Full Belly Files | Convivo & Sanguis Team Up for Nose to Tail Dinner

Chef Peter McNee, as he looked when he opened Convivo back in 2016. | Credit: Paul Wellman

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I’ve gotten to know Peter McNee, the chef-owner of Convivo, quite well over the years, and his cooking — whether for white-table cloth affairs, crowded festivals, backpacking trips, or remote island adventures — never ceases to surprise and satisfy.

But even I was taken a bit aback last year when attending Convivo’s second annual “Nose to Tail” dinner, for which McNee butchered a boar into 10 wildly distinct dishes. There was “boar-tadella,” boar’s head agnolotti, and a creamy, chocolate-meets-pig blood treat called sanguinaccio, among other standouts, all paired with Samsara wines. (I missed the original incarnation in 2024, though I heard the Stolpman pairings were also lights out.)

A sneak peak at a couple of the lamb dishes that Chef Peter McNee is serving with Sanguis wines at Convivo’s third annual Nose to Tail dinner on March 18.

For the third affair, McNee is switching up the star of the show, bringing in a spring lamb and pairing the chorus of resulting dishes with the wines of Sanguis, whose owner Matthias Pippig practiced his craft for years in a tucked away urban chateau off of Milpas Street.

This year’s menu features a similarly inventive array of lamb-linked fare, separated into smaller first bites and then the Spring Lamb Feast. There’s lamb loin tartare, soppressatta di testa (that’s head!), crispy lamb belly with mushroom risotto, lamb shoulder cannelloni, roasted lamb leg … well, let’s not ruin all the surprises.

This year’s dinner is coming up quick on March 18, and the tickets — quite a steal at $125 — are likely to sell out soon. Buy them here. To learn more about what to expect this year, I asked McNee a few questions. Here’s what he had to say.

Scenes from a previous Nose to Tail dinner.

How did this dinner series come about?

It was about two years ago that I finally took up the offer from my friend, farmer Jesus “Chuy” Mendez to work with one of his “wild boar.” Chuy had a few boar he’d caught and was raising in captivity. He also has pasture-raised goat and lamb, egg-laying chickens, and a mall herd of Black Angus cattle. My relationship with Chuy and his persistent requests for me to use his boar was the inspiration behind our first “Nose to Tail’ wine dinner.

I am a trained norcino (pig butcher) and, with the help of a lifelong friend Romano Chieti, built a very elaborate charcuterie program at my old restaurant Poggio in the Bay Area. Romano, originally from Trequanda, Italy, was my partner in crime when it came to making contraband salumi. Shhhh. And of course, the boar and the pig are extremely similar, if not identical to one another. So, these dinners made a lot of sense.

Why did you switch to lamb this year?

It turns out it’s harder to catch boar than last time and that pen has remained empty since our last dinner. Chuy suggested to give his lamb a chance, and it seemed fitting to feature a different animal in this “Nose to Tail’ series. However, the lamb, as they say, is a whole other animal.

What’s your experience with lamb?

I lived and worked in Italy in 2003, a lifetime ago. I arrived before winter had let go of Lake Garda, where I was working in a town called Salo. It was very cold for a couple weeks and then suddenly it was warm one day and it was spring!

Every day we would harvest the bounty of spring: the artichokes, peas, favas, beautiful lettuces. The garden at Ristorante Campagnola was second to none. Through these memories, I always associate the spring with Easter in Italy, “Buona Pasqua,” as they say. The spring vegetables, the spring lamb (agnello), and the spring goat (capretto) cooked on a spit, allo spiedo.

So I guess I am returning to my roots with the Spring Lamb Feast.

How did you select Sanguis as your partner for this dinner?

We’ve been partnering with Mattias’ wines on our menu at Convivo for some time. Both his Loner “‘A Trip to the Moon” pinot noir and his “Since You Asked Me Kindly”’ cabernet sauvignon are excellent and have garnered a ton of fanfare from both our team and our guests. This dinner is providing us a chance to see more of his catalog and feature a couple new wines on our menu.

Our beverage director, Mark Jimenez, Matthias, and I chose some amazing selections to be part of this year’s dinner. I’m especially excited about his cab franc and “The Verve” grenache blend. I look forward to the day’s events to see how much fun it will be for those two wines to play along with our two pasta courses, risotto, the Moroccan leg of lamb.

What else should diners know?

This is not your parent’s wine dinner. It’s almost not a wine dinner at all. It’s a “Nose to Tail” dinner where fun, diverse, adventurous diners come to share a Convivial meal together. Eat a light lunch that day.

Reserve your seats at Convivo’s Nose to Tail Spring Lamb Feast dinner on March 18 by clicking here.

Sipping to Support Women Winemakers

The 2025 gathering of Santa Barbara’s Women Winemakers & Culinarians. | Credit: Deborah Chadsey

Santa Barbara County established its reputation as a hotspot for women leading the way in wine and food long ago. That tradition was officially celebrated back in 2015 at a gathering led by winemaker Karen Steinwachs — then at Buttonwood, now running her own brand Sea Grape Cellars — and it’s only gained momentum since.

Now the movement is an official nonprofit known as the Women Winemakers & Culinarians Foundation, and they’re hosting their big party this Saturday, March 8, up in the Santa Ynez Valley. It’s a happily casual and convivial affair compared to overcrowded festivals, with ample food and drink minus the lines and attitudes.

I interviewed my good friend Karen about the organization and event here, and you can buy tickets here. It’’s a perfect way to spend your Saturday.