Tag Archives: Jardesca

Cocktail Corner: Santa Barbara Polo & Wine Festival

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Santa Barbara Polo & Wine Festival, photo by Jon Endow.

Santa Barbara Polo & Wine Festival, photo by Jon Endow.

A spirited toast to all things alcoholic! by Leslie Dinaberg

Get ready for another fun festival when the Santa Barbara Polo & Wine Festival returns to the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club on Saturday, September 8.

The festival combines polo, local wine, and music for a unique one-day experience that includes musical performances by ZZ Ward, Booker T. Jones, California Honeydrops, Quinn DeVeaux and DJ Sets by Soul Dust Productions.

Santa Barbara Polo & Wine Festival, photo by Andrew Thill.

Santa Barbara Polo & Wine Festival, photo by Andrew Thill.

The Festival features a careful curation of local food and wineries, including Jardesca, Lavender Oak Vineyard, Old Creek Ranch, Sanford Winery, Standing Sun Wines, Summerland Winery and more. In addition to a wine tasting hour from 1 -2 p.m. where attendees will having a chance to sample all of the featured wines, there’s also a VIP champagne and cheese hour from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.

In addition, sommelier guided wine tasting tours will be available on a first come first serve basis and attendees will be guided across all of the wineries of the festival and given an overview, history, and tasting notes at each winery as well.

Santa Barbara Polo & Wine Festival, photo by Andrew Thill.

Santa Barbara Polo & Wine Festival, photo by Andrew Thill.

There are several different levels of experiences and perks available at the Festival, so visit sbpoloandwine.com for all of the specifics.

Santa Barbara Polo & Wine Festival, photo by David Lominska.

Santa Barbara Polo & Wine Festival, photo by David Lominska.

In addition, this year, the Santa Barbara Polo & Wine Festival is the kick-off event to the 8-goal polo series at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club. This will be an official polo game of the series, and is sure to be an incredible match. While not mandatory, the game’s elegant atmosphere will encourage guests to get in touch with their inner Julia Roberts (think the polo match scene in Pretty Woman). The bigger and more elaborate the hat the better, although September 8 is my birthday, so I might just wear my tiara! 

Hope to see you there. Cheers!

Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club is located at 3300 Via Real, Carpinteria.

Nick Waterhouse at Santa Barbara Polo & Wine Festival, photo by Andrew Thill.

Nick Waterhouse at Santa Barbara Polo & Wine Festival, photo by Andrew Thill.

Santa Barbara Polo & Wine Festival, photo by Jon Endow.

Santa Barbara Polo & Wine Festival, photo by Jon Endow.

Santa Barbara Polo & Wine Festival, photo by Jon Endow.

Santa Barbara Polo & Wine Festival, photo by Jon Endow.

Santa Barbara Polo & Wine Festival, photo by Jon Endow.

Santa Barbara Polo & Wine Festival, photo by Jon Endow.

Santa Barbara Polo & Wine Festival, photo by Jon Endow.

Santa Barbara Polo & Wine Festival, photo by Jon Endow.

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 believes variety is the spice of life. Send your suggestions to Leslie@sbseasons.com.

Originally published in Santa Barbara Seasons on August 3, 2018.

Cocktail Corner: Aperitifs That Play Well With Others

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Photo Courtesy Jardesca.

Photo Courtesy Jardesca.

A spirited toast to all things alcoholic! By Leslie Dinaberg

The French word apéritif, like its Italian counterpart, aperitivo, comes from the Latin aperire, meaning “to open.” These “alcoholic appetizers” are a European tradition, designed as delicious, low-alcohol lead-ins to a meal.

Some classic apéritifs include Vermouth, Campari, Dubonnet, Lillet and Aperol, all of which can be satisfyingly sipped on their own—or mixed with soda, juice, and ice.

Photo Courtesy Jardesca.

Photo Courtesy Jardesca.

We recently tried a new entry to this category, Jardesca. Created in the wine country of Sonoma, it’s a blend of botanicals with three sweet and dry artisanal white wines. I quite liked it on its own.

If you want to get a little more complicated, try a Jardesca Spritz.

Pour three fingers of Jardesca (3 oz) over ice in a stemless wine glass or rocks glass

Add 2 oz of Prosecco or sparking wine

Top with your favorite seasonal fruit or an array of fresh herbs.

Photo Courtesy Jardesca.

Photo Courtesy Jardesca.

For other recipe options click here. Jardesca is available locally at C’est Cheese (825 Santa Barbara St.) and Montecito Village Grocery (1482 E. Valley Rd.). Check it out and let me know what you think.

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 September 9, 2016.

 

 

Cocktail Corner: Wine Meets Cocktails—and Mocktails—With Stolen Fruit

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Stolen Fruit Mixers, courtesy photo.

Stolen Fruit Mixers, courtesy photo.

A spirited toast to all things alcoholic!  By Leslie Dinaberg

Winemakers have traditionally seduced delicious tastes from the vineyard and chefs blend verjus—the fresh pressed juice from green grapes, varietal grape juice, and grape skins—to bring flavor to the forefront of their creations. Now these same techniques have been used to craft a fun, new line of grape-based mixers: adding the nuance and complexity of wine grapes to a range of cocktails and mocktails.

Using the fresh pressed juice of grapes dropped during thinning and dried wine grape skins, Sonoma-based Stolen Fruit takes what is normally discarded from the winemaking process to create the base for each mixer. Then the concentrated natural juice of a specific grape varietal such as Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier or Grenache, is blended in along with complimentary fruit and botanicals to build a layered, balanced drink base.

The flavors include: Lemongrass Ginger Sauvignon Blanc, Jasmine Juniper Viognier, Hibiscus Grenache (my favorite), Blood Orange Muscat and Fig Grains of Paradise Zin.

We tried them out last weekend and they’re delicious, with or with the booze! Mix them with sparkling water or club soda or lemonade for a non-alcoholic drink that still feels fun and festive. Add in sparkling wine and/or your favorite spirit and you have a terrific cocktail. We tried Stolen Fruit with Pisco, Rye, Vodka and Prosecco. I liked them all, as well as in combination with Jardesca, a refreshing wine-based aperitif.

Created by Dry Creek Valley AVA grape growers Doug and Susan Provisor, owners of Provisor Vineyards, and Healdsburg-based Chef Peter Brown, these versatile mixers are a great addition to your home bar, as well as nice gift for your host.

Stolen Fruit Cocktail Mixers ($18) are initially available for purchase online at stolenfruit.com, which also has recipes for cocktails, mocktails and food pairings, as well as on Amazon.  Check them out and let me know what you think.

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 July 15, 2016.