Taste of the Santa Ynez Valley quickly became one of the hottest tickets in town upon its launch in 2019. The extended weekend series of dinners, tastings, and activities — which goes down this year October 1 to 4 — shines a bright light on the culinary and agricultural bounty of the broader region, and many of its events sell out way in advance.
That’s especially true of the dinners, which broke the mold by taking over entire streets of Los Alamos and Los Olivos with long tables. Those thoroughfare takeovers evolved in recent years, with Thursday night’s Los Alamos kickoff dinner moving into the garden of the recently reopened 1880 Union Hotel. Like always, each course of these communal dinners will be prepared by a separate restaurant. And like last year, there’s a pre-dinner wine tasting at The Maker’s Son and an after party at the adjacent 1880 Speakeasy.
The biggest change in the format is on Friday night, in which the towns of Los Olivos and Santa Ynez are joining forces to host their dinner at the Santa Ynez Ranch, the former home of Bridlewood Winery.
“To keep things fresh and exciting, we’ve combined our Los Olivos and Santa Ynez dinners,” said Shelby Sim, CEO of Visit the Santa Ynez Valley, which produces the annual event. “We’ve also moved to a legendary and exclusive location not open to the public any longer.”
That evening will showcase the cuisine of Bar Le Côte, Los Olivos Wine Merchant Café, Hitching Post 2, Lucky Penny, and Willows. In addition to many familiar wineries, there will also be pours of the nonalcoholic Glasrose beverages made by the ranch’s owners.
Saturday’s dinner returns to Second Street in Solvang, preceded by an extensive wine tasting event in the garden of the Festival Theater. New to this evening is an afterparty on the stage of the theater, complete with a deejay, light show, and drinks by Rock12 Distillery, as well as behind-the-scenes tours of the facility. Enthused Sim, “How cool will it be to party on the actual open-air theater stage?”
And it’s not all dinners. Friday morning can be spent riding horses with Vino Vaqueros at Demetria Estate or touring three farms with Heritage Farmland & Flavors. Saturday offers rides on both horses and hay wagons as well as “cowboy breakfast” at Alisal Ranch; ziplining with Highline Adventures; a vineyard tour with Keith Saarloos of Saarloos & Sons (“he kills it,” promised Sim); and the annual “Franc & Blanc” tasting of the Santa Ynez Valley’s top cab francs and chenin and sauv blancs.
After five years of the event, Sim learned that the finale of a Sunday night dinner was a tough sell. Instead, Taste of the S.Y.V. will conclude with a Sunday brunch in the Buellhouse at Zaca Creek Tavern.
“This is a historical, beautiful, and rarely seen Buellton location,” said Sim. “The Tavern will have several food stations, custom drinks, lively music, and wines from the Sta. Rita Hills. It’s a perfect and delicious way to end the weekend.”
For details and tickets, see TasteSYV.com.
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