Santa Barbara resident Michael Cervin, a longtime wine and spirits writer, wine judge, traveler and consultant, has further augmented his “life” résumé with a new, full-time gig: assistant liquor manager at the newly opened Bristol Farms in La Cumbre Plaza.
I’ve found that Cervin, who possesses an extensive knowledge of wine and spirits, is comfortable discussing wines “that are local, or from Crete.” He is down to earth and packs a “happy to share my knowledge” demeanor.
It’s easy, he says.
“I focus on wines I want to champion,” especially if a customer “wants to open something special,” he told Noozhawk.
In addition to his newest gig, Cervin has grown into a three-year role as a buyer at the Santa Barbara Airport’s retail shop, directing the purchase of about 45 wines and five beers showcased in a boutique located beyond the security screening area.
Before COVID-19, at least, he always included a sparkling wine and a dessert wine — “fun, different things that offer a sense of exclusivity,” he said.
“In 2019, 1 million passengers came through the airport,” he said, adding “it’s a great opportunity” to showcase local wines.
“I just love talking about alcohol … people love sharing how a wine was part of a key moment in life,” he said. “It’s that emotional connection to a bottle.”
When he was just a teen, the La Cañada native set his sights on relocating to Santa Barbara, and in 1976, he moved here.
Cervin calls himself fortunate to have traveled the world to write about wine and spirits, especially when it comes to detailing Santa Barbara wines.
“It’s fun to be able to write about Santa Barbara wines in an international magazine,” he said.
Among the publications for which Cervin has written are the Robb Report, Decanter (London), The Hollywood Reporter, Forbes Travel Guide (as the Geneva correspondent, covering hotels), Wine & Spirits, Wine Enthusiast, The Business Times, the Santa Barbara Independent, Santa Barbara Magazine, Carpinteria Magazine and the Santa Maria Times.
He said he also writes for a handful of wine clients, and for years, until the pandemic shuttered many in-person wine competitions, Cervin participated in various competitions as a judge, sampling wines, spirits and, yes, various bottled waters.
Cervin said his first foray into “shelf talkers” was for Pierre Lafond around 2014, back when Lafond also owned a deli and wine retail outlet on Lower State Street. That site has long since closed, but Lafond’s Montecito location endures.
When Cervin started, he found Lafond to be “conservative” about wine sales, so the former initiated wine pairings utilizing food offered in the adjacent deli, writing shelf notes about the wines and simply “started talking to people” about wine.
“I talked to a range of customers, from gardeners to celebrities,” he said, adding that he utilized a tried-and-true method: “I did not comment on a wine if I hadn’t tasted it.”
Cervin said his introduction to the wine industry was in the tasting room at Gainey Vineyards in Santa Ynez, where “I learned so much!”
Along the way, he has authored several books on tourism and wine, among them California Wine Country, California Road Trip and Santa Barbara Know-It-All: A Guide to Everything That Matters. He said that three more books — on water, the history of Pasadena and a recipe book featuring Santa Barbara restaurants — are hung up with the publisher because of the coronavirus crisis.
Foodbank Beneficiary of Women Winemakers Celebration
Months after the annual Santa Barbara County Women Winemakers Celebration — one of the last wine industry events before the COVID-19 contagion shuttered in-person gatherings — organizers announced that its 2020 proceeds will fund another nonprofit organization, the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County.
Organizers and participants from the March 8 event — International Women’s Day — opted to donate $10,000 to assist the Foodbank’s heightened food distribution efforts to combat food insecurity related to job losses.
In prior years, the Women Winemakers Celebration donated funds raised to the Women’s Fund of Northern Santa Barbara County, a giving circle through which individuals combine money and/or time so that they can have a bigger impact on the causes most important to them.
“Our need for food resources has more than doubled over the past number of months, and almost 70 percent of the food we distribute is here in North County, so this is where our need is highest,” said Laurel Alcantar, development manager for the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County.
The annual Women Winemakers Celebration unites a sampling of Santa Barbara County’s female winemakers in a show of support for one another as well as working women the world over.
This year’s event featured a Sunday brunch at Roblar Farm in Santa Ynez, and included about two dozen women winemakers and chefs who created multicourse wine- and food-paired meals.
Bob’s Well Bread Opens in Ballard
Bob and Jane Oswaks, owners and proprietors of the award-winning Bob’s Well Bread Bakery in Los Alamos, opened their long-awaited second location, at the historic Ballard Store, on Oct. 1.
The new site offers the same authentic handmade bakery goods and café selections found in Los Alamos for the past six years, making the menu accessible to a broader audience hungry for the couple’s artisan baked goods and dishes.
The 1,500-square-foot Bob’s Well Bread at the Ballard Store, 2449 Baseline Ave., was designed by the Oswakses.
The couple said they will work at both operations to ensure the quality and standards of hospitality, food and beverage. Chef Gary Clark leads the kitchen in Ballard, with Andrew Scherer serving as general manager.
There is seating for 40 outdoors, and when indoor dining is safe once again, there will be 25 additional seats.
During the construction, the Oswakses preserved the space to restore the original chandeliers from the Ballard Store Restaurant, which previously occupied the space. Also included are the carved wooden panels from the restaurant’s bar, which live on as the new counter.
The town of Ballard was founded in 1891 as a stagecoach stop between Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. In 1939, Niels Jorgen Nielsen built the 28-foot-by-57-foot stucco general store with a gas station, and sold groceries to residents of the tiny community. In 1970, John Elliot and his wife bought the building and removed the gas pumps to create the Ballard Store Restaurant.
In early 2018, business partners and Santa Ynez Valley residents Jeniene and Rob Raisch and Amy and Michael Grenier purchased the now 6,000-square-foot building.
Bob’s Well Bread at the Ballard Store is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Monday. The kitchen closes at 3 p.m.
— Laurie Jervis tweets at @lauriejervis and can be reached via winecountrywriter@gmail.com. The opinions expressed are her own.