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Consuming the Santa Ynez Valley TA S T E
Head to the valley. You’re in for a treat—there’s a whole new crop of places to eat and drink Buellton
In the Buellton Bodegas, Tuscan-born, Napa-trained winemaker Marco Lucchesi and pal Rory Garzot produce SECTION WINES —big, bold red blends of locally sourced fruit boasting labels by local artist Wallace Piatt. Winemakers Etienne Terlinden and Rob DaFoe run Terlinden’s co-op winery and tasting room, EASY STREET WINE COLLECTIVE , where their respective labels, Cordon and Rake, join an exclusive handful of others. At HELIX: THE EVOLUTION OF WINE , taste Kalyra Winery’s sparkling and dessert wines plus winemaker Mike Brown’s new 239 label. Jay and Jeff Lockwood handcraft spirits—think vodka, agave azul, malt whiskey, and limoncello—out of their BROTHERS SPIRITS distillery and tasting lounge.
Solvang
British chef Steven Snook—with his Michelin-starred, Gordon Ramsay résumé—brings locally sourced fine dining to FIRST & OAK . Chef Pink and Courtney Rae moved BACON & BRINE to larger, indoor-outdoor digs, featuring brunch, lunch, and dinner service. The dog-friendly tasting room for Brent Melville’s LUCKY DOGG WINERY showcases his estate vineyard wines ranging from Viognier to sparkling.
Taste
Santa Ynez
Jake O. Francis raises heritage-breed pigs at VALLEY PIGGERY for catered roasts, his pork CSA, and famed butchery workshops. Chefs Cynthia Miranda and Alicia Valencia outfit the eat-in/takeaway THE LUCKY HEN LARDER with cheeses, charcuterie, and international and locally made proprietary provisions.
BARBIERI WINES pours master sommelier Paolo Barbieri and partner Erin Kempe’s Barbieri and KEMPE labels, and the on-site cheese shop stocks local artisanal salami. After four decades of growing and selling their sought-after grapes, BIEN NACIDO & SOLOMON HILLS vineyards have their own labels and tasting room, while the J. WILKES tasting room displays “Wines of Character, Wines of Place” with a bonus: appointment-only “office hours” with winemaker and wine educator Wes Hagen. Enjoy Cupcakes’ Kevin and Amber Joy Vander Vliet operate THE DOGGY DOOR , a walk-up window serving elevated hot dogs and “Cookiewich”(es).
Los Alamos
A new kitchen for chef Conrad Gonzales’s VALLE FRESH—dispensing tacos and tapas, including ceviche—now adjoins Sonja Magdevski’s BABI’S BEER EMPORIUM. From Edible Communities cofounders Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian, PLENTY ON BELL serves straight-from-their-farm dishes crafted by chef Jesper Johansson. At PICO, Will Henry and his wife, Kali Kopley, offer chef Drew Terp’s locally sourced, luxurious comfort food alongside a meticulously curated Californian and international wine list. A U B R E Y G A B R I E L S A N TA B A R B A R A
PHOTOGRAPHS: EASY STREET WINE COLLECTIVE, ELIZABETH PEACE; MARCO LUCCHESI, JESS DALENE. OPPOSITE, BACON & BRINE: TENLEY FOHL PHOTOGRAPHY; JAKE FRANCIS, ANN B. SHEA
Los Olivos