California Directory of Fine Wineries.

Byron tasting room, courtesy California Directory of Fine Wineries Facebook page

Byron tasting room, courtesy California Directory of Fine Wineries Facebook page

“There’s a lot more activity in the Funk Zone this time around,” says Crabtree, who wrote the majority of Santa Barbara County entries. The update includes the addition of a number of Santa Barbara urban wineries, including Pali, Silver Wines and Blair Fox in the Funk Zone, and Grassini, in the downtown El Paseo Wine Collection. There is also the addition of the Foley Food & Wine Society at the Bacara Resort & Spa, where you can taste from a large portfolio of Foley-owned wineries.

This visual feast of a wine book is available at Chaucer’s Bookstore, 3321 State St., as well as some of the local tasting rooms and wine-related venues.

Cheers! Click here for more cocktail corner columns.

Leslie Dinaberg

When she’s not busy working as the editor of Santa Barbara SEASONS, Cocktail Corner author Leslie Dinaberg writes magazine articles, newspaper columns and grocery lists. When it comes to cocktails, Leslie considers herself a “goal-oriented drinker.”

Originally published in Santa Barbara Seasons Magazine on May 22, 2015.

Arthritis Foundation’s 33rd Annual Taste of the Town

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Photo courtesy Arthritis Foundation's Taste of the Town

Photo courtesy Arthritis Foundation’s Taste of the Town

We got a preview last week of what’s in store for the 33rd annual Santa Barbara Taste of the Town, and there’s a lot to be excited about for this signature culinary event benefiting the Arthritis Foundation.

Taking place on Sunday, Sept. 7 at the picturesque Riviera Park Gardens, 2030 Alameda Padre Serra,  from noon-3 p.m., the fundraiser is expected to attract more than  1,000 guests for an afternoon of wine tasting and delicious nibbles presented from many of Santa Barbara’s finest restaurants and wineries.

Mingle and support a good cause over live entertainment overlooking the beautiful city below.

Opal Restaurant & Bar co-owners Tina Takaya and Richard Yates are co-chairs for the event. Some of the participating restaurants include: Aldo’s Italian Restaurant, Blue Tavern, Ca’ Dario, Fresco Café & Bakery, Il Fustino, Los Agaves, Los Arroyos Mexican Restaurant, Louie’s California Bistro, Michael’s Catering, New West Catering/Industrial Eats, Olivos del Mar, Opal Restaurant & Bar, Renaud’s Patisserie & Bistro, Santa Barbara City College, The Chase Restaurant, The Faculty Club, The Palace Grill and Via Maestra 42, among others.

Wine, beer and beverages will be provide by: Adelaida, Alexander & Wayne/Arthur Earl, Alma Rosa Winery & Vineyards (winemaker Richard Sanford is a special honoree), Au Bon Climat, Babcock Vineyards, Brander Vineyard, Brewer-Clifton, Buttonwood Farm Winery & Vineyard, Carr Vineyards & Winery, Consilience Winery/Tre Anelli, Daniel Gehrs Wines, Falcone Family Vineyards, Fess Parker Winery, Fiddlehead Cellars, Figueroa Mountain Brewery, Foxen, Giessinger Winery, Grassini, Island Brewing Company, Jaffurs Wine Cellars, Ken Brown Wines, Kenneth Volk Vineyards, Lafond Winery and Vineyards, Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards/Toccata Wines, Margerum Wine Company, Melville Vineyards & Winery, Mosby Winery, Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Qupe, Sanford Winery, Santa Barbara Winery, Scott Cellars, Silver Wines, Sort This Out Cellars, Starlane & Dierberg Vineyards/Three Saints, Sunstone Vineyards, Tolosa, Whitcraft Winery, William James Cellars and Zaca Mesa, among others.

Photo courtesy Arthritis Foundation's Taste of the Town

Photo courtesy Arthritis Foundation’s Taste of the Town

Kendall Viera, a 13-year-old middle school student from Santa Ynez has been named this year’s Youth Honoree. She was diagnosed at the age of 6 with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA) and is currently in remission, thanks to medical advances. To see a video of Viera talking about why she supports the Arthritis Foundation click here.

Dr. Timothy Spiegel has been named the event’s Medical Honoree. Hel is a rheumatologist (arthritis specialist) in Santa Barbara that has been diagnosing and treating patients for almost 40 years. 

All proceeds from Taste of the Town support local programs and services of the Arthritis Foundation. The foundation is the only nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of 53 million people (including nearly 300,000 children) with arthritis through research and local programs of education, advocacy and juvenile arthritis support.

Taste of the Town tickets purchased in advance are $125 per person; tickets at the door will be $140, if available, and corporate group discounts are also available. Tickets are limited, so early reservations are encouraged. For tickets and information call 805/463-4685 or visit tasteofthetownsantabarbara.org.

Sponsors and their guests will also enjoy the exclusive Connoisseurs’ Circle, co-chaired by Jennifer Jaqua and Jacques Habra. Celebrating its fifth year, this unique VIP experience will feature a progressive tasting menu designed and prepared by a visiting chef of distinction at Belmond El Encanto on Friday, Sept. 5, along with a live auction. Taste of the Town sponsorship opportunities are still available by contacting Asher Garfinkel at 805/563-4685.

–Leslie Dinaberg

Originally published in Santa Barbara SEASONS on July 31, 2014.