As the weather starts to cool and you begin to visualize your upcoming holiday plans with friends and family, you may switch up your meals to those involving comforting fruits and vegetables, like butternut squash.
Even in California, where temperatures are reluctant to let go of the summer warmth and the trees don’t change to quite as many colors as in other parts of the country, we know what the first bowl of rich butternut squash soup or satisfying the craving for our seasonal butternut squash gnocchi (pictured above) can do for the soul.
From Our Farm to Your Fork
At the Los Olivos Wine Merchant Cafė, we love incorporating butternut squash into our fall and winter recipes. It is such a comforting food with abundant versatility. You can find it throughout our menu, from pizzas to salads to a seasonal dessert!
We are big fans of butternut squash. Our Cafė Farm grows around 4 tons every summer! If you didn’t already know, most of the Café’s produce is organically grown on our farm in Los Olivos, CA, just minutes from downtown.
The Sunny Side of Butternut Squash
The idea of roasted butternut squash, or our butternut squash gnocchi, brings to mind cozy feelings reminiscent of the autumn and winter months. This is only the case with the warm summer months to thank, however. Despite being classified as winter squash, butternut squash plants are annuals grown on a vine in the spring and summer. This is because the plant requires between 75 and 100 days to grow and should be harvested before any frosts arrive. Because of this harvesting period, it is considered a winter squash.
Our farmers plant butternut squash in May and harvest in October, so the squash our guests enjoy eating in the winter months has been growing all summer.
Summer Squash vs. Winter Squash
There are a few distinctions that set summer squash and winter squash apart. Winter squash tend to have thicker skin than summer squash, which makes them last longer. Butternut squash, when stored properly, can last for several months! Summer squash are more tender (think zucchini or yellow squash) and don’t last as long.
Other types of squash of the winter variety include acorn squash, kabocha, Hubbard, and spaghetti squash, with butternut as a popular favorite.
How to Pick the Perfect Butternut Squash
When picking your butternut squash, select one that is moderately heavy for its size and still has its stem intact. The outer skin should be relatively free of soft spots or deep cracks. It is also generally best to choose one with a solid beige color and a matte (not shiny) exterior.
How to Roast Butternut Squash
One of the best ways to cook butternut squash is to roast it. Once roasted, add the versatile squash to your favorite fall and winter recipes (such as soup or pasta) or serve as a side.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture website, you should wash your hands and the butternut squash before cooking. One suggested method for washing the squash is with water and a clean brush to scrub the outside. Once washed, you can dry the fruit with a clean cloth or paper towel.
You do not need to peel the butternut squash before roasting, but you will want to cut the squash in half carefully and remove the seeds. Then, place the squash on a baking sheet cut-side up. To keep the flesh from drying out, lightly oil or butter the cut side of the fruit. Depending on how you will serve the squash, add herbs, salt, spices, sweeteners, and more before putting it in the oven.
Roast the butternut squash for at least 30 minutes until the flesh is tender when pierced with a fork. Let the squash cool once completely baked, then peel the flesh from the skin.
Other methods for cooking butternut squash include baking and boiling. The difference between baking and roasting is the temperature. Roasting the squash requires a higher temperature of 400 degrees or higher, and baking is at a lower temperature of 375 degrees or lower. Roasting is preferred for butternut squash to lock in the flavors by browning the surface. Roasting also carmelizes the natural sugars for a rich butternut squash flavor.
What’s Not to Love About this Fruit?
Although butternut squash is commonly considered a vegetable, the fact that it has seeds classifies it as a fruit. Definitions aside, butternut squash is filling, delicious, and versatile, and we cannot find a reason not to love it!
Our menu is rotated based on the seasonal produce we grow on our cafė farm, so we are excited to bring you these new dishes to enjoy in view of our cozy fireplace. If you’d prefer to take your food home, we highly encourage a pair of warm fuzzy socks to accompany the meal.
Whether dining in or ordering to-go, next time you come by the cafė, check out our updated menu with our delicious and creative seasonal selections that Chef Brooke and the kitchen staff have crafted.
