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Wine

Winemaker Santa Barbara

Interview: Ampelos Cellars winemaker Peter Work

Ampelos Cellars and Vineyard founders Peter Work and wife Rebecca are former corporate execs from Denmark and Alaska, respectively. They purchased 82 pie-shaped acres in 1999, planted 15,000 vines in 2001 and moved to...
Hamburger San Francisco

Heirloom Café: Staying Seasonal in San Francisco

Our meal at Heirloom Café started with an unexpected and resounding thud. It was the back leg of my father’s chair cracking clear through a floorboard, leading to a fall. Thankfully, my father rebounded,...
Restaurant Vancouver

Salt Tasting Room: Playing the Match Game on Blood Alley

Restaurateur Sean Heather and business partner/property owner Scott Hawthorn deserve credit just for being able to help rehabilitate Blood Alley, a once sketchy Gastown throughway that’s suddenly rife with trendy restaurants and shops. Apparently...
Restaurant Sign Santa Barbara

Wine Cask: Inspired Pairings at Santa Barbara Feasting Bar

Creeping vines partially covered the sign that welcomed my arrival at the Wine Cask, a Santa Barbara institution from winemaker Doug Margerum and business partner Mitchell Sjerven that dates to 1981. This was the...
Master Sommelier

Interview: master sommelier Darius Allyn (Montage Beverly Hills)

Seattle native Darius Allyn fell for wine while working on a luxurious train line in Eastern Europe. He carried that passion back to the States, started at the Salish Lodge Inn and eventually transitioned...
Winemaker Santa Barbara

Interview: Alma Rosa winemaker Richard Sanford

My recent eco-conscious tour of Santa Barbara County included an eye opening Sustainable Vine Wine Tour, led by guide Bryan Hope. Our first stop on the biodiesel van was Alma Rosa Winery & Vineyards,...