Sensational
Wine + Food Festival at SBMNH
By FBWorld Team
The
sold out Santa Barbara Wine + Food Festival was once again a
hugely successful event on the banks of Mission Creek at the
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. The huge crowd of 'foodies'
and wine lovers mingled with winemakers, bakers, and chefs under
the oak trees. Starting at 3:00 PM in Fleischmann Auditorium,
guests had the chance to purchase $40 raffle tickets for the
"Every Cork wins" raffle and many won prizes worth
up to $500 in value for their $40 raffle ticket. Prizes included
wine, restaurant certificates, overnight hotel stays, and more.
The
beautiful views and wine loving fun shared by people who attend
every year made this yet another fantastic event to benefit
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Chefs from fine restaurants
in the area 'brought it' offering bites of really amazing foods,
and award-winning winemakers provided the perfect wines to pair
with the exceptional bites.
Chef
Michael Hutchings was at his culinary best offering the VIPs
sensational Goleta Abalone tastes, and later tender scallops
in cream sauce. Chef Jeremy Tummel from The Bear & Star
had them waiting in line for a taste. Chef Dario of Ca Dario's
always attracts followers for a sample of his pasta favorites
as does Via Maestra 42. I flipped for Industrial Eats Indian
sampler plate followed with fresh mango popsicles, and Finch
& Fork's pork belly bites were addictive. The coup de gras
was The Little Door duck pate as well as the Paella preparation
by Loquita. Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat reports, "This
is the most beautiful tasting, and the most beautiful setting
that I do anywhere in the country, no question about that."
Chef Michael Hutchings Serving Gourmet Bite
The
full list of food related providers included Barbareño,
Beacon Coffee, Benchmark,
Black Bow Sweets,
Blue Water Grill,
Bob's Well Bread,
Brophy Bros. Ca'
Dario, Country
Catering, Deux Bakery,
Enterprise
Fish Company, Farmer
Boy, Finch
and Fork Restaurant, Gelson's
Market - Santa Barbara, Goa
Taco, Helena
Avenue Bakery, Hitching
Post, Il Fustino,
Industrial Eats,
Jessica
Foster Confections, Les
Marchands, Loquita,
Michael's Catering,
Oat Bakery, Outpost
at Goodland, Pico,
Pig & Butter,
Renaud's Patisserie
and Bakery, Santa Barbara
Popcorn Co., Savoy
Cafe and Deli, Scarlett
Begonia, Solvang Bakery,
The Bear and Star,
The Lark, The
Little Door, Trader
Joe's, Via Maestra 42.
Exclusive wine and food pairings
from Bibi ji, Black
Bow Sweets, Bluewater
Grill, Buttonwood
Winery and Vineyard, D'Alfonso-Curran
Wines, Domaine de la Côte, Finch
& Fork Restaurant, Folded
Hills, Grimm's Bluff,
Michael's Catering,
Mosby Winery and Vineyard,
Sandhi Wines, and Toucan
Wines.
Brander Wine Tastings
The
local winemakers in the Santa Barbara area are well known and
loved by most of the people who have supported this event since
its inception, and guest have the opportunity to speak with
them, and receive special discounts on wine offered at their
wineries and wine tasting rooms or through their wine clubs.
Wine makers Fred Brander and Doug Margerum were not in attendance
this year as Fred had a Brander Wine Cruise in progress, and
Doug & Marnie Margerum were hiking in Spain. I loved seeing
the girls from Grassini Family Vineyards, the Fess Parker family,
Kalyra (who I just met during a wine tasting this week), Tatomer
couple, Foxen, Casa Dumets, Au Bon Climant and so many more.
This casual wine tasting under the old oak trees is an ideal
way for guests to sample wine and learn about their locations
and awards.
Fess Parker Family Serving Wine
Participating
wineries included Alexander
& Wayne, Alma
Rosa, Andrew
Murray Vineyards, Area
5.1, Arthur Earl Winery,
Au Bon Climat, Babcock
Winery, Beckmen
Vineyards, Bedford
Winery, Brander Vineyard,
Brewer-Clifton,
Buttonwood,
Cambria, Carr
Vineyards and Winery, Casa
Dumetz, Cebada,
Consilience,
CORE, Cutler's
Artisan, D'Alfonso-Curran,
De Paola, Domaine
de la Cote, Epiphany
Cellars, Feliz
Noche, Fess Parker
Winery & Vineyard, Fiddlehead
Cellars, Flying
Goat Cellars, Folded
Hills, Foxen,
Gainey Vineyards,
Grassini Family
Vineyards, Jaffurs
Wine Cellars, Jamie
Slone, Kaena Wine,
Kalyra, Ken
Brown Wines, Kenneth
Volk Vineyards, Koehler
Winery, LaFond Winery,
Larner Wines,
Longoria, Lumen,
Mail Road Winery,
Margerum Wine Company,
Melville, Mosby
Winery & Vineyard, Municipal
Winemakers, Notary
Public, Nielson,
Oreana, Palmina,
Potek, Qupé, Rancho
Sisquoc Winery, Rideau,
Sagebrush Annie's,
Sandhi Wines, Santa
Barbara Winery, Savoy
Wines, Silver Wines,
Storm Wines, Sunstone
Winery, Tablas Creek,
Tatomer, Tercero
Wines, Toucan Wines,
Whitcraft
Winery, Zaca Mesa.
Renaud's Sweet Strawberries & Creme Desserts
Desserts I loved this year were from Jessica Foster Confections
and a petit strawberry with cream and pastry by Renaud's Patisserie
& Bakery, Snacks from Santa Barbara Popcorn, Black Bow Sweets,
Pacific Pickle Works, and The Berry Man were so welcome throughout
the day.
For
additional information contact mmoore@sbnature2.org.
By Bonnie Carroll
About Bonnie Carroll
Bonnie Carroll has been a food/travel/lifestyle writer since
1983. She is the founder & publisher of Bonnie Carroll's
Life Bites News - www.lifebitesnews.com,
does travel and food reporting on KZSB1290 radio, and contributes
to a variety of national and international travel/lifestyle
publications. Her first children's book C.C. Charles was published
in 2002 and she is currently working on a second book. Contact
her at Contact her at writebc@aol.com.