At 18 Louisa knew winemaking was what she wanted to do…
Louisa Lindquist is the brains and passion behind her label Verdad Wine Cellars. At a young age, she worked at a prominent wine shop on Long Island where she was able to taste and learn about many different styles and varietals of wines. She became fascinated with the vibrant fresh flavors of Albariño wines from Rias Biaxes, as well as the bold and complex Tempranillo-based wines from Rioja and Ribera del Duero.
We had the pleasure of sitting down with Louisa to learn more about what makes her wines so enjoyable and her personal story that influences her winemaking style. We think you’ll enjoy our April 2019 interview!
A true visionary: Louisa was the first to release Albariño in all of California!
In 1990 Loisa moved to California to work with a wine importer and distributor. A few years later she met her now husband and well-known Californian winemaker, Bob Lindquist. He encouraged her to follow her dreams and passion for making Spanish styled wines here in California. And she did! Louisa was the first to release Albariño in all of California.
For the first vintages of Verdad Louisa made her wines under the tutelage of her renowned winemaker husband but as the years and harvests went by Louisa began to take the helm of all aspects of Verdad Wine Cellars.
Most of the Verdad wines come from the Sawyer Lindquist Vineyard which is a Demeter-certified Biodynamic vineyard. Biodynamic is a form of alternative agriculture very similar to organic farming. The main difference between organic and biodynamic is that biodynamic farming uses different principles which add vitality to the plants, soil and/or livestock, whereas traditional farming typically deteriorates the soil. The certification process to become Demeter-certified Biodynamic is extremely rigorous and requires a level of commitment to sustainability that goes beyond organic.
Louisa’s passion for making wines that express her love for Spanish varietals is expressed in every bottle that she produces. She strives to produce pure, expressive, and balanced wines that convey the flavors of the unique cool climate vineyard sites she sources from on the California Central Coast.
We are pleased to have Louisa as our Featured Winemaker for all of April 2019! We will be featuring three of here truly amazing wines by the glass and 20% to take home by the bottle. Don’t miss a chance to taste the Spanish styled Verdad Wine Cellar wines!
At the Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe we focus on providing a true wine country experience. Much of our produce for the Café we organically grow at our farm in Los Olivos. And our award-winning wine selection of over 500 mostly local wines compliments our fresh wine country cuisine. As a hub for the local California Central Coast wine scene, we love getting to know our local winemakers and sharing their stories with you. We welcome you to check out more of our interviews and blogs here.
We grow many fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers on the Café Farm, from a variety of lettuces and herbs to carrots, squash, zucchini, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, beans, and of course – pumpkins. And, you’ll see arrangements of the sunflowers, zinnias, delphinium, bachelor buttons, snapdragons and euphoria decorating the tables at the Café. Many of the flowers are edible, including borage and sweet peas. There’s such an extraordinary abundance that the Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Café owner’s Sam and Shawnda Marmorstein have been pondering creative ways to share it with customers. Everything grown on our farm is CCOF Organic. The bounty of the farm is brought daily to the Café where Chef Chris is inspired to develop specials with the produce while other items are used as staples in our menu, such as salad greens and the pickles that come with sandwiches and burgers on the lunch menu.
Yes, we make our own pickles! We think that you can’t have a sandwich with house-made buns, house-made burgers, brisket and hand cut fries, and not attend to the fine detail of a delicious homemade pickle, probably the most perfect accompaniment to a sandwich. What’s not to like? With flavors and textures often described as tangy, crispy, crunchy, sharp, spicy, briny, piquant… this could be a wine label!
Did you know that pickles go way, way, and we mean way back?! Many historic figures, including Cleopatra and Julius Caesar, liked pickles. Pickles date back forty-five hundred years to Mesopotamia where it is believed cucumbers were first preserved. Cleopatra, a devoted pickle fan, believed they enhanced her beauty.
Bill Metzgar, a private chef new to the area via New York and LA and his wife Jamie (Jamie is Asst. Wine Director in the Wine Merchant) were talking with owners Sam and Shawnda about the possibility of creating private cooking sessions at their Bernat Winery Retreats. Bill, passionate about the Farm to Table movement, and a former writer for Edible Buffalo, was wowed by the gorgeous organic produce growing in the restaurant garden. Bill said, “We discussed the bounty and what they were doing with it and we struck upon the idea to can and preserve as much as possible, when the time came. The unique varieties of cucumbers and tomatoes beg to be used and enjoyed year round and canning is one way to make that a reality.”
