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Rosé Wine Tasting in Los Olivos: 6 Stellar Rosés

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Spring has sprung, and that can only mean one thing in wine country: it’s rosé season. This is the time of year when wineries release their new rosé, to be enjoyed now and all through the summer (and if you can hold onto a bottle all the way until Thanksgiving, it’s superb with the food).

Larner rose wine
This time of year, rosé is fresh off the bottling line. It can be light and zingy with a hint of color and fruit, or it can have more body and complexity with nice acidity to keep it fresh. Gone are the days of heavy, sweet rosés…most wineries today are making a Provence-style rosé: dry, fresh, a little (or a lot) fruity with tons of acidity to keep your mouth refreshed. Just what we need on warm Spring days and Summer evenings.

In Los Olivos, look for these 6 ravishing rosés:

  1. Liquid Farm makes Rosé of Mourvédre from  Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara AVA. Bottled on Feb 5, 2020, the new vintage does not disappoint!! Apricot, orange zest, and river rock aromas are followed with flavors of peach skin, nectarine, and salty sea air. Due to replanting, production is down and we cannot guarantee we will be able to make it last all year.
  2. Larner Vineyard & Winery makes Syrah/Grenache/Mourvedre rosé this Easter weekend as well. This Rhone blend of grapes is really the classic choice for rosés from Provence.
  3. Kaena Wines makes a more complex rosé of Grenache, a pretty wine that can easily stand up to summer barbecues.
  4. Coquelicot has a Rosé of Sangiovese, and it’s light and crisp, like those from Provence.
  5. Andrew Murray Vineyards makes a nice rosé of Cinsault, which is its Esperance rosé, following in Andrew’s style of ripe fruit and bracing acidity.
  6. Blair Fox Cellars does a double whammy, making a rosé of Grenache, and also sparkling rosé of Grenache! They are also family-owned and organically-farmed. (In case you’re wondering, other wineries that also do a double whammy of rosé and sparkling rosé are Alma Rosa, Summerland, Riverbench and Palmina.)

Have fun with these wines and don’t forget to Drink Pink!

Summer Recipe: White Peach Blueberry Sangria with Buttonwood Semi-Semi

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Ok, so I’m on a Sangria kick now. Living and working on a microfarm is more work than I thought it would be! Sangria is helping me keep it together: some days you just need a light, fruity, slightly sweet pitcher of deliciousness to counter all that chicken poop. Buttonwood Farm & Winery helps me with that.

On a recent trip there to buy peaches and taste wine, I came across 2 great wines for Sangria: the dry Rosé of Syrah (great for a Bloody Rosé Sangria) and the Semi-Semi (semi-sweet Semillon). Semillon is actually the world’s most-oft grown grape, but is typically used for blending. I love to find a Semillon varietal wine, and this one is a special treat!

Here are the tasting notes:

“Light, flavorful and slightly sweet, Semillon shows its delicate side in a sipper of a wine. . A taste delivers a burst of sugarcane-like sweetness, white peach and apple cider notes that are lifted with bright key-lime acidity. Semi-Semi finishes with hints of almond and spun honey.”

Semi-semi, you can be my spun honey.

Buttonwood Semillon Peach Blueberry Sangria

 

White Peach Blueberry Sangria recipe

  • Fresh juice of 1 large lemon
  • Fresh juice of 1 large peach (or 2 small ones)
  • 10 blueberries
  • Sugar, to taste
  • Pineapple sage + blueberry for garnish
  • Buttonwood Semi-Semi

Note: you can skip the lemon and sugar, and replace with San Pellegrino Lemon sparkling soda for some bubbles!

  1. Muddle the blueberries and the peach and lemon pulp together with all the juices and sugar.
  2. Divide this mixture into 2 glasses.
  3. Top with Buttonwood Semi-Semi and garnish with pineapple sage + a blueberry in each glass. You can add sparkling water or soda as well.
  4. Drink and be delicious! And sweet.

Fess Parker’s Fesstivity at The Bubble Shack

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Fesstivity sparkling wines are a collaborative effort for Parker siblings Eli Parker and Ashley Parker Snider. Their first release of Blanc de Blancs, Brut Rose and Blanc de Noirs have proven to be great expressions of their shared vision of fresh and exciting wines from the finest Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vineyards in the Santa Rita Hills, AVA.

