The 13th annual Restaurant Weeks, a celebration of the region’s culinary and wine country culture, will celebrate the Santa Ynez Valley with curated and chef-driven three-course prix fixe menus starting Monday through Jan. 31.
A list of participating restaurants and respective menus, as well as wineries taking part, is available at https://www.visitsyv.com/restaurant-weeks/.
The eateries participating in Restaurant Weeks will feature menus priced at $30, $40 or $50, plus tax and gratuity, and the wineries and tasting rooms will offer two-for-one tastings, special tasting flights and discounted bottles.
“Restaurant Weeks brings foodies together each year for an affordable, immersive culinary experience,” said Shelby Sim, president/CEO of Visit the Santa Ynez Valley. While the region’s heralded wines typically lure visitors to the region, food is a close second.
“Restaurant Weeks showcases our gifted chefs and their diverse and inspired culinary creations in a way that is accessible to most everyone,” Sim noted.
With an abundance of imaginative local chefs, its deep agricultural roots and cuisine that ranges from contemporary to farm-to-table to traditional Scandinavian feasts, the Santa Ynez Valley has earned its reputation as a culinary destination.
Five Santa Ynez Valley restaurants have earned Michelin ratings, including three recently added to the Michelin Guide California for the first time.
Bar Le Côte in Los Olivos, Bell’s in Los Alamos, and Coast Range and First & Oak, both in Solvang, all earned Michelin recognition and will participate, as will some of the valley’s most name-recognizable eateries, including Hitching Post 2 in Buellton and the Los Olivos Wine Merchant Café, as well as some of the hottest new culinary experiences, including Campo Del Sol in Solvang and The Victor in Santa Ynez.
Almost two dozen restaurants representing each of the valley’s six distinct communities — Ballard, Buellton, Los Alamos, Los Olivos, Santa Ynez and Solvang — will participate.
Garagiste’s “Southern Exposure” Returns to Solvang Feb. 10-11
America’s Best Wine Festival, the Garagiste Wine Festival, will return to Solvang on Feb. 10-11, and offer another round of rare access to more than 30 of the smallest-production winemakers from Santa Barbara County and the Central Coast.
Tickets are now on sale at https://www.my805tix.com/e/garagiste-solvang-2023.
Having returned post-pandemic with festivals in 2022, organizers have launched Garagiste’s lineup for 2023, which includes Sonoma, Los Angeles and Paso Robles.
Returning to Solvang for the ninth year, Garagiste’s “Southern Exposure” will take place at the Mission-style Veterans’ Memorial Hall on Solvang’s Mission Drive (East Highway 246), which has been named of the United States’ “Top 10 Best Looking Main Streets,” according to event organizers.
The upcoming event includes Friday evening’s “Rare & Reserve” tasting with a traditional Santa Maria-style barbecue dinner buffet, followed by Saturday afternoon’s Grand Tasting. This event will include a silent auction offering wine packages that support The Garagiste Festival Scholarship fund of the Wine and Viticulture Department at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
Kris Beverly, owner/winemaker of Lompoc’s Civilization Wine Company, is looking forward his debut at Solvang’s Garagiste.
“I’m most looking forward to tasting new vintages of old friends, and discovering producers that would otherwise be under my radar,” he said.
Weekend Pass holders will have entry into both the Friday evening and Saturday events, along with a lunch Saturday and a special Valentine’s Day treat.
Returning Sunday, Feb. 12, is Garagiste’s Passport Day, during which several participating wineries — including some “Garagiste Graduate” wineries that have previously poured at the festival but have since grown larger — will be offering special treats and discounts for Garagiste Festival attendees.
For a full list of participating winemakers, visit http://www.garagistefestival.com/
“This charming town has a special place in our hearts, not the least because it is at the center of some of the best winemaking in the world, but also because it is a beautiful and walkable place to spend a weekend — all while tasting more than 150 handcrafted, small-lot production wines, and meeting their winemakers, under one roof,” said Doug Minnick, co-founder of the Garagiste Festival.
Southern Exposure in Solvang starts the 2023 Garagiste Festival season, which will bring hundreds of wine discoveries to aficionados across California. Of the nearly 200 wineries showcased by the festival in 2022, 45 were new to the festival.
The 2023 line-up, in addition to Solvang, includes Garagiste ‘Northern Exposure’ in Sonoma (April 29); Garagiste ‘Urban Exposure’ in Los Angeles (June 17); and the ‘OG’ Festival in Paso Robles (Nov. 10-11).
Santa Barbara Vintners Foundation Auction Raises $815,000
The Santa Barbara Vintners Foundation has announced that the 2022 Santa Barbara Wine Auction, held Nov. 11-12 at Santa Barbara’s Ritz-Carlton Bacara, raised $815,000 for both Direct Relief and Community Health Centers of the Central Coast.
Direct Relief, the Santa Barbara-based international humanitarian organization, is the SBVF’s longtime philanthropic partner. CHC provides medical services to Santa Barbara County’s farmworker community.
Proceeds also will be donated to Feed the Valley, which teams with area restaurants to end food insecurity for families in the Santa Ynez Valley.
“We could not be prouder of our vintners and friends, who dug deep into their pocketbooks to help our community,” said Jessica Gasca, president of the SBVF and founder/winemaker of Story of Soil.
“Our mission is Grounded in Giving, and our aim is to bring together and support the vital work of Direct Relief, Community Health Centers and Feed the Valley, which all work tirelessly to serve this historically underserved segment of our Santa Barbara wine family.”
The auction is the SBVF’s marquee charity event. Since its inaugural gala in 2000, the event has raised more than $5.5 million for humanitarian organizations, including Direct Relief.
The auction lot that fetched the highest price was a tribute dinner to the late Jim Clendenen, founder of Au Bon Climat Winery in Santa Maria, who was honored during the auction. Clendenen, who died suddenly in 2021, helped introduce Santa Barbara County wines to aficionados around the globe.
Grassini Family Vineyards was the 2022 Vintner Honoree for its ongoing community leadership, dedication to the farmworker community and extensive philanthropic efforts. Since 2012, Grassini has raised more than $650,000 for the region’s charities through its annual “Grassini Gives Back” program.
During the November event, Grassini’s CEO, Katie Grassini, announced that Community Health Centers would be the recipient of the 2022 Grassini Gives Back, and then matched the first $25,000 during the auction’s lightning round, called “Stand Up and Be Counted.” That round ultimately raised more than $127,000, according to organizers.