Pickles come in many recipe versions, and adapting the wonderful refrigerator pickle Chef Chris makes for the Café was a unique challenge that they collaborated on, coming up with the Café Farm Pickles that are being sold in the Wine Merchant.
There are two varieties, “Chef’s Deluxe Recipe” and “Spicy Garlic Dills.” We think they came out great – and now, you can enjoy this Café staple and the fresh from the farm flavor year round at home. Purchase Pickles herebefore our very limited supplies run out.
Pickles inspired Thomas Jefferson to write, “On a hot day in Virginia, I know nothing more comforting than a fine spiced pickle, brought up trout-like from the sparkling depths of the aromatic jar below the stairs of Aunt Sally’s cellar.” We think Jefferson would have loved our Café Farm Pickles, and so will you!
To step onto the Sunstone property is to step back into the Old World.
The gorgeous stone chateau is centered in a beautiful landscape, complete with tranquil space to sip your wine. It’s unlike any other winery in Santa Barbara County and is the result of an Old World sensibility passed down through the Rice family. In our interview, owner and winemaker, Bion Rice, shares the past, present, and future of Sunstone Winery.
According to Bion Rice, who now oversees the winery, his family relocated to Santa Ynez from Santa Barbara seeking better educational opportunities for his two sisters. His mother immediately saw the possibilities for what is now Sunstone. The landscape alone would inspire anyone, but Linda’s focus on “food, family, and friends” allowed her to pursue creating the best possible atmosphere for all. Linda and husband Fred planted Bordeaux varietals assuming they would sell the grapes off to winemakers but quickly became enamoured with making their own. And much like what would happen in a small Provençal village, their local friends were happy to help, pitching in to mentor their efforts and support them every step of the way.
Without any formal training in winemaking to start, Fred and Linda soaked up as much as they could – again, a very Old World approach! They began bottling their wine and by their second vintage, the family found themselves with a few thousand extra cases. Bion did what any loyal farmer’s son would do: he loaded the cases into his truck and began hawking his wares all over Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. His favorites stops were invariably at restaurants, where he’d end up chatting with chefs and tasting through fantastic dishes that opened up the possibilities of pairings for his wines even more. Sunstone’s production and demand increased exponentially and the Rice family soon sold their wines across the country.
Ironically, Bion sees the 2008 recession as a blessing in disguise because it forced the family to scale back and focus on what really mattered to them. This re-assessment renewed their passion for Linda’s initial pursuit of “food, family, and friends,” and the quality of their wine improved drastically. However, the Rices have never veered away from organic farming and are proud to operate the longest running organic winery in all of Santa Barbara. While this may have seemed ahead of its time, commitment to organic farming really just ties back to the Old World version of farming and was part of Linda’s overarching vision.
Today, Bion and his wife oversee operations, including winemaking. Bion plans to keep it in the family and is fostering his sons; in fact, his teenage son Miles helps in the blending process and has final say in which blend ends up in the “Milestone” bottle!
Before summer ends, give yourself a minivacation by visiting Sunstone winery. Step back in time and enjoy the chateau made from reclaimed materials and native stone. Grab a glass of their best-selling rosé and savour the warmth of family and friends that the Rice family has helped build.
David Delaski has always been a unique and creative person, but passion is the essence of his personality that is infused into his winemaking for Solminer Wines. Passion leads to everything. It’s not just passion for great wine but for the whole of his life, and all his endeavors.
“Creative pursuits always called me. Wine is definitely one of those pursuits where you can be really creative.”
In 2009 David met his wife Anna, who had just moved to Los Angeles from Austria. The pair spent some time exploring wine regions of the world, including Anna’s home country of Austria. It was at that point in their lives they looked at each other and decided they wanted to pursue something in the wine industry. With the passion found while exploring wine regions, they “threw caution to the wind” and created Solminer.
Sol for sun and miner, to impart the idea of mining the sun, harvesting the bounty of things from the soil.
