New Fall Fest under the Museum’s Oaks

Anyone who is a fan of the Santa Barbara Wine Festival — and given the festival celebrated at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (SBMNH) is heading into its 39th year and sells out annually, that’s quite a few folks — should be overjoyed at this news. The Museum will hold the inaugural Fall Tasting Festival on Saturday, November 7. Director of Marketing and Communications Jonah Haas calls it, “The cool, younger sibling to the wine festival.”

The Museum had been trying to figure out the best event to pair seasonally with June’s Wine Festival. The Mission Creek Beer Festival, held the last few years, didn’t draw the same crowds. Despite a range of flavors and ferments, Haas suggests people found the subject too narrow. He explains, “It was too easy for people to say, ‘I’m not a beer drinker, so that’s not for me.’”

The Fall Tasting Festival, on the other hand, will feature not just beer but also wine, spirits, coffee and other non-alcoholic drinks, and plenty of food, with most of the vendors being local to Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Think bites by the likes of Bistro Amasa, Convivo, Marisella, and The Knock; think pours by the likes of Foxen, Hermanas Amigas Tequila, Margerum, Third Window, and Tyler x Lieu Dit. “The Museum follows a whole curation philosophy,” Haas says, “aiming for a standard of quality and an integrity of local sourcing.”

Of course, the setting is one of the particular delights of any SBMNH festival. As usual vendors will have booths throughout the backyard, creekside, and woodland regions of the 17-acre property and the Museum will be closed to unticketed visitors. And, as with the Wine Festival, often the makers will be pouring your drinks and serving up your food, so you get to connect directly with wine and beer makers and chefs. The November date allows for selections, according to Haas, “to be more harvest focused.”

One hundred percent of the profits the event raises fund education programs at SBMNH, everything from astronomy programs like Star Parties to school field trips (70 percent of that to Title I schools with underserved students) to teen programs like the powerful mentorship of Quasars to Sea Stars.

“The setting of this event is unlike any other. It is so welcoming and so organic,” says Larry Schaeffer, who will be pouring his tercero wines, as he has for years at the Wine Festival. “This event is all about community. It’s all about sharing our local bounty with all of those who attend.”

Fall Tasting Festival, Saturday, November 7, 2-5 p.m. (early access 1 p.m.). Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta del Sol. General Admission is $125 per person with entry at 2 p.m., and Early Entry is $165 with special access beginning at 1 p.m. sbnature.org/visit/calendar/9128/santa-barbara-fall-tasting-festival.