WENDY THIES SELL

Film star Kurt Russell is set to make his first public appearance in Santa Barbara County since opening his wine tasting room, The Wine Saloon, at the 1880 Union Hotel in Los Alamos, a year ago. For the last seven years, Russell has partnered with Peter and Rebecca Work, owners of Ampelos Cellars in Lompoc, […]

Call it a hyperactive sweet tooth. Call it joie de vivre. Call it what you want; Gary Bayus has it. The Pismo Beach resident is whole-heartedly and unabashedly wild about desserts. So much so, that every time he goes out to eat, it’s what he eats first. “Sometimes it’s dessert first, and sometimes it’s just […]

Fresh from a relaxing month-long visit to his native South Africa, Santa Ynez Valley winemaker Ernst Storm vividly recalls not only the sights but also specific scents that he encountered while hiking deep into lush forests along the country’s scenic Golden Route. “There are layers of leaves that never see sun. It’s clean; it’s not […]

When hard-working Angela Soleno followed her heart, starting her own wine label in 2008, she still worked full-time at wineries in Los Olivos, bartended on weekends in Ventura, and took freelance writing assignments to make ends meet. The single mother of two, who grew up in Orcutt, also juggled driving her children to cheer practice […]

You can’t argue with physics, right? Georg Riedel, the 10th-generation owner of Riedel Crystal, made a rare appearance in Santa Barbara County in December to state his case that physics plays a critical role in the enjoyment of wine. Santa Barbara Vintners, the region’s vintners association, played host to Riedel, whose family founded the esteemed […]

This year brought many exciting new places to enjoy wine, beer, and food here on the Central Coast; for example, a Hollywood star opened a wine tasting room, a Master Somm came to town, a health-minded corporation started a restaurant, and a high-end bakery set up shop. For the last week of 2014, the Sun […]

Few restaurants on the Central Coast have a line of customers waiting outside before the doors open for dinner, but there is at least one. Since Ember restaurant in Arroyo Grande opened for business earlier this year, it’s had repeat diners queued up and eager for the exceptional wood-fired cuisine, flatbread pizzas, local boutique wines […]

Beer lovers rejoice! Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company has expanded operations and production, much to the gratitude of the local craft beer crowd. The award-winning, Buellton-based craft brewery opened a taproom earlier this month in Santa Maria at 560 E. Betteravia Rd. in the College Square shopping center. “The demand was there. We had people coming […]

Maybe it’s my humble Midwestern roots. Or maybe it’s the crisp chill in the air this time of year. Or maybe it’s the gooey cheese and salty meat. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s the sauerkraut, which I recall my German immigrant relatives serving on every holiday table. Whatever the reason, I find great comfort in […]

When Aaron Petersen decided to open a restaurant in the building he owns on Solvang’s main drag, his children chimed in on the name. “I was going to call it something like the American Grill or the American Tavern,” Peterson said. “And my college-aged kids said, ‘Dad, you’re a complete nerd. You cannot call it […]