Santa Barbara County

Now Open: AVA Santa Barbara's Wine Tasting Room A Great Place For Beachside Wine

Like a lead singer with a side solo project, AVA Santa Barbara is winemaker Seth Kunin's side gig. Because Kunin Wines is a well established Santa Barbara County-based brand -- known for its Rhone-style blend, Syrah and Zinfandel -- Kunin decided to create another label, AVA Santa Barbara, to explor ... More >>

$4 Million Worth Of Marijuana Found On Santa Barbara County Beach

Despite their taste in verdant herbal remedies, smugglers did not have the luck of the green on St. Patrick's Day. Authorities in Santa Barbara said they found and seized their $4 million stash on Arroyo Camada Beach early Sunday morning. The weed weighed 2,000 pounds:

Colorado Wine Company: A New Location in Eagle Rock

Six weeks into their new Eagle Rock location, Colorado Wine Company buzzes. A customer asks for a "yummy" Prosecco; another wants a well-priced Chardonnay. Owner Jen Nugent quickly obliges and welcomes a couple who've arrived for the weekly Friday night wine flight tasting. At the same time the Mand ... More >>

Francisco Solorio: Shark Attack Death At Surf Beach Near Santa Barbara

Updated at the bottom with the victim's ID. Headline has changed. First posted at 1:10 p.m. Tuesday. A man was killed in a shark attack today off Surf Beach in Santa Barbara County, a sheriff's official told the Weekly. A Santa Barbara County Fire Department spokesman told us the beach is off Vand ... More >>

Beachwood BBQ Medals Twice at the 2012 GABF

DENVER -- On Saturday morning, Oct. 13, thousands of brewers, media and festival volunteers watched as Long Beach-based Beachwood BBQ and Brewing accepted two medals at the 2012 Great American Beer Festival. Winning gold and bronze for L.A. County, they were in good company with California brewers, ... More >>

5 Scariest Shark Attacks in SoCal History

Now that we're officially in the thick of summer, you'd be a lousy Southern Californian if you didn't take your board down to the beach and get your water-sport on. (Even Lindsay Lohan's trying. Key word "trying.") But because we're part of the fear-mongering mainstream-media machine, and we can't ... More >>

5 Dog-Friendly Winery Tasting Rooms

A love for wine and dogs can co-exist. People take their pets everywhere these days--dining and drinking out, no exception. Although Los Angeles has approved pets on restaurant patios (per the recent Squid Ink post), rules prohibit them inside. Nor are they welcome at bars or in the tasting rooms at ... More >>

Marijuana Prices in California Plummet Following Obama's Crackdowns

Thanks to President Obama and the federal crackdown on medical marijuana in California, gray-market weed prices are plummeting. That might be good for you guys who don't have your doctors' recommendations yet, but cannabis growers in the weed-cultivation capital of the nation, Humboldt County, are ... More >>

Marijuana Being Shut Out of Santa Barbara After Feds' Medical Crackdown

Obama recently said it: "Big" marijuana business would not be immune from federal prosecution, even in medical weed states like California. Today the U.S. Attorney's Office in L.A. announced that the feds are walking that walk: They raided four pot operations, filed legal papers to seize the asse ... More >>

ICE Deportation Sweep Includes Over 200 Illegal Immigrants in L.A. Area -- Only Half of Whom Are Serious Criminals

In a plea for the Latino vote, President Obama keeps promising that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will ease up on the deportations. In a direct contradiction to that promise, ICE officers across the country just conducted a week-long deportation sweep called "Cross Check" --

Fishing Boat With 20 Illegals Lands in El Segundo

If you plan on coming to America in a small "panga" boat, try to land in Venice. Stinking wet with ragged clothes on, people will assume you belong. Unfortunately for this group of 20 suspected illegals, likely from Mexico, their boat came ashore along a wide-open stretch of beach in El Segundo. Yo ... More >>

Cindy Reyna, Model and UC Santa Barbara Student, Faces Deportation

Updated at the bottom: She was arrested on suspicion of DUI. First posted at 1:58 p.m. Immigrants' rights activists are coming to the aid of Cindy Reyna, a UC Santa Barbara student and sometime model who they say was arrested and now faces deportation despite being a potential DREAM Act student. T ... More >>

