Roll Out The Barrels in San Luis Obispo

Tags

Barrels in the Plaza, Cal Poly, Roll Out The Barrels Weekend, San Luis Obispo, SLO Wine

Guests sip wine and savor food during Roll Out The Barrels’ opening event June 19 at Mission Plaza in San Luis Obispo.

This popular annual event kicked off Thursday evening and lasts through tomorrow (Sunday, June 22). I attended for the first time this year, and now I see why the event usually sells out: The four days bring local wines and fresh-to-your-palate small bites from the county’s finest eateries.

My “I don’t live near San Luis Obispo” will no longer suffice as an excuse to not have tried these restaurants. I need to make time to take the drive north and spend time eating. Take a look at the participants: http://www.slowine.com/events/barrels-in-mission-plaza.php

I sampled tiny plates from the new Comfort Market, Creekside Brewing, the Kitchen at Niner Wine Estates, Luna Red and Mother’s Tavern. Everything was sublime.

The wines I sipped were the current chardonnay release from Cal Poly’s Wine & Viticulture Program; Niner Wine Estates sauvignon blanc; Clesi Wines’ malvasia bianca; Talley Vineyards’ cabernet sauvignon (my token red wine, an ode to the afternoon heat); the verdelho from Filipponi Ranch Cellars; and pinot gris from Sinor-LaVallee.

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Two Weeks in Wine: June 15 — 30

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Buttonwood Farm & Winery, Longoria Wines, Santa Barbara County Vintners' Association, SLO Barrels

Friday-Sunday, June 20-22 — Key to Wine Country: Santa Barbara Vintners has taken the former “Vintners Visa” passport add-on from its festivals (Vintners and Celebration of Harvest) and created a stand-alone event, “Key to Wine Country.” Enjoy special dinners, vineyard hikes, library and vertical tastings, open houses and more. Tickets are limited. For tickets and details on participating wineries, visit  https://www.sbcountywines.com.

Thursday-Sunday, June 19-22 — SLO Wine Country’s ‘Roll Out the Barrels: The 24th annual weekend event opens with Thursday’s “Barrels in the Plaza” food and wine event at Mission San Luis Obispo and continues Friday with winemaker dinners and a passport tasting on both Saturday and Sunday. New this year is Barrel Sample Sunday, during which guests can taste upcoming releases at member wineries. For tickets and more information, visit www.slowine.com

Saturday, June 28 — Red, White & Blue: The 16th annual Red, White & Blues Festival returns to Buttonwood Farm & Winery and this year features headliner Coco Montoya, a former member of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. Opening for Montoya will be Santa Barbara’s own Stiff Pickle Orchestra. Longoria Wines and Buttonwood Farm & Winery, along with the Santa Barbara Blues Society, sponsor the event. Tickets are $40 general and $35 for club members of either Buttonwood or Longoria, or members of the Blues Society. Guests are encouraged to pack a picnic lunch and chairs and purchase wine from either of the sponsoring wineries. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Arts Outreach. Call 805.688.3032 for tickets

 

Return of the wine-blog monster

Tags

Santa Barbara County California, Santa Barbara Vintners

Why, hello! It’s been too long. Wine blogging is more fun, but hey: My day job pays the bills.

But I’m stitching together several new ideas for this blog, so stay tuned in the weeks leading up to the Wine Bloggers’ Conference in Buellton, July 10 through 13.

Laurie, Publisher and Princess, Centralcoastwinepress.com