Grassini’s beautiful tasting room in El Paseo was one of our stops on the Eat This, Shoot That! tour. Photo by Leslie Dinaberg

Wining and Dining With Eat, This Shoot That!

A spirited toast to all things alcoholic! By Leslie Dinaberg

Jamie Slone was a fun wine tasting stop on the Eat This, Shoot That! tour. Photo by Leslie Dinaberg.

Combining food and wine with photography is a great way to tour Santa Barbara, even for locals. We recently went on the new Eat This, Shoot That! trek through the Presidio neighborhood and the new Wine Collection of El Paseo and it was so much fun.

Led by photographer and foodie Tara Jones, owner of Eat This, Shoot That!, our tour met up at the historic De la Guerra Plaza, then we made our way to Hoffmann Brat Haus in Paseo Nuevo, where we were treated to a sausage sampler, including the classic German Hoffmann Brat, the Beer Brat, the Spicy Brat and the Mango Habanero, among others. Not only was the food tasty, but Jones offered some useful photo tips like, “when photographing food you should try different angles to put the plate in the foreground and the setting in the background,” and “spritz a little bit of water or lemon on the items to make them look even more appetizing.”

Our next stop was Jamie Slone Wines, (23 E. De la Guerra St.) a beautiful tasting room where, in addition to tasting limited production varietals from the best local vineyards, they also had visual aids—big, beautiful maps—to help explain the terroir and terrain and relate it to the excellent wines we were tasting.

Jim Clendenen’s Au Bon Climat was our next stop, and his distinctive wines—we tasted Chardonnay and Pinot Noir—didn’t disappoint. Nor did our much-needed nibbles at C’Est Cheese, just a quick walk through the Presidio neighborhood. As we walked the cobblestone pathways of this historic area, Jones offered local lore about the area’s rich culture, as well as pointing out a few short cuts that were new to me!

Some of the nibbles from C’Est Cheese. #regram @fit_lexy.

Margerum Wine Co. was our next tasting spot. Owner/winemaker Doug Margerum (one of the top local names in the industry) was there to greet us that day, which made our stop even more special. We also enjoyed tasting wines at Grassini Family Vineyards, (El Paseo, Suite 6) always a welcoming and charming experience, and Happy Canyon Vineyard, where Executive Winemaker Sean Pitts shared both wine and horse (the family is every bit as passionate about polo as they are about wine) stories with the group.

It really was a great way to spend the afternoon! To learn more, visit EatThisShootThat.com.

Cheers! Click here for more cocktail corner columns. Originally published in Santa Barbara Seasons on May 1, 2015.

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.”