Santa Barbara, California – aka the American Riviera – is blessed with year-round sunshine, a shocking shoreline, a foodie paradise, and an array of remarkable native wineries, making the picturesque city a complicated vacation spot for nice eating and nice wine-ing.
Only a brief stroll from the Santa Barbara pier is red-roofed Lodge Californian, https://www.hotelcalifornian.com/ a classy Moorish oasis with a shocking black-and-white motif by superstar designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard, outsized visitor rooms, al fresco lounges, and an impressed meals and wine program that attracts followers from close to and much.
Touring oenophiles and native wine fanatics can take pleasure in beautiful wines paired with a four-course meal curated and ready by Lodge Californian Govt Chef Travis Watson. The particular evenings begin with an open-air meet-and-greet reception on the patio, adopted by an indulgent four-course dinner that includes a collection of wines from a single vineyard, chosen by the winemaker. Every wine is paired with an area, sustainable dish, akin to Pinot Braised Octopus with Heirloom Beans, Aerated Burrata, Grilled Stone Fruit, Sous Vide Kobe New York with Recent Corn Polenta, and a dessert of Roasted Apricots, Gulab Jamun Syrup, Rose Scented Meringue, with Lychee-Framboise Rose Sorbet.
The primary winemaker dinner honored Niki Williams of the storied Sonoma vineyard Chateau St. Jean. The night started with an open-air meet-and-greet reception on the patio, adopted by an indulgent four-course dinner. Seated on the heart of a protracted communal desk, Niki regaled company with insights about “letting the fruit shine,” she mentioned. “We work exhausting to develop the very best fruit doable within the winery, so I strive to not go away my fingerprints all around the grapes.”
This month’s Winemaker Dinner at Blackbird is October 20 that includes Chalk Hill Vineyard hosted by winemaker Sarah Quider, VP of Winemaking for Foley Household Wines. “My purpose is to make complicated, intense, and seamless wines which might be balanced in each richness and delicacy,” mentioned Sarah. “We’ve got such an amazing variety of wineries at Foley Household Wines. We’ve got wineries and vineyards positioned in varied appellations, every with distinctive micro-climates, soils, and clones. I like expressing this variety in every of those wines.”
On November 17, company will sip world-class wines from Chalone Vineyards whereas mingling with winemaker Greg Freeman, beforehand with Georis/Cowgirl Vineyard in Carmel Valley, California and Messina Hof Vineyard in Bryan, Texas. He joined Chalone Winery in 2021, bringing twenty years of Monterey winemaking expertise as he writes the newest chapter in Chalone’s storied historical past.
The ultimate Winemakers Dinner of 2022 will probably be held on December 15, hosted by second-generation vintner, Courtney Foley of Foley Household Wines. Sip on a number of of the Foley household’s favourite wines from throughout their portfolio take pleasure in yet one more all-new four-course dinner from Govt Chef Travis Watson.
Visitors who benefit from the wines featured on the Winemaker Dinners can expertise them once more by visiting The Society: State & Mason, which is now open day by day. Serving as Santa Barbara’s latest refuge for wine aficionados within the bustling Funk Zone neighborhood, the intimate tasting room celebrates the intersection between world-class wines, beautiful delicacies, and immersive, memorable journey experiences.
