Appellations

LOCAL VODKA MAKES GOODWith wine country as their muse, Marin natives the Hanson family (siblings Brandon, Chris, Alanna, Darren and dad Scott) have created Hanson of Sonoma Organic Vodka. The small-batch vodka, available for $35 a bottle, is distilled from grapes and comes in infusions ranging from ginger to cucumber, mandarin to espresso. Plus, the family is dedicated to even the smallest details: every bottle is hand stamped, numbered, individually signed and approved by a member of the Hanson family. San Anselmo’s Ludwig’s Fine Wines stocks the vodka and in early 2015 the family plans to open its Sonoma-based distillery to the public. hansonofsonoma.com S.T.

24 Hours in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara is renowned for pinot noir and chardonnay. The area and in particular the Santa Rita Hills owes those tasty results to an east-west mountain valley passage that runs from the vineyards to the ocean and extends the growing season. SOMER TEJWANI

1Taste Sanford Winery gets the full benefit of Santa Rita Hill’s remarkable growing conditions and boasts the area’s oldest pinot noir vineyard. The winery’s design is as much of a sensory experience as the vino is. The tasting room is largely built from recycled materials, while the winery was built with 15,000 handmade adobe bricks and dubbed a top example of winery architectural design by Wine & Spirits Magazine. Go big and reserve at least an hour to do the vertical tasting experience that includes a guided tour highlighting five vintages of Sanford’s estate-grown pinot noirs, plus tips on how to store and age your own wines. Starting at $60 per person. 800.426.9463, sanfordwinery.com 2 Eat Located in a 19th-century citrus-packing house, San Ysidro Ranch’s Stonehouse restaurant features an ocean-view deck for warm-weather dining and a crackling fireplace and cozy heated stone flooring for winter weather comfort. Chef Matthew Johnson prepares his seasonal cuisine with a selection of herbs and vegetables his team harvests from the on-site chef’s garden. Don’t leave without trying the San Ysidro Ranch signature mashed potatoes, a dish one Yelp reviewer calls “quite possibly the best I have had in my life.” 805.565.1724, sanysidroranch.com 3 Stay Tucked high in the hills of Santa Barbara, Belmond El Encanto offers views of the Pacific and original 1920s architecture. The resort’s newest package allows visitors to witness the famed monarch migration at the nearby Goleta Butterfly Grove. Accommodations, welcome cocktails and spa treatments inspired by the butterflies and a daily breakfast credit are a treat, but the real highlight is in the resort’s lobby, where world-famous artist Damien Hirst’s “Psalm print: Verba mea auribu” — a tribute to the hotel’s significant location along the butterflies’ migratory path, created on a silk screen with diamond dust — is on display. Package rates start at $570 per night. 805.845.5800, belmond.com

Wine Country Resolutions

We asked five wine experts what they plan to do in the New Year after they’ve popped the cork. S.T.

Catherine Bartolomei, co-owner, Farmhouse Inn: “I’ve spent the last year creating an amazing spa oasis for my guests, and I resolved that next year I’m going to enjoy it. I’ve already booked 10 massages.”

Chris Carpenter, Jackson Family Wines winemaker (Cardinale, Lokoya, La Jota, Mt. Brave): “My resolution is to funnel the stress of harvest into a positive rather than something that causes my hair to go gray and fall out.”

Shannon Staglin, Staglin Family Vineyard: “I resolved to not wait until New Year’s Eve for making resolutions — if you want to make a change, you can do it any time of the year.”

Doug Shafer, Shafer Vineyards: “To live to 90 like my dad [Shafer Vineyards founder John Shafer, who turned 90 in October and is still going strong].”

Duffy Keys, cofounder of B Cellars: “To focus on creating additional wine and food pairings involving gluten-free and plant-based ingredients that are every bit as delicious as anything else that comes out of our kitchen.”

Avoid the Wine Line

Getting on the allocation list of wine country’s biggest cult stars, including Dana Estates, Scarecrow, Ovid, Vine Hill Ranch and Kapcsandy, can take years, with no guarantee when you’ll be given the opportunity to buy and no guarantee your ticket will come up during a great growing season. But E-Cep, the new e-commerce platform from Tiburon’s Sally Wilkinson and Serge Marquie, is changing the game, allowing collectors the opportunity to buy collectible wines before they are bottled, reviewed or even allocated to those on the mailing list — essentially giving early access. E-Cep’s Wilkinson and Marquie say it is the first and the only legal platform for selling wine futures in the United States. Participating wineries select bottles for the site’s e-commerce platform, where wine collectors place orders in the form of bonds. Bonds are purchased through E-Cep’s website and collectors exchange the bonds for the wines, which are typically delivered one to two years later. E-Cep acts as a placement agent for the wineries. “Wineries receive the funds up front from each completed sale and E-Cep earns a percentage of that sale’s value,” Wilkinson says. The wineries determine if the E-Cep customers are added to the official mailing list or will be lucky enough to purchase the single offering. ecep.com S.T. WINEMAKER BOOT CAMP Philippe Melka is one of the top winemakers in the world, but for three days this spring he might as well be your new best friend. Twice a year Melka and his wife, Cherie, host a three-day insider experience called Winemaker Boot Camp that includes an intimate look at the Melka way of life, including a wine reception at their home, dinners with the couple at St. Helena’s Press and the three-Michelin-starred Restaurant at Meadowood, early morning vineyard tours and a winemaking class with Melka himself. The boot camp kicks off April 19 (just in time for the growing season’s bud break), but sign up now, as space is limited to 10 people. $10,000 per person; for more information call 707.963.6008. S.T.