Santa Barbara Film Feast: Dinner and More Than 195 Movies

Santa Barbara's International Film Festival (SBIFF) echoes Cannes' famed film festival -- both are held in lovely seaside towns betwixt mountains and the ocean, stars come out in force and there is ample fresh local seafood. But unlike the French Riviera version, SBIFF prix fixe menus are deals: For ... More >>

Italian Wine Pairings for Thanksgiving

Why not try an Italian wine with Thanksgiving dinner? Consider that most L.A. Thanksgiving dinners break away from the traditional heavier dishes of the East Coast and Midwest. It's highly doubtful that the cousins in Kansas are serving anything akin to Ammo's take home menu, featuring charcuterie p ... More >>

Lompoc Wine Ghetto: Get Your Wine On Alternative

Jeff KirshbaumWinemaker Sashi Moorman of Piedrasassi New Vineland at work in the Lompoc Wine Ghetto.​ Substance outshines style at Santa Barbara County's low-key Lompoc Wine Ghetto. A semi-industrial office park that's in the heart of land-that-time-forgot Lompoc, California, Lompoc Wine Ghett ... More >>

Your Memorial Day Weekend Wine Event Report

Flickr/Xipe Totec39wine glasses​ Beer and barbecue are definitely on the Memorial Day Weekend agenda but with three days to fill, make some room for a glass or two of wine. In Santa Barbara, one of the region's most illustrious winemakers Jim Clendenen opens a tasting room after decades in the ... More >>

Q & A With Municipal Winemakers' Dave Potter: On Surfing, Sourcing Grape Stigmas His New Tasting Room

JGarbee Potter In The Former Scuba Shop That Will Become His Tasting Room​If you need an excuse to for a coastal drive, winemaker Dave Potter is your man. He is the face behind Santa Barbara-based Municipal Winemakers, a small but mighty 600 cases per year operation that he tends to between ba ... More >>

Indulge Wines Debuts The AstraPouch In California

JGarbeeJust Add Pie​Wine in a bottle, wine in a box, wine inside a bag inside a box. Just when you think the bagged wine market is over saturated, the AstraPouch makes its U.S. debut. New York's Glenora Wine Cellars was the first American wine producer to pouch its Riesling and Chardonnay last ... More >>

More iPhone Fun: "Wine Wherever" Tasting App

​You know how wine tasting goes. You spend a lovely afternoon sipping Chardonnay and Pinot, making mental notes of what you love. But inevitably, you find yourself in the liquor store a week later going, "Was it this vineyard's Syrah or Zin that we liked? And where did we have that great sp ... More >>

Thanksgiving Wine Pairings: You Could Ask Your Sommelier, Or Go Straight To The Source

Flickr user nevadadanThanksgiving With A Vineyard View​We spend a lot of time figuring out what to serve for Thanksgiving dinner, but how about what to serve with all of those competing homemade flavors? Asking sommeliers their pairing opinion is laudable, but can be like querying star chefs f ... More >>

One Winemaker, One Viticulturist and Their Three Central Coast Wines

J.KoslowAlta Maria Wines​ When you hear about Napa and Sonoma, it's easy to forget that a three hour drive north can land Southern Californians in the lesser known wine regions within Santa Barbara County. However, lesser known does not mean inferior, as you will easily discover when tasting ... More >>

LudoWines

What to drink on the fly with the Lefebvres

Ask Mr. Gold: LudoWines, What to Drink on the Fly with the Lefebvres

Anne FishbeinMr. Gold, with dim sum menu​Dear Mr. Gold: What kind of wine should I bring to LudoBites? I was thinking an Alsatian Riesling might be nice, but it's hard to find a bottle of the younger grand crus, and I can't afford the older ones. Do you have any suggestions for wines I can act ... More >>

LAPD Seeks Public's Help In Mysterious Case Of Valley Waiter Bernardo Alvarez, Whose Burned Body Was Found In Santa Barbara

​Los Angeles police this week asked for the public's help in the mysterious case of a missing Tarzana waiter whose burned body was found in Santa Barbara last month. According to the Daily News, 48-year-old Bernardo Alvarez worked for 10 years at the Greystoke Grill on Ventura Boulevard in Ta ... More >>

