’Tis the season to spend some money on loved ones, friends, and possibly frenemies—if you’re into that kind of thing. But let’s not be boring. No socks, ok? Having trouble coming up with something else? We’ve got you covered with our annual Last Minute Gift Guide, which keeps the focus hyper local and very fun. Staff Writer Taylor O’Connor suggests a few local wineries with gift packs of food, wine, and more [pg. 6], while New Times Senior Staff Writer Glen Starkey pushes for a more memorable experience [pg. 7].
Local wineries offer wine and food gift packages this holiday season
BY TAYLOR O’CONNOR
If you’re looking for a gift for a coworker who loves to host a charcuterie night, a friend who frequents wine tastings, or a loved one who enjoys a simple glass of wine now and again, the Santa Maria and Santa Ynez valleys hold an abundance of delicious options.
Several wineries in the area are now offering food and bottle gift baskets, membership deals, and limited-edition wines as the holiday season approaches. Check out these local wineries and explore their gift ideas and deals; prices on items vary.
Find more Northern Santa Barbara County wineries at santamariavalley.com.
Buttonwood Farm Winery and Vineyard
This Solvang-based winery and farm is offering a limited-edition sparkling rosé—a great addition to any holiday table or gift basket. It pairs well with a soup or salad course as well as fish and meat, winery employees told the Sun in an email. Along with the rosé and a variety of other wines, Buttonwood is offering gift boxes that include wine, candles, Buttonwood-branded glasses, jams, spices, and shrubs.
Boxes can be customized to fit any preference and are available in the tasting room or over the phone, where an employee will customize the box’s contents and ship it out. Buttonwood also offers gift cards for last-minute gifts or for those who have a tough time choosing from the winery’s wide variety of options.
1500 Alamo Pintado Road, Solvang; (805) 688-3032; buttonwoodwinery.com.
Kings Carey Wines
These wines can be ordered from menus in restaurants across Santa Barbara County, but they’re harder to find in retail shops because Kings Carey Wines is a smaller operation. Right now, the winery is offering three different wines: a white, a rosé, and a red during the holiday season.
The semillon is a crisp, fresh wine that offers a hint of sweetness. Grapes are harvested from Happy Canyon Vineyard in Santa Barbara and picked early for a bit of acidity and a lemon zest, winemaker James Sparks told the Sun. It’s then fermented in old barrels for five months before bottling. The rosé is a grenache blend from Spear Vineyards in Lompoc that’s fermented in old oak barrels for seven months, giving the wine more texture and a bright fruitiness to the palate.
King’s Carey’s 2019 grenache blend, also from Spear Vineyards, was aged in barrels for 29 months, which gives the wine has a savory taste with hints of rose, raspberry, and chocolate, Sparks said.
These limited-edition wines feature eccentric labels made by Philadelphia artist Hawk Crawl, distinctive and unique enough to transform the bottles into home decor after the wine is consumed, he said. Kings Carey also offers club packages that cover two shipments of two to three bottles a year. Use code SMSUN to get free shipping on a three-pack of wines.
1225 W. Laurel Ave., Lompoc; (805) 680-7006; kingscarey.com.
Vega Vineyard and Farm
Vega Vineyard and Farm’s been serving the Central Coast quality wines since 1853, and this holiday season, the winery is offering three gift packages.
The Bianco and Olga Olive Oil Gift Pack features its 2021 Bianco white wine blend of albariño, vermentino, and marsanne. With hints of yellow peach and almonds on the palate, it and pairs well with chicken, according to the winery’s website. Going alongside this bottle is a 500 ml bottle of Olga’s Greek extra virgin olive oil, made from olives grown in the rocky hills of Mani, Greece. Olives are hand picked and pressed on the same day to maintain a low acidity level and a rich, fruity flavor.
The Barbera and Albariño Gift Pack features two European wines covering a wide spectrum of flavors. Vega Vineyard’s 2021 albariño is a Spanish-style wine with lemon, pear, and citrus qualities. It pairs well with white fish and meats as well as leafy green herbs. The 2021 barbera—a grape variety that originates from Northwestern Italy—has dark plum and black cherry aromas, and gives hints of plum and blood orange on the palate. It pairs well with tomato sauce and braised or grilled meat, the website said.
