Jody and Charles Williams opened Solvang’s Wandering Dog Wine Bar in 2007 with a goal of carrying varietals and wines from all over the world, along with amazing local boutique wines. 
Try delicious concoctions at Wandering Dog Winery, 1539-C Mission Drive in Solvang. 
Wandering Dog co-owner Jody Williams has lots of great ideas for unique cocktails to serve at home. 
All of Wandering Dog’s wines are named after beloved furry friends. 
Shrub Cocktails are a fairly new sensation that come in a variety of flavors.
It’s not what you’re thinking. Wandering Dog Wine Bar opened its doors in 2007 and, at the time, was one of the only places open past 5 p.m. in Solvang. This was especially true on the west side of town.
The proprietors, Jody and Charles Williams, both worked on the winery side before opening Wandering Dog at 1539-C Mission Drive. For years, they had talked about having a wine bar that would carry varietals and wines from all over the world, along with amazing boutique local wines.
In 2007, there were so many wineries that didn’t have tasting rooms that the Williamses thought it would be great to offer tourists a spot to experience an amazing selection of great wines. They decided to name the business after their family dogs that were always getting out and wandering the neighborhood in search of anything and anyone to socialize with.
The couple believes wine is like a social activity meant to be explored and experienced. Over the years they’ve slowly changed their business model as more and more boutique vintners have started up and moved into the area to open up their own tasting rooms.
That’s where and how the Wandering Dog label developed. It was a great way for the Williamses to continue working with the winemakers with whom they had formed friendships and for whom they had such tremendous respect.
Yet they also wanted to produce a varietal of wine with their friends, one that was unique to them but was also something their customers couldn’t buy from anyone else.
Wandering Dog’s high-end assortment of wines (their Signature Series) are all named after family dogs, starting with Charles’ childhood Newfoundland, Leila. And all are carefully crafted and produced by the Williamses while working closely with other winemakers.
They’ll spend a few hours tasting through different barrels, clones, vineyard sources and varietals to achieve the perfect wine that epitomizes their palates and, of course, the dog after which each wine is named.
For example, the Paige Super Tuscan is a blend of three nontraditional varietals (Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot) that represents Paige being a nontraditional “blend” of breeds, aka a mutt. You get the idea.
So, to put a bow on all of this, along with their Wandering Dog wines, the Williamses still carry a good selection of global wines on the higher-end side. Everything is palate-picked by the couple, and they love drinking at home.
They’ve had to scale back some of their selections due to being in wine country and the majority of their visitors wanting local wines. However, they are committed to never giving up their global selection. It’s what keeps it interesting.
The couple has more than just a love of wine, however. They also have a competing passion for their home fruit and vegetable garden, which led them to the discovery of shrubs a few years ago. What started out as a whim ended up turning their kitchen into a mad-scientist style lab with jars of various combinations of fruits, vinegar and sugars taking up most of the counter space.
While taste-testing the elixirs, the Williamses came to the conclusion that shrubs are perfect at any time of day, and Broken Clock Vinegar Works was born. From the first release in March 2016, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Talk about an enterprising couple.
Taking full advantage of having their own wine bar to function as a virtual taste-testing center, the couple has refined their process with direct consumer feedback. In late 2017, Broken Clock moved to a dedicated commercial space at 1210 Mission Drive, Suite 103, where the shrub production could expand to meet the rising demand for unique, healthy and tasty cocktails.
While not the first shrub company, the Williamses have set themselves apart by being the only one that produces its own vinegar on site, starting with the fruits used in the shrubs. Additionally, by producing its products under a winery liquor license, the opportunity to expand the product line beyond the shrubs and into ready-to-drink “Shrub Coolers” and “Shrubaritas” is unparalleled in the industry.
The next time you’re in Solvang, take the time to visit Jody and Charles Williams, the Central Coast’s most enterprising husband-and-wife wine- and vinegar-making team. And be sure to partake of their fabulous assortments of unique wines and several flavors of vinegar.
— Donna Polizzi is a regional travel expert and founder of Keys 2 the Coast, a free Central Coast travel resource providing honest recommendations on the best places that locals want to go. She can be contacted at news@noozhawk.com. Click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are her own.