This is Fess Parker’s all-bubbly, all-the-time tasting room in Los Olivos with 3 sparklers on their tasting menu (open Friday – Monday only). This year, The Bubble Shack celebrates the Fess Parker Winery’s 30th Anniversary with a 1.5L bottling of 2015 Fesstivity Anniversary Cuvee.

Blanc De Noirs: “The delicate, persistent bubbles and straw color with a hint of salmon are harbingers of great things to come. You will detect hints of brioche, ginger and lemon rind on the nose. The palate offers up gorgeous citrus and tangerine flavors tempered by mineral notes and a delicious yeasty/pastry dough element as a result of extended time laying en tirage.”

Fess Parker Sparkling Wine at the Bubble Shack

Brut Cuvée: “Benefitting from additional time en tirage, this is our most complex sparkling wine to date.”

Sparkling Grenache: “Our 2015 Sibling Bubblery is surprisingly refreshing despite its dark ruby color. Aromas of cranberry, red plum and baking spice are what you will encounter on the nose of this sparkling Grenache. The palate is loaded with juicy flavors of red plum and black raspberry made more delicious due to a hint of cinnamon. While Grenache is an unusual choice of varietal for a sparkling wine we can assure you that you will be better off for having put your preconceived notions aside and trying it. Enjoy!”

2016 Brut Rosé also coming soon!

  • Fesstivity Bubbles at the Bubble Shack - Santa Barbara Sparkling Wine

Roasted Local Vegetable Skillet at Los Olivos Wine Merchant Cafe

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Fall  |

If you’ve never tried the Roasted Local Vegetables at Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Café, this fall is the time! And after you’ve had it cooked to perfection by him, read below to make it at home yourself.

Roasted Local Vegetables at Los Olivos Wine Merchant & CaféChef Chris Joslyn sources all the vegetables for this dish from local farmers and changes the mix seasonally. Fall will feature the following local ingredients:

  • Brussels sprouts
  • butternut squash
  • broccoli
  • cauliflower
  • carrots
  • rutabaga
  • turnip
  • bell pepper.

It’s served with smoked mozzarella, arugula and house-made tapenade.

Chef Joslyn roasts the vegetables on separate pans at 400-450 degrees, to get the exact amount of softness and carmelization for each one. This can take from 25-45 minutes; you’ll need to taste them to make sure each pan is done. He then heats a skillet or cast-iron pan, places smoked mozzarella in the middle and piles on the veggies, adding a dollop of tapenade and a smattering of arugula.

Chef Joslyn uses Rancho Olivos extra-virgin olive oil from Santa Ynez in this and other dishes at the Café. Since the first harvest, owner Shannon Casey has invited folks to visit the farm and taste the oils right next to the olive trees that produce them. The dry climate in the Santa Ynez Valley, with its long warm days and crisp evenings, is the ideal environment for olive trees. The Caseys farm the trees sustainably, tend the orchards themselves, handpick the olives during harvest and have them sent to be milled within a few hours of picking. To make the oils, the Caseys blend olives from two varietals (one Italian and one Spanish): Frantoio and Leccino. They believe this combo to be the most pleasing to most people.

Farmer Jacob Grant of Los Olivos Roots Organic Farm and Santa Ynez farmer Steve Loyal supply almost all the vegetables in the dish. Joslyn knows he can rely on Grant’s famously sweet carrots, even if Grant isn’t so consistent. “Jacob never looks the same; you never know what you’ll get when he walks in.” Joslyn also says Loyal is a great storyteller and gives him advice on what’s happening in his own garden. “I grow vegetables at home, things like kale, lettuce, radishes, which I also bring in to the restaurant. Steve loves to talk shop, and my garden is a happy recipient.”

Locally-grown garlic is easily sourced in summer and fall. When local supplies run out, the restaurant looks further upstate for year-round garlic from none other than Gilroy, the self-proclaimed “Garlic Capital of the World.” If you’ve ever been close to Gilroy, you know this nickname is correct by the garlic smell!

