Sip This: Cooperstown Distillery Triple Play

Cooperstown Distillery Triple Play: Got a serious drinkin’ baseball fan that needs a gift? Who doesn’t? (It was just the All-Star game, folks!)

It turns out Cooperstown’s got more than the Hall of Fame and the hots for Natty Bumppo; the town’s namesake distillery is crafting fine spirits, and, even better, packaging the heck out of them. We’re talking bottles shaped like baseballs, three in a box.

Want to read the rest then do so at the Independent's site.

Sip This: Panther Creek Willamette Valley Lazy River Vineyard Pinot Noir 2014

Panther Creek Pinot Noir 2014: This Willamette Valley winery doesn’t lack for history: Founded by Oregon legend Ken Wright in 1986, more recently it was bought by Bacchus Capital Management — the same firm that invested in Qupé in 2011 — and they installed Tony Rynders from Domaine Serene as consulting winemaker.

Want to read the rest then do so at the Independent's site.

Eat This: Tres Leches Cake @ Julienne

It’s entirely possible the best dessert in town is the most deceptively simple. Tres leches cake has gone from a mysterious origin — practically every Latin American country claims its creation, and then there’s an ugly possibility a condensed milk company came up with it to sell its product — to a blanded-out cliché. Chef Justin West rescues it from both its murky and over-familiar history by paring it down to its core delights.

Want to read the rest then do so at the Independent's site.

A Mighty First & Oak Grows in Solvang

If you can’t bring the people to you, you have to go to the people. At least that’s the way the Rosenson family saw it. Since 2005, they have owned Coquelicot Estate Vineyard just outside of Solvang. But knowing, as Jonathan Rosenson understated it, that “land use in the valley is pretty strict,” they opted to buy the Mirabelle Inn in Solvang as a hospitality center of sorts for their winery rather than build something on the estate itself.

Want to read the rest then do so at the Independent's site.

Why Santa Barbara Might Need to Blush about Its Roses

To claim you don’t like rosé is about the same as saying you don’t like cheese or people. While Limburger or a crowded bus might be too stinky for you, have you tried a nutty-gouda delight like Ewephoria or met Pope Francis? While these particular examples might not float your cheese or human character boat, I promise there’s a rosé out there that will.

Especially if you’re drinking Santa Barbara County rosé. That point became transparently clear at a recent Santa Barbara Vintners Road Trip to Santa Barbara itself, the first after the group had such success bringing the brand to Los Angeles recently. On a relatively balmy day on Sama Sama’s back patio, 15 area producers poured a rosé or three and made clear, as usual, for variety this region can’t be beat.

Want to read the rest then do so at the Santa Barbara Vintners blog.

(P.S. that cocktail in the photo was from the rosé dinner later that evening at Sama Sama)