The couple found a farmhouse in Los Olivos which had 3 acres of Syrah planted. After much work, they had done it! Anna and David’s dream was now a reality. They are doing something so unique for Los Olivos, and California– they have taken from Anna’s heritage by planting two of Austria’s most famous grapes, Grüner Veltliner and Blaufränkisch. The vineyard now called DeLanda (a combination of their names, Delaski, Anna, and David) is 100% organically farmed, to protect their family and neighbors from harsh chemicals. In addition to grapes, the property has animals, including sheep, chickens, and donkeys! It’s a passion looking at the farm as a whole system. They are in the process of undergoing their certification for being a biodynamic winery.
“When you are standing out in the vineyard it gives you a moment of self-reflection.”
David goes to the vineyard to describe his winemaking process, “Start with well farmed organic grapes and do minimal interventions.” Their goal is to get the purest expression of the site as possible. Spending most of the time on farming and less time doing things to the wine during the winemaking process. The wines are created purely from the DeLanda vineyard, and really speak what the terroir and property are about, exploring.
“In order to get into the wine business, you have to be adventurous.”
Ryan Carr of Carr Vineyard and Winery is indeed adventurous! His first job was making snowboards, then went to the University of Arizona for graphic design and worked for a landscape company. It was in college that he took a class on plant science, a seed was planted, and since 1999 he has been farming vineyards and making wine– what an adventure! When Ryan made his way to the Santa Ynez Valley he thought he would start a graphic design business. Little did he know he know the adventurous path that laid ahead…
Starting on the farming side of the industry in 1998, Ryan began working for viticulturist, Craig McMillan. Getting outside to escape the computer was a no brainer for Ryan, he fell in love with being in the field, and before he knew it he was helping lay out and plant vineyards.
Developing relationships from his vineyard work Ryan was able to get his hands on some extra Cabernet Sauvignon fruit in 1999. With that and the help of some food grade trash cans, he made his first batch of ‘home’ wine, producing about 10 cases. That wine was given to friends and family, who actually LOVED it!
In 2000 Ryan was approached by Andy Kahn who had just started his own winemaking facility. Starting up his new business and tight on money, Andy suggested Ryan work for him (for free) in exchange for winemaking help and the use of the facility. Not willing to pass up the opportunity Ryan jumped in. He made his first 325 cases with 1.5 tons of Cabernet Sauvignon, 1.5 tons of Cabernet Franc, and .5 tons of Pinot Noir. That was the beginning of the Carr label. Each year they continued to make more wine, and after several years Ryan really had a good thing going.
“As a farmer I am trying to represent the exact location more than anything. So it’s a hands off approach to wine making. Very minimal additions, and manipulation.”
One of the main factors that sets Carr apart from other wineries in our area is that they lease vineyards throughout Santa Barbara County; including Sta. Rita Hills, Los Olivos District, Santa Ynez Valley, Ballard Canyon, and Happy Canyon. Growing in all of these locations allows Ryan to get to know and see the differences in each growing region and make many different varietals.
California in general is a young wine region, so Santa Barbara is very new in the grand scheme of things. Being a young region we often look at older wine producing regions, such as France and Italy, for inspiration and advice. With that said, this is not Italy, or France, its California. We are finding our own techniches and styles over the years. You can see it happening in Santa Barbara, with all these sub appellations coming up. The basic understanding as to what our environment can do is increasing.
“Santa Barbara is such a special place, and without the influence of Burgundy we wouldn’t know that Sta. Rita Hills is perfect for the Burgundian varietals. Without the influence of the Rhone we wouldn’t know that Ballard Canyon is the place we should be growing the Rhone varietals, and same for Happy Canyon and the Bordeaux’s. It’s incredible what we can do within such a small area of California.”
Want to meet more local winemakers? Catch our current Featured Winemaker on our blog, or come meet them on the last friday of every month!
In 1997 Christine and Stevan Larner finally saw their dream of being in the wine business as a reality. Purchasing a 130 acre south facing parcel, perfectly situated in what is now Ballard Canyon, they began the Larner family legacy. Their son Michael was working as a Geologist in Colorado prior to the new family endeavor, but he always knew he wanted to come back to the earth, and being able to pass something down for multiple generations was fascinating to him. “The legacy aspect was my biggest selling point.” And so began the long and meaningful process of planting a vineyard and becoming a winemaker. Michael earned his Masters Degree in Viticulture and Enology from UC Davis and has been making wine since 1999.
