8 0 5 . 8 4 5 .1 6 7 3 | 1 3 3 E A S T D E L A G U E R R A S T R E E T | N O.1 8 2 | S A N TA B A R B A R A
M A R C H 8 – 1 5 | 2 0 1 3 |
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r e s t a u r a n t unique mexican dining experience
Elkpen’s mural really draws you in and captures your attention over a glass of Chenin Blanc.
More action at the bar; it was a busy little Sunday. Perfect dynamic for wine tasting and a good time.
stuff, some seating in huge front windows or around a shared table in the center of the room. Comfortable. Cool upbeat jazz plays at just the right volume, something I’ve heard before but nothing I can put my finger on. The music is punctuated with laughter, occasionally, and talk about wines and grapes and vineyards and life from patrons. Warm. Friendly. I process all of that quickly as I walk into the room, but my attention is soon pulled to a huge ceiling to floor (almost) chalk mural behind the bar that depicts Santa Barbara County through the lens of its recognized AVAs (American Viticultural Areas) and dominant grapegrowing weather characteristics and varietals. After studying it for some time initially, I kept finding myself looking back up at it and seeing something new and vaguely familiar, just from a totally different perspective. Engaging. Fun. I ordered a glass of wine. A Rose of Pinot, in fact, from the tap. Perfect for a warm day. I found a seat in the sun in the window and took out my notepad. The first words I wrote follow: “Casual sophistication. Sunday. Great Jazz. Sipping Rose. Relaxing.” Then Seth Kunin walked in, sat down,
and harshed my quite exquisite mellow. Thanks Seth. Thanks a lot.
Celebrating Santa Barbara That’s a joke of course. Seth and his wife, Magan, own and operate Anacapa Vintners and have really created something special. They’ve been making wine for nearly two decades now, and have had a very good thing going right down the street at Kunin Wines for the last fifteen years. Anacapa Vintners is a second label for Seth and Magan, and they are on to an interesting concept. “Kunin started as a real personal project for me,” Seth began, “I really wanted to do old-worldy southern French Rhone wines.” He’d been in the restaurant business for years, and learned quite a bit about wine while serving as the General Manager of the Wine Cask many moons ago. He became friendly with SB wine pioneers Bob Lindquist (Qupe), Jim Clendenen (Au Bon Climat) and Richard Sanford (guess) and “started making a little wine for fun with some friends at the Wine Cask’s old warehouse on Haley.” Seth liked making wine, so he got a job at Gainey Vineyard in Santa Ynez in an effort to develop a better understanding ...continued p.21
unique mexican dining experience
805.564.2626 600 n. milpa s, santa barbar a m o n - f r i 1 1 a m – 9 p m • S at - S u n 9 a m - 9 p m
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