Vega’s third gift pact features bottles of pinot grigio, dolcetto and barbera, three popular Italian wines. The 2021 pinot grigio is a crisp and cool wine with hints of citrus that pairs well with fresh salads and light pasta dishes. The 2021 dolcetto is a dry wine with hints of raspberry that pairs well with salmon, tuna, pasta, and pizza.
9496 Santa Rosa Road, Buellton; (805) 688-2415; vegavineyardandfarm.com.
Staff Writer Taylor O’Connor loves pairing perfect gifts with local wine. She can be reached at toconnor@santamariasun.com.
Forget the trinkets—give an experience to be remembered
BY GLEN STARKEY
I guess a necktie or some perfume or a scarf is OK, but if you need a last-minute gift and you want it to stand out, give an activity that can grow into a memory—a gift that keeps on giving long after the tie is out of style, the perfume has run dry, or that scarf was inadvertently left in a café. The Central Coast has all kinds of things you can give that may get someone out of their comfort zone to try something new.
Luminous landscapes
The Santa Ynez Valley Botanic Garden is lighting up its grounds with winter wonder for its inaugural Enchanted Garden Holiday Lights Festival. Evening visitors can wander a maze of lights, take pictures with Santa, delight in falling snow, and enjoy treats and libations from various food and beverage vendors, all on the Botanic Garden’s grounds at the west end of River View Park in Buellton. The festivities run Dec. 9 through 11 and 16 through 18 between 5:30 and 8:30 p.m., and tickets cost $25 for adults and children age 13 and over and $10 for ages 12 and under, and admission is free for children under 2.
The San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden, located in El Chorro Regional Park, is hosting Nature Nights through Sunday, Jan. 8 (Thursday through Sunday nights; 5 to 8 p.m.; $19.75 plus fees for adults, $14.75 plus fees for children 12 and under, toddlers 2 and under free at my805tix.com).
The immersive outdoor holiday light and art display features large format light projections by Bryn Forbes, illuminated sculptures by Michael Reddell, and artistic lighting of garden areas by Kody Cava through an 8-acre portion of the 150-acre garden.
If you’re in North SLO County, check out Paso Robles’ Light at Sensorio.
Santa Ynez Valley Botanic Garden, 151 Sycamore Drive, Buellton; santaynezvalleybotanicgardent.org; (805) 245-5603.
SLO Botanical Garden, 3450 Dairy Creek Road, San Luis Obispo; slobg.org; (805) 541-1400.
Sensorio, 4380 Highway 46, Paso Robles; sensoriopaso.com; (805) 226-4287.
Tour through history
“Stepping into the Dana Adobe and taking a guided tour not only brings history to life but cultivates the visitor to feel that the walls and objects you are seeing are more than just an old house,” DANA Executive Director Alexis Carreno explained.
The Dana Adobe and Cultural Center, located in Nipomo, is open for walk-ins every Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (subject to holidays and private events), with an admission of $8 per person and $3 for kids 6 to 17. Weekday tours can be booked at various rates depending on the number of people.
Originally built from 1839 to 1850 on a 37,888-acre Mexican Land Grant bestowed upon Boston ship’s captain William Goodwin Dana in 1837, the home’s 13 rooms have been restored to look as they did in 1850. The home hosted important historical figures such as Henry Tefft and John C. Fremont. It was also an exchange point on California’s first official mail route between LA and Monterey.
“The tour guides encompass the reality of living on the vast rancho in the height of the 1850s, where travelers would stop and share a cup of tea or coffee and homemade tortillas,” Carreno said. “Where you could experience seeing a vast number of workshops actively making products for both the visitor, families, and tradesmen nearby. A thriving and energetic stop full of activity and a true sense of a home.”
671 S. Oakglen Ave., Nipomo; danaadobe.org; dana@danadobe.org; (805) 929-5679.
New Times Senior Staff Writer Glen Starkey is experiencing all the Central Coast has to offer. Reach him at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Dec 8-15, 2022.