Full Belly Files | Fresh & Familiar Faces in the Santa Ynez Valley

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[Click to enlarge]: From left: Ryan and Betsy Hannaford of Racines; Bubbles by Racines

The benefit of having covered the Santa Ynez Valley for more than 25 years is that there’s always a friendly face to reconnect with when I visit, and there’s a depth to those relationships that transcend the triumphs or troubles of the present. Equally beneficial, at least for someone always on the hunt for untold stories, is that this wine country in our own backyard is an ever-evolving, dynamic place, meaning that there’s always someone new to meet.

A recent trip through the Santa Ynez Valley covered both bases, opening my eyes to emerging projects and then allowing me to spend quality time with people I’ve known for years.

The morning began on the introductory front, getting to know the Burgundy-meets-Champagne-meets-Sta. Rita Hills brand known as Racines. I’ve actually known about the brand since it launched a few years ago, and even interviewed founder Etienne de Montille for a Wine Enthusiast feature about the Sta. Rita Hills being more than just a place for pinot noir.

But I’d never really tried the wines, which seemed to have a veil of secrecy around them. Then I briefly met winemaker Ryan Hannaford last December during an epic lobster and tomahawk lunch outside of Ernst Storm’s tasting room — I mentioned that in this Full Belly File — and he appeared to be a very nice, normal, not secretive guy, So we kept up our correspondence until i found myself driving out to the ranch in the hills north of Highway 246.

That’s where I met Ryan and his wife, Betsy Hannaford, who run the day-to-day of the project together with steady input from de Montille, his American-born, Burgundy-based winemaker — excuse me, “chef de cave” — Brian Sieve, and Champagne-based partner Rodolphe Péters. That means the Hannafords, who are parents to a young boy and a friendly dog, are rather busy building the brand, from the grape-growing and winemaking to establishing presence in the marketplace. Meanwhile, they’re remodeling the old home on the property where they live and developing a new winery in Lompoc. That secrecy I sensed was more a function of them being too busy until now to work on getting the word out.

As we talked about their lives and the story of Racines — which will be its own article some day soon — they shared their lineup of fresh, vivid pinot noir, tantalizingly mineralistic chardonnay, and just plain delicious sparkling wine. Put them on your radar now and buy their wines whenever you can.

And for those seeking a top-shelf introduction to the project over excellent cuisine, Caruso’s at the Rosewood Miramar is hosting a Domaine De Montille and Racines Wine Dinner Experience on February 27. Only 12 seats are being sold for the eight-course affair, which features wines from both Sta. Rita Hills and Burgundy. Tickets are $495. Buy them here.

My next stop was a bit of the friendly and the brand new at once: getting my first taste of a recently launched wine label over lunch in a relatively new restaurant, yet I was already familiar with both the winemaker and restaurateur.

Pony Kitchen’s BLTA with Pars Fortuna pinot noirs

The latter is Alberto Battaglini, who I met a decade or so ago at S.Y. Kitchen. He left that restaurant around 2021 to open Pony Espresso in Santa Ynez, but I was never able to make it there despite his invitations. Then last year, Battaglini and Chef Jonny McDermott totally remodeled the place into Pony Cocktails & Kitchen.

I heard that news, but I wasn’t prepared for how cool of a spot they’ve created, with a vibe and menu that could easily fit on the streets of a much bigger city. I plan to go back for a proper story soon, as my brief tastes of the BLTA and chicken caesar salad were quite promising.

But I was really there for a wine talk, not food. I’ve known Kira Malone for a while now, in part through her husband Julian Malone, the longtime vineyard manager at Sea Smoke.

(He just left wine to go manage Apricot Lane Farms in Moorpark. Yeah,The Biggest Little Farm farm.) After a few false starts over her years working in all aspects of the wine business, Kira proudly launched her own brand late last year.

