Tickets are now on sale for Taste of the Santa Ynez Valley, the four-day, six-town celebration of the region’s bounty held each fall. The festival will encompass nearly 24 separate events over those four days.
Taking place this year from Thursday, Sept. 28, through Sunday, Oct. 1, the celebration highlights the Santa Ynez Valley’s food and wine — and the people behind both. This is the event’s third year; it debuted in 2019, was delayed two years by the pandemic, and returned in 2022.
For more information on tickets and a full list of Taste of the Santa Ynez Valley events, dates, and times, visit TasteSYV.com
Brought together by two of the West’s most respected travel brands — Visit the Santa Ynez Valley and Sunset Magazine — the event showcases the best of the region. More than 100 restaurants, wineries, tasting rooms, breweries and distilleries will collaborate for more than a dozen main and ancillary events set in and around the distinct communities that make up the Santa Ynez Valley — Ballard, Buellton, Los Alamos, Los Olivos, Santa Ynez and Solvang.
“Taste of the Santa Ynez Valley offers an intimate and immersive view of what makes this region so appealing, in a way that is both memorable and fun,” said Shelby Sim, president/CEO of Visit the Santa Ynez Valley, the organization overseeing the event’s production.
“Whether you are a local or a visitor, Taste of the Santa Ynez Valley is a can’t-miss opportunity for anyone who wants to savor the region’s wine, food and experiences.”
Taste of the Santa Ynez Valley explores specific communities each day, beginning with a day in Los Alamos, the region’s burgeoning haven for foodies, on Thursday, Sept. 28. The celebration ends on Oct. 1, with the best of Solvang.
Along the way, attendees are invited to enjoy wine and beer tastings, special communal and chef-driven dinners, vineyard experiences, horseback riding, wine tumbler making and much more.
A highlight of the weekend will be the popular communal dinner served on a blocks-long table on Bell Street in Los Alamos that will showcase Full of Life Flatbread, Bell’s, PICO, Plenty on Bell and Bob’s Well Bread Bakery. Foods will be paired with wines from Los Alamos and the Santa Maria Valley. The dinner runs from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
A similar event is Friday’s Los Olivos Dinner from 6 to 8 p.m. on a communal table at The Inn at Mattei’s Tavern that will feature cuisine from Mattei’s, Bar Le Cote, S.Y. Kitchen, Los Olivos Wine Merchant Café and Enjoy Cupcakes. Food will be paired with wines from Los Olivos and Ballard Canyon.
This year’s late-September start for Taste of the Santa Ynez Valley also represents the earliest start for the event, during what many consider to be a favorite time of year in the region for the season’s mild temperatures and the buzz of harvest.
“Early fall’s combination of ideal weather and the excitement of harvest has always brought an alluring energy to the region,” Sim said.
This year, 5% of all ticket sales for every Taste of the Santa Ynez Valley event benefits People Helping People, a local nonprofit that is a primary provider of human and social services in the region.
Alma Rosa Winery’s Peace of Mind Walk Raises $200,463
Debra Eagle, general manager of Alma Rosa Winery, announced that the winery’s fourth annual Peace of Mind: 10,000 Steps in the Right Direction fundraising walk raised $200,463, up more than 12% over last year’s event.
Funds raised will be dispersed between the event’s two beneficiaries, One Mind and Santa Barbara’s Mental Wellness Center.
Bob and Barb Zorich, owners of Alma Rosa, along with Eagle, launched the fundraiser in 2020 to support community services for mental health, as well as research on the causes, treatment and potential cures for anxiety and depression.
The owners matched individual donations dollar-for-dollar up to $35,000 for each nonprofit for a total of $70,000, and matched corporate donations up to $25,000.
More than 200 participants walked in this year’s 4.5-mile event, which took place on July 22.
“This year, we witnessed an unprecedented outpouring of compassion and generosity from individuals and businesses within our community,” Eagle said.
“Considering the significant and ongoing impact of depression and anxiety on our society, we are grateful to be able to be a part of the solution and support the critical work of these two organizations. I am proud to announce that the total funds raised from this year’s walk are the highest to date and eagerly anticipate the possibilities that lie ahead in the coming years.”
Wine & Spirit Education Trust School Opens in San Luis Obispo County
Want to take your burgeoning wine knowledge to the next level?
The Melanie Webber Wine School is a newly approved school for the global Wine & Spirits Education Trust (WSET) program. It launched this month with Level 1, 2 and 3 Award in Wines classes at Broken Earth Winery in Paso Robles.
The WSET courses are among the most prestigious wine industry qualifications in the world and are ideal for beginners, connoisseurs, and wine and food industry professionals.
“I have been passionate about the Paso Robles wine region for decades and am so proud to have taught WSET classes here, since 2018, to more than 300 students. Now, with the MWWine School named a WSET-approved program provider in San Luis Obispo County, I am looking forward to further broadening access to wine knowledge for the region’s community of industry professionals and wine enthusiasts,” said director Webber, who earned the DipWSET (Level 4) certification.