Michael’s experience as a geologist before being a winemaker, allows him to see the winemaking and viticulture aspects much more from the land itself. He wants “to be firmly grounded to the earth” which has multiple meanings in Michael’s life. Leaving his career to join his family in their vineyard and winery endeavor gave him a sense of creating something that was always there, a legacy. His winemaking style is all about the site expression, allowing the wines to be the speaking word from the vineyard.
“Something there was present, this is the true essence of terroir, it’s coming from the land. As a geologist I am very comfortable with that, because I have studied the earth.”
As a winemaker Michael enjoys experimenting with different fermentation techniques, yeasts, and barrel choices. The process of giving and take allow the terroir to speak as loudly as it can through his wines. The Larner Vineyard and Winery team consist of more than just Michael, his wife Christina, mother Christine, and sister Monica each offer their own distinct look into the legacy. Figuring out where each wine will fit within the Larner program is a family affair. As a wine critic living in Rome, Monica looks at the wines from the eyes of the critic– how it’s going to do in the market. Christina is much more in tune with where the wines fit in from a generation standpoint, and Christine with her background in business is “the price guru.”
“The land was speaking louder than the winemakers.”
Michael is not only a fantastic viticulturist and winemaker but also co-founded the Ballard Canyon AVA. Ballard Canyon is a north-south running valley totaling 7,000 acres, one of the smallest in California. Described as the ‘Goldie Locks’ AVA, because it’s not too hot, not too cold, but just right for a variety like Syrah. A slightly warm ripening interval, but also a cooling effect– so you get that pepper spice coupled with fruit which is essentially what Syrah– makes Ballard Canyon ideal growing conditions for the Syrah grape. There is 17 vineyards total in the Ballard Canyon AVA but just 6 produce wine, the rest is sold to other wineries. Currently, only 600 of 7,000 acres are planted, over 300 of those acres are planted to Syrah. Proving that “everyone sort of knew; ‘this is our champion’, this is what we want to bring forward.”
In Part One of our interview with Michael, he shares the backstory of how Ballard Canyon AVA evolved from an idea to reality.
In Part Two of our interview, Michael lights up about what makes Larner wines “Grounded”.
Did you enjoy this blog? You might enjoy some of our other blogs about our local winemakers. We’ve had the pleasure of sharing the stories of winemakers like Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat, Karen Steinwachs of Buttonwood, and Wes Hagen of J. Wilkes, to name a few. Shop our online Wine Merchant anytime to enjoy the fruits of their labor!
On our ten-acre property, less than a mile from our Cafe, four acres are devoted to Sangiovese, Syrah, Nebbiolo, and Cabernet grapes from which we create wines under our private label, Bernat wines. An additional 4-acres of prime land have been cultivated by local organic farmers for themselves through the years, but their focus wasn’t solely on providing produce for our restaurant. When Shu and Debby Takikawa, the last farmers to farm this section of land, took over the 40 acres behind us, Shu encouraged us to farm it ourselves. We were eager to try, but knew well that running a farm along with our current endeavors– a vineyard, winery, wine merchant, and restaurant– we needed help.
That’s when we found Matt McCurdy, or he found us, that’s another story. Eager to take on the project and apply his knowledge from his past endeavors– working at our local Windmill Nursery being one of them– Matt leaped in and started planting. Well, first we dived into organic heirloom seed catalogues. We chose all the flowers that would bring the bugs to benefit the farm and would also cut nicely for flowers to put on the Café tables. We brought chef Chris Joslyn into the discussion, and chose vegetables he would love to use for our restaurant’s menu. We’ve been very pleased with seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company.
Our first summer was full of zucchini and cucumbers. The vision was growing…literally. We played around with various pickling recipes and pickled the cucumbers to place next to our Café’s burgers and sandwiches. Some of them we even put in jars and sold in our retail section, they were a hit and quickly sold out!
Well, it’s been almost a year now, our biggest lesson learned is the land has much to teach us. Will Rogers said, “The farmer has to be an optimist or he wouldn’t still be a farmer.” — That’s the truth!– We planted green beans, carrots, beats, and reaped nothing from them. Yes, we watered, weeded, and provided healthy soil and sunshine, but they never ended up on plates at our restaurant. Why you may ask?