It’s called Pars Fortuna — which is a point on an astrological birth chart that reveals hidden talents and a path to success — and sports a fun roadrunner illustration on the label. Kira’s first two wines are pinot noirs from 2023: One is a Santa Barbara County cuvée (though it’s almost all from Riverbench Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley) and the other is a single-vineyard bottling from John Sebastiano Vineyard. (She told me that last year’s vintage might be the last for that rather famous vineyard, which is actively being ripped out.)

Both pinots are great representations of what the grape can achieve here, and showcase the kinds of wines that Kira has always wanted to make, rather than the styles she’s had to make for clients over the years. If you’re seeking to support a truly boutique project from its earliest stage, Pars Fortuna is your best choice right now. I’ll tell more of her story in a future article.

Now onto the very familiar: a nearly two-hour sitdown interview, on camera, with Lane Tanner. As I wrote in the article based on this interview, very few people — and no other females — are as intimately tied to the rise of Santa Barbara County’s wine industry as Lane Tanner.

I don’t recall when we first met, but we certainly stayed more connected after I wrote about her return to the wine business by partnering with Will Henry in the brand Lumen. Among other accolades she’s earned over the years, I helped get her nominated as the American Winemaker of the Year by Wine Enthusiast back in 2019. She didn’t win, but Lane still came to the January 2020 gala at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, and was all smiles amidst the big wigs of the global wine business. She considers being nominated as a highlight of her career.

[Click to enlarge]: From left: Lane Tanner holds a 2003 syrah; Sunny Doench Stricker calls action for Lane Tanner

We were meeting to work on a preview story for the Santa Barbara County Women Winemakers & Culinarians Celebration, which runs from March 6 to 9. Since Lane is finally retired from the wine business, they’re throwing her a tribute dinner to kick off the whole weekend on Thursday, March 6, when she’ll regale the crowd with colorful stories of her life and career.

So that’s what we talked about as Sunny Doench Stricker, the actor-turned-vintner of Future Perfect Wine, and her crew rolled cameras to capture our conversation. As we talked, we sipped on some of Lane’s favorite wines from over the years, including a still very much alive Lane Tanner Sanford & Benedict pinot noir from 1994.

Lane doesn’t hold back on her storytelling, and she only seems to be increasingly divulgent as the years go on. We talked about her early days with California wine legend André Tchelistcheff, her landing in Santa Barbara County in 1980, and the various travails she faced as one of the only female winemakers in California.

You can read more about our conversation in an upcoming article.

On the way home, I stopped by the new Motley Crew Ranch Marketplace in Buellton, right next door to Na Na Thai. I’ve briefly met proprietor Marko Alexandrou before — I’ve mentioned him here and here — and he recently provided some comments for this cover story I did on Winfield Farm’s pig problems.

[Click to enlarge]: From left: Motley Crew tri-tip cooked perfectly; Motley Crew tri-tip and linguica with lemon pepper chicken wings for Super Bowl

Marko and Cassidy Alexandrou just opened their butcher shop after 18 months of permitting and construction last December, and I was there to buy some meats for Super Bowl weekend. The place is still pretty sparse, but there were plenty of cuts to choose from. I went with a big tri-tip with the fat cap still on — I hate how most modern tri-tips have that critical fat removed — a couple packs of house made linguica, and then some other cuts for later.

Marko hopes to become a butcher for the greater ranching community, almost a coop of sorts. I’m just happy that there’s a new place to buy sustainably raised, locally grown meats, including poultry and rabbits raised on Motley Crew Ranch. I plan to be stopping by anytime my meat stocks run low.

[Click to enlarge]: From left: The Motley Crew tri-tip hits the grill, fat cap up.; The Motley Crew Marketplace

Back from Bolivia

If all goes as planned, I will be returning from my trip to Bolivia next Friday, February 28. So I’m taking next week off from Full Belly Files, and will return on March 7 with a Bolivia report. If you want to see how Bolivia is going in the meantime, check out my Instagram account @mattkettmann.