Sip the Good Life » Laetitia Vineyard and Winery

Vineyard Tour with Riverbench

Annie — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 21:58:44 +0000

I never shy away from the chance to learn something new and Saturday was no different. Sporting my new SIP hat**, I cruised down to Riverbench Vineyard & Winery in Santa Maria for a vineyard tour compliments of Central Coast Winegrowers Association (CCWGA).

Made it to Riverbench Vineyard & Winery!

I was immediately impressed with the turnout (all ages and backgrounds) and the desire to learn from the other attendees. Jim Stollberg, Vineyard Manager for Riverbench and owner of Maverick Farming Company, led us into the vineyard first. Jim was the perfect tour leader. He’s extremely knowledgeable and down to earth, allowing attendees to interrupt with all kinds of questions about what goes on in the vineyard during the spring. He talked about bud break (which is in full force at Riverbench), pruning styles, and how to protect your fresh, new buds from frost.

This bud already has all the fruit inside it for 2011 harvest!

Did you know that by turning on sprinklers during frost, the freezing of the water droplets creates heat which in turn protects the fragile buds from being frozen? I didn’t!

Jim also talked about the importance of getting SIP Certified and how it challenges them to become a cohesive company working together towards a common goal of sustainability and promoting a healthy environment.

Listening attentively!

No vineyard tour is complete without a wine tasting of the final product. Jim stuck around and chatted with all the guests as we sipped Riverbench’s fabulous Pinot Noir and Chardonnay on the patio. It was the perfect day and I loved all of the intelligent questions and education. Everyone left confident that they had learned something new!

Lining up to taste some fabulous wines!

Stay tuned for the next Vineyard tour with CCWGA at Laetitia Vineyard on May 21 from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. RSVP with John Burke, Executive Director for CCWGA.

**SIP hats are available for purchase for $15! Email info@vineyardteam.org to purchase yours today!

A Rockin’ Harvest

Beth — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 17:19:44 +0000

A little rain didn’t stop anyone from having a Rockin’ time at the 20th SLO Vintners Harvest Celebration. Yours truly was stoked to be pouring SIP wines in between Rays Own Brand sausage and Sextant Wines. The SIP booth got to taste each sausage variety (Bratwurst, Hot Italian, Linguica, Pork Apple Honey) hot off the grill and I have a new favorite Chardonnay from the Santa Lucia Highlands.

Featuring Central Coast Wine & Cuisine!

SIP Certified vineyards and wines were in abundance at this event. Ancient Peaks, Baileyana, Chamisal, Claiborne & Churchill, Edna Valley Vineyard, Laetitia, Saucelito Canyon Vineyards, Tangent, Tolosa, Wolff, and Zocker were all showing off the SIP seal. We were pouring a great Baileyana Syrah that was highly sought after and received a lot of enthusiastic feedback on the SIP program.

The SIP Gals

See you at next year’s Harvest Celebration!

Taste of SLO: food and SIP Certified wines, who could ask for more?

admin — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 02:42:53 +0000

Taste of SLO has done it again, I thoroughly enjoyed myself last Wednesday night as I wandered, well due to the great turn out, shuffled up and down the Mission Plaza tasting all that San Luis Obispo has to offer. This year’s disco themed event came complete with go go dancers, a giant disco ball, great music, and of course fabulous food and wine. The best of the best of San Luis Obispo restaurants made their appearances with delicious samplers; Tuna tacos from Native Lounge to mushroom soup topped with grated espresso bean from Mother’s Tavern to profiteroles from Mama’s Meatballs, can only begin to explain the range choices that were laid out in front of me. While samplers may sound like child’s play compared to the gigantic meals we are served at some restaurants, with a choice of samplers from over 30 restaurants I found that my graceful walk into the event had turned into a bit more of a waddle as I left the evening.

As if all that good food wasn’t enough every restaurant was paired with a local winery pouring their best. Mmmmm … food and wine what could make the night any better? My bliss turned into pure joy when I saw that a number of our SIP Certified wineries were represented this year. Thank you to Baileyana & Tangent Wineries, Castoro Cellars, Hope Family Wines, Laetitia Vineyard & Winery, Saucelito Canyon Vineyard, Tolosa Winery, and Wolff Vineyards for bringing delicious, sustainably grown wines to such a wonderful event. As I reflect back on the night, and listen to my tummy grumble, I must say I am already looking forward to another yummy night at Taste of SLO next year, hopefully with even more SIP Certified wines to enjoy.

SIP Wines Make the "A List" at SLO's Pizza Fusion

katycasafestiva — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:42:14 +0000

The business model of Pizza Fusion (a nationwide franchised chain) is green to the core – green right down to the recycled blue jeans used for wall insulation, green right down to the organic red tomato sauce used in the pizzas, green right down to the hybrid delivery vehicles, green right down to the bamboo pizza peels (those paddle shaped things used to slip the pies in and out of the oven).

So, what about the wine list at such a place, in particular, the newly opened location in San Luis Obispo? Owner Brandon Borene admits that “to get the doors open,” he took the path of least resistance, offering organic labels that he could easily source, but “I knew I was going to get questions about carrying local wines.”

Borene also definitely wanted to carry Central Coast wines, and Pizza Fusion encourages its franchisees to source locally whenever possible. As a result, Borene recently reworked the wine list, working with his distributor – J&L Wines in Paso Robles – to find sustainably grown Central Coast wines that also hit the price point needed for a casual pizzeria. Not surprisingly, two SIP™ certified labels handily made the grade: Castoro Cellars and Laetitita Vineyard and Winery.

You’ll have your chance to taste the wines from those labels at the upcoming Earth Day Food and Wine Festival on April 18, where they’ll be among the 100-plus booths of other SIP™ and sustainably grown wines, as well as many other Central Coast restaurants and food producers – including Pizza Fusion. Tickets to this typically sold out event are going fast, so don’t snooze and lose!