What we learned:
We initially started by planting a large amount of different types of crops. Planting many different varieties of each plant, gives us an idea of which species not only grows best in each area, but which of those tastes the best. We pay close attention to each plant and learn which ones like which soils, climate preference, and which are affected by pests and how. All of the varieties of Kale we planted thrived through the winter; red lettuce, and romaine were also very successful.
Pests have been our biggest problem. Our first crop was planted when one of our dogs, Gypsy, was on vacation. The gophers and ground squirrels noticed and began moving into the farm. They ate almost all of the green beans we planted. Of 600 plants only 10 survived! They also ate the tops off of the carrot and beet plants. Although losing their tops did not initially kill them, since the plant was working hard to regrow the tops, the produce didn’t survive after all.
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The other challenge all farmers face, are weeds, we are no exception. Since our farm is CCOF certified organic, using herbicides is absolutely out of the question, not to mention it would deplete the nutrients in the soil and affect the quality of our produce. Being a small farm with only Sam and Matt to do the weeding, we quickly realized that we must be missing something– there was no way we could keep up. The weeds aggressively took over and whole rows had to be plowed back in to the soil before the plants had a chance to grow to maturity. Weeding through the research (yes, that was a pun) of all the various farm equipment to assist with this problem was overwhelming, even to a veteran vineyard farmer, like Sam. It was time to seek the advice of someone who had more experience in large scale farming than us. Sam met with a local veteran farmer, Steve Loyal, who shared valuable information. Steve directed us on the best equipment for a farm our size. We bought a hand hoe on a wheel that as we push, it slices under the soil cutting the roots of the weeds. Our tractor also needs some additional equipment to mechanize weeding, which we can tell you more about by the next time we post a Cafe Farm Update. We now look forward to watching our seeds grow to their full potential before the weeds can take them over (hopefully).
Though we are still in the midst of a big learning curve, we have had much greater success now that Gypsy is back on the job maintaining the ground squirrel population. Thanks to our hard working farm dog approximately 1500 heads of lettuce, 200 pounds of snap peas, and many, many buckets of onion, garlic, kale, swiss chard, arugula, spinach, turnips, and cilantro—came from our Cafe Farm since July 2015. We are getting a healthy head start for this summer with 900 plants of various heirloom tomato varieties in the ground, 10 types of lettuces, and squash and pumpkins ready for fall; we are excited to continue to expand the beauty and bounty on our menu at the Cafe.
While we are talking about the farm, it’s worth mentioning that we have an annual benefit Farm Dinner event called In the Vineyard & On the Farm . If you’d like to experience our Cafe Farm and our Bernat Wines firsthand click here for information. It’s a beautiful event that sells out every year, so if you’re interested, don’t wait to reserve your seats!
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Blair Fox, of Blair Fox Cellars, is a Santa Barbara native who found the passion for wine and viticulture in his own backyard. Blair began attending UC Davis as a pre-med student, before transitioning into fermentation science for brewing. Due to uncontrollable circumstances he had to switch a class last minute, and Blair stumbled into his first viticulture course, which marked the moment he fell in love with the grape growing side of the industry. At first he thought he would solely be a grape grower, but once he realized that he would have to relinquish the grapes to someone else to turn into wine, he knew he wanted to have his hands in that side as well.
After graduating from college with a degree in both Viticulture and Enology, Blair began employment as head winemaker for a family-owned winery in the Santa Ynez Valley. This was the time he and his wife, Sarah, established their own label Blair Fox Cellars. As Santa Barbara wine country’s premier restaurant for highlighting local winemakers, we are proud to say the Los Olivos Café was the first to offer Blair Fox Cellars on a wine list! After a few years of making incredible wines, Blair traveled to the Rhone region of France, and shortly thereafter traveled to Australia to expand his knowledge of the extraordinary wines made around the world. After coming back to his roots in the Santa Barbara County, he began working for Fess Parker and now also makes the wine for Epiphany—yes, Blair stays very busy
The focus for Blair Fox Cellars is on Syrah and other Rhone varieties. The estate vineyard, planted by Blair himself and farmed organically, has Grenache, Syrah, Petite Syrah, Vermentino, and a small amount of Zinfandel planted. Blair feels it is very important to be part of the grape growing process as a winemaker. He enjoys being able to control the wine from vine to glass, not only in his estate vineyards but the ones he sources fruit from as well. Looking for grapes with beautiful concentration and intense varietal character, he currently sources grapes from Zotovich, Kimsey, Tierra Alta, Larner, and his own Fox Family Vineyards.