LAPD, Santa Barbara Authorities To Reveal Identity Of Burned Body

​ Updated throughout. Originally posted at 8:08 a.m. Los Angeles police and Santa Barbara County Sheriff's on Wednesday identified a burned body found July 15 in Santa Barbara County as that of 48-year-old Tarzana resident Bernardo Alvarez. The discovery of the body, said to have been burne ... More >>

La Nogalera Walnuts: Great For Cooking Cleaning up Oil Spills

Brooke BurtonCan walnut shells really stop oil leaks and filter polluted water?​ Go to the Hollywood farmers market to sample La Nogalera's excellent walnut oil from the Santa Rita Hills in Santa Barbara County, and you may quickly identify the nutritional benefits for salads and vegetable sid ... More >>

Treat Her Right: Mother's Day Dining Options

Flickr user Bakerella​ Mother's Day in Los Angeles always brings the gift of good May weather, and the perennial foolproof option of a Sunday farmers' market visit followed by a home cooked meal. But here are a few other suggestions on how to treat a deserving lady right, since chances are th ... More >>

Pave to Save Whittier Narrows?

A tense battle over erecting a "hands-on" museum and more parking on a shrinking band of green

It's Spring, Which Means It's Time To Drink Botasea

Palmina WinesChrystal Clifton's Botasea​Now that the spring sun has finally fought back the rainclouds we turn our attention to warm weather wines. While there is an endless supply of refreshing options nothing screams "light the barbecue" quite like rose'. Though southern France seems to clai ... More >>

A Great Walnut Season: La Nogalera's New Batch of Walnut Oil A Recipe

Photo credit: Amy ScattergoodLa Nogalera walnut stand​Between Buellton and Lompoc in Santa Barbara County, about 11 miles from the ocean on the inland side of the Santa Ynez Mountains, you'll find Rancho La Viña--and some of the best walnuts in this part of the country. This pleasant fact is ... More >>

New CA Budget Cuts Williamson Act Funding, May Affect Local Farmers

As you probably know by now, last week, after a long political stalemate, the Governor finally signed a new California budget, but not before slashing another $489 million to create what we home budgeters might call "a cushion." Along with more cuts to K-12 and higher education, child welfare servic ... More >>

LA People 2009: Spin Artist — Tommy Hollenstein

Days of Wine and Antelope

The coming week ushers in a whole new slate of wine drinking opportunities around town. On Monday Lou is serving up ... antelope. Antelope? Really? As in the cute slinky bovid, or that ex-urban, quasi-rural valley located off of Highway 14? Yeah, but this meat from Broken Arrow Ranch also apparent ... More >>

Glitter Garage Sale: Auction of Michael Jackson's Stuff to Proceed

Is there, among the 2,000 auction items culled from Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch, a Rosebud sled -- some seemingly worthless toy, trinket or tchotke that would unlock the secret to the enigmatic King of Pop? You'd certainly think so from the way Jacko and his lawyers have been fighting to stop ... More >>

Jacksonian Seizure: The Rise and Fall of Michael Jackson and His Investments Mirror Americans' Spendy Ways

Is the King of Pop's Neverland Booty Our Folly Too?

Proposition 11: The Most Misunderstood

The League of Women Voters, Common Cause and AARP seek change in Sacramento

Sunny and Mild: Getting to Know Our Fair-Weather Friends of Local News

Or, how Ted Turner saved Dallas Raines from network hell

Phil Noir: Fidler Out of Tune

The judge gets threatened, the jurors get defensive, and Phil Spector beats his murder rap — for now

Camping, but Not Really

El Capitan Canyon — the great outdoors for pansies

Numero Uno's George Torres Faces Murder Charges

Rags-to-riches story of L.A. grocery king goes sour

Grocery King George Torres Fingered in Murders

Racketeering charges against Numero Uno markets founder include bribing two former L.A. planning commissioners

Hollywood Lawyers in Love

How two arch-enemies went from killing each other to kissing up

Operation Liquid Freedom

The Grapes of L.A.

Winemaking can once again be local

Zaca Magic