Tag Archives: Zotovich

Cocktail Corner: Celebration of Harvest

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Celebration of Harvest, photo by Gary Coon, courtesy SB Vintners

Celebration of Harvest, photo by Gary Coon, courtesy SB Vintners

A spirited toast to all things alcoholic! By Leslie Dinaberg

Local winemakers have been hard at work amongst the vines for the last few weeks, but now it’s time for them to take a break for the annual celebration of the year’s bounty. Celebration of Harvest Weekend is a time to enjoy the fruits of those labors, when vintners pour their wines, relax a little bit, and if you’re lucky, share their harvest tales with the winehounds among us.

The Festival Grand Tasting is Saturday, October 11 from 1-4 p.m. at Old Mission Santa Ines in Solvang. All 100+ winery members of Santa Barbara Vintners will gather to present their wines, which are often poured by the winemakers themselves. A ticket gets you unlimited wine tastings from Santa Barbara County wineries, food samplings from local restaurants, caterers, and food creators, pop-up wine seminars and live music from the Occasional Mustache and Donna Green and the Roadhouse Daddies.

Everyone from Alma Rosa to Zotovich will be pouring, with food from a number of favorites, including The Willows, Trattoria Grappolo, Hitching Post II and Global Gardens.

Celebration of Harvest, photo by Tenley Fohl Photography, courtesy SB Vintners

Celebration of Harvest, photo by Tenley Fohl Photography, courtesy SB Vintners

There are also a number of special events throughout the weekend, everything from winemaker dinners, library tastings, new wine releases and barrel tastings. On Saturday night there’s a special concert at Solvang Festival Theatre starring Toad the Wet Sprocket with special guests Jonathan Kingham and Tommy & the High Pilots.

Also available just for the weekend are an all-inclusive tasting pass.  You can purchase a Vintners Visa for unique and complimentary offerings at your choice of tasting rooms. For all the details on the Grand Tasting and special events, and to purchase tickets click here.

Cheers!

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Leslie Dinaberg

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 October 3, 2014.

Cocktail Corner: Taste the Future of Wine at Les Marchands

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Santa Barbara County Wine Futures TastingA spirited toast to all things alcoholic! by Leslie Dinaberg  |

After last year’s super successful first “Funk Zone version” of the Santa Barbara County Wine Futures Tasting, there’s a lot of excitement surrounding numero due, especially since an exclusive Friday evening event was added to the mix, taking place on April 18.

Unlike a typical Winemaker’s Dinner, this gathering will echo what has gone on for generations in Europe but was formally organized in the 1920’s by Count Lafon as La Paulee de Meursault with a celebration in Burgundy marking the end of harvest. With that in mind, this will be a harvest style celebration of bringing and sharing superb wines.  Les Marchands has invited several winemakers to participate and in generosity they have agreed to bring along Santa Barbara County wines from their cellars—fun, unique, aged, new, unreleased, large format—the variety will be truly memorable.

Confirmed winemakers and proprietors attending include Zotovich Cellars, Ojai, Tyler Winery, Wenzlau Vineyard, Sillix, Chanin, Storm Wines and Sandhi, with a few more in the works.

Expanding on the theme, Les Marchands is encouraging guests to bring a wine from Santa Barbara County to share since the evening is centered around sharing, enjoying, and learning about the expressive wines of Santa Barbara County.

SBCWFTDinner2014-2855The menu includes:

Farmer’s Market Crudite Platter with Seasonal Vegetables, Herbed Goat Cheese, Black Pepper Creme Fraiche, and Romesco Sauce

Roasted Cauliflower Soup, Chives and House-made Potato Chip

Grilled Tri-tip, Salsa Verde served with Rosemary Potatoes, Grilled Broccolini with Lemon Zest and Chili Flakes, Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad

Rori’s Ice Cream
Cost is $85 per person, and reservations can be made by clicking here.

That’s just the beginning of this delicious world of fun.

On Saturday, April 19, more than 50 of the hottest local wineries will gather for an exclusive tasting next door to Les Marchands at 131 Anacapa St., which will be transformed into an indoor tasting room. Attendees have the rare opportunity to be among the first to taste and purchase special cuvees available prior to release at a 20% discount off standard retail price. Historic producers like Au Bon Climat and Qupe are confirmed to attend, alongside upcoming stars like Tyler, Sillix, Zotovich, Tatomer, Habit Wine Company and Wenzlau.

Tickets for the 2014 Les Marchands Wine Bar & Merchant’s Santa Barbara County Wine Futures Tasting are $70 with advance purchase on the Les Marchands website or $80 at the door. The event will take place from noon-4 p.m.

Cheers!

Originally published in Santa Barbara SEASONS on March 21, 2014.

Click here for more cocktail corner columns.

Leslie Dinaberg

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.”