Blair and his family take pride in the creation of the small production wines for Blair Fox Cellars. While Blair manages the winemaking, Sarah does the marketing. His two adorable daughters love riding on the forklift and helping with Pigeage – foot stomping the grape cap! The grapes are hand harvested, hand sorted, fermented in small lots, and basket pressed to ensure the highest possible quality and true expression of the vineyard. The results of this family’s hard work are wines with a modern feel, while showing a reflection of historically made French wines.
Sam and Shawnda, owners of the Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Café and Bernat Winery & Retreats, are long-time advocates of using fresh, locally sourced produce for the meals prepared by Chef Chris Joslyn in the Los Olivos Café kitchen. This passion has led them to focus on their own property and create the Los Olivos Café Farm. By utilizing their own land, they will now have the ability to grow many of the vegetables they need for the restaurant’s menu, flowers for arrangements on the tables and, as an extra bonus, offer extra produce canned into delicious, fresh product for sale exclusively in their Wine Merchant retail store. The opportunity to serve dishes incorporating vegetables picked from the field that morning, insures that guests dining at their restaurant will be enjoying produce at the peak of flavor.
Matt McCurdy, also employed at Windmill Nursery, will be working with Sam and Shawnda on the farm. Growing up in Santa Barbara and later moving to Ballard before leaving in 1992, in his 20’s Matt was an environmental activist focused on protecting the remaining ancient forests in Northern California and Oregon. In his 30’s he worked as a project manager building affordable housing for low-income families. After being laid off, he decided to go back to the environmental roots of his 20’s and combine that with the skills he had learned as a manager. He followed his passion and went to work for an Organic Nursery in Texas, Redenta’s Garden, where he learned the ins and outs of Organic farming from co-workers who held masters degrees in Horticulture. Since then, he has grown Organic vegetables in Texas, Northern California, and throughout the Santa Ynez Valley, converting lawn areas into vegetable gardens and raised beds. He is very excited that nine years later, his efforts are paying off with the opportunity to farm a large area.
The 3 acres of the Los Olivos Café Farm, under the management of Matt, will help to maintain the vital agricultural open space needed for the long-term success of the Santa Ynez Valley. Farmed Organically, everything will be watered through drip irrigation (no overhead spraying), weeding and harvesting will be done by hand, and there will be no use of GMO seeds, fertilizers, or pesticides. Matt explains, “The primary benefit of local Organic farming is the food being served on the plate is the freshest possible. The harvest from the farm is delivered the same day to the restaurant insuring the highest quality of flavor and nutrition. Health-wise, for example, the Organic Heirloom seeds I am planting are of a known heritage spanning decades and in some cases a century or more. There are a lot of unanswered questions about what GMO crops will produce generations from now and the possible side effect to our health and food supply. Growing Organically is how it has been done for thousands of years prior to the industrial revolution.”
Currently, the Los Olivos Café Farm is growing Black Beauty Zucchini, Golden Zucchini, Yellow Crookneck Squash, Golden Beets, Kabocha Squash, Butternut Squash, Delicata Squash, Buttercup Squash, a variety of carrots, various Green and Purple beans, Sunflowers, Zinnia’s, and Cosmos. In addition, salads will be created from the Romaine Lettuce, Red Sails Lettuce, Oak Leaf Lettuce, Toscano Kale, and Smooth Leaf Spinach, while cucumbers will be used for both fresh in salads and canned for pickles.
In the heart of Santa Barbara Wine Country, we are the premier wine merchant for California Central Coast wines, from Santa Barbara County to Monterey County, with select vintages from other areas of California’s Wine Country and noteworthy wines from around the world.
We’d love to share wine country musings, events, and special offers with you. No need to worry about getting inundated with emails from us, we only send them about once a month both from the Café and the Wine Merchant.