A hearty appetite knows no season, but the long days of summer, laced with mouthwatering aromas from hundreds of busy barbecues, do tend to send tastebuds into overdrive. Fortunately, here in the heart of Santa Barbara County wine country, chefs and food purveyors offer plenty of creative options for locals looking to quiet those pesky pangs.
Cooks who like to have some fun while shopping for groceries won’t want to miss the chance to browse farm fresh goodies while sipping a little wine. On June 12, Cambria Winery presents a full-blown farmers market, set up right on the winery’s gorgeous premises and open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Amid tables loaded with freshly picked produce, local artisans will offer their arts and crafts for sale, while musicians crank out happy tunes reminiscent of a lively country fair. Winery staff will offer barrel samples for tasting, and special discounts on current wines to help shoppers choose just the right vintage to open at home when they sit down to a dinner chock full of local goodies. For details, call 937-8091 or visit cambriawines.com.
If hunger strikes while you’re wandering around downtown Santa Maria, remember that every week, the Historic Santa Maria Inn’s Olde English Tap Room hosts its famous Taco and Tequila Tuesdays from 4 to 7 p.m. Enjoy extended happy hour pricing on margaritas (only $4.50 each), along with satisfying nibbles from the complimentary taco bar.
On June 19, cheese lovers can explore their favorite food at the Brander Winery, where a wine and cheese pairing is slated to begin at noon. Kathryn Graham, who opened C’est Cheese of Santa Barbara seven years ago, will do the dairy-based honors at the event.
“Our cheeses come from all over the world, about 10 different countries,” Graham explained. “The Brander tasting room manager brings the wines by for us to taste, and we pair specifically to those wines.
“Sauvignon Blancs are pretty easy to pair,” she said. “We often choose goat’s milk cheeses, something like Humboldt Fog or Buche Rondin for those.
“With red Bordeaux-style wines,” she continued, “we go for stronger cheeses that are more pungent, like Red Hawk, a good California cheese. Or sometimes even a nice cheddar will work, like a Cabot Clothbound from Vermont. Ideally, neither the wine or cheese overpowers the other, and they seem to bring out new flavors in each other. Delicious!”
A local pioneer of Sauvignon Blanc and master of rich, red Bordeaux blends, owner/winemaker Fred Brander plans to showcase his wines with specially selected cheeses on several Saturdays this summer ($5, brander.com, RSVP to 688-2455).
Also on June 19, Fiddlehead Cellars’ FiddleFest gets underway in the Santa Rita Hills, near Lompoc. An exploration and celebration of Pinot Noir, this extravaganza showcases vintages made by a variety of vintners using fruit from the winery’s Fiddlestix Vineyard.
Along with an array of Pinot Noir (each amazingly different from the others), as well as a few whites and rosés, the event features tables laden with food a-plenty. Hitching Post staffers will dish up tasty treats such as grilled quesadillas with cheese, corn, and smoked duck; Southwest chicken sausages; shrimp and snap pea salad; assorted grilled pizzas; and top sirloin sandwiches.
A portion of the day’s proceeds will help support vineyard and farm worker services administered by People Helping People. Last year, Kathy Joseph, owner/winemaker at Fiddlehead Cellars, donated some of her Pinot Noir to the organization’s Vino de Sueños auction, an experience she relished.
“Vino de Sueños gave us a great opportunity to give back,” Joseph said. “We thought with our FiddleFest, we could do a bit more to assist [vineyard and farm workers] during these difficult economic times.”
FiddleFest takes place in the famous Fiddlestix Barn on Santa Rosa Road. For details about this wonderful day of food and wine, call 742-0204 or visit fiddleheadcellars.com. ($72.80 advance tickets, $85 at the door).
The following Saturday, June 26, don’t miss the second annual Wild West BBQ Bash, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., in Santa Maria’s Preisker Park. At the heart of this fun family day is a barbecue competition featuring teams from throughout the state of California, all vying for the coveted Wild West crown.
Sample barbecued delicacies—from chicken and beef brisket, to pork ribs and pork shoulder—from some of the form’s best practitioners. Enjoy live music and entertainment, and even better, know that the money garnered through the sale of tasting tickets will help foster and high needs children and families on the Central Coast ($2 each for tasting tickets, 781-3535, fcni.org).
As summer begins to sizzle, bounty from local farms and coastal waters takes center stage, whether at festivals, cook-offs, or backyard feasts. In Santa Maria, when hungry stomachs begin to rumble, rest assured that a satisfying spread is never far away.
K. Reka Badger already has all the summer barbecues mapped out for the season. You can reach her at rekabadger@hotmail.com.
This article appears in Jun 10-17, 2010.