Coquelicot Sparkling Riesling

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Sparkling Wine in Los Olivos, CA

Sparkling Riesling from Coquelicot is available now! Made in the Méthode-Champenoise by hand, the wine is made from organic grapes in their Solvang vineyard.

“This wine is the reason why you hear Sommeliers say they are in love with Riesling. This vintage might be one of our top favorites to date. The aromas are just so beautiful and inviting. It is perfuming with fresh white flowers, jasmine and peaches. On the palate Asian pear, stone fruits, honey suckles, with a hint of kaffir lime. Light and delicate with layers of complex fruit flavor.”

Fried Brussels Sprouts at Sides Hardware & Shoes

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Sides Hardware & Shoes, a Brothers restaurant in Los Olivos

Of the many Los Olivos restaurants, Sides is one of the best. There are many reasons to eat lunch at Sides Hardware & Shoes: the bright location right off Grand Ave in Los Olivos, the great fresh and local ingredients in the dishes, the ever-changing menu, the brothers Matt & Jeff Nichols (longtime chefs in the Santa Ynez Valley, known for the now-closed Brothers’ Restaurant at Mattei’s Tavern and The Red Barn in Santa Ynez). But the two biggest reasons are the house-cured bacon steak and the fried Brussels Sprouts.

Sides Hardware & Shoes, a Brothers restaurant in Los Olivos

Named for the building’s original shop name (a man named Milburn Sides sold shoes and hardware to townsfolk in the early 1900s), Sides retains its historical charm, just a block off the main flagpole intersection in Los Olivos. And yes, they serve bacon the size of a steak that they cure here in their kitchen. It’s a 4-day process involving maple syrup, sugar, salt, applewood smoke and more, and the meat comes from 
Salmon Creek family farms, which raise natural, sustainable pork.

Sides Hardware & Shoes, a Brothers restaurant in Los Olivos

Don’t miss their daily lunch, and try to get a spot on the outdoor patio on a sunny day (preferably with some girlfriends who don’t have to  go back to work). Then you can really enjoy the fennel and goat cheese crostini, beef carpaccio with arugula and shaved Parmesan and any of the market salads you see on the menu.

Sides Hardware & Shoes, a Brothers restaurant in Los Olivos

Any burger on this on this menu is a must – the Mexicali burger was topped with guacamole with a crispy tostada slid between the burger and bun. Also not to be missed is the sandwich list: thick grilled cheese, hammered pork with mustard seed slaw and roasted turkey with avocado – I take mine with sweet potato fries. The soups, market salads and fish tacos are all fresh and satisfying.

And don’t forget the fried Brussels sprouts with sherry vinegar & capers; if you order one serving per person it won’t be enough! The kitchen team buys as much organic ingredients as they can with much produce coming from local farmers such as Finley Farms, Jacob Grant and Paul Palmer. Beef is from an all natural farm in California (Kobe beef from Idaho), lamb from Colorado and pork from the plains states (all meat is from Newport Meat Company).

Important Note: Choose anything on the dessert list – it’s all excellent, especially the house-made sorbets. Ask for the dark chocolate one!

Bacon steak at Sides Hardware & Shoes

The wine list is as local as you can get, with wines on tap from many spots just around the corner in town. The winemakers themselves are known to dine here, as well as local farmers and cattle ranchers, gardeners and shop owners. Everyone loves a good bacon steak.

Fried Brussels Sprouts at Sides Hardware & Shoes Cafe

The fried Brussels Sprouts feature the acids of Sherry and capers instead of the sprouts’ typical leading star: bacon. At a restaurant known for its house-cured bacon steak and twice-won titles at the annual Bacon & Barrels festival, one notices the lack of pork in this dish.

To make this at home, trim the stem off washed Brussels Sprouts and cut them in half. Heat peanut oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees – grapeseed and cottonseed oils also have a high smoke point (olive oil won’t work). Fry them for 2 minutes or until golden brown – before they get mushy inside. Remove them and tosses them with Sherry vinegar and kosher salt, then finish them with a handful of capers.

It’s important to use the best ingredients, which means Spanish Sherry – the place where Sherry originates – and when it comes to capers, smallest are best.