Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/253609
82 / the tasting panel / february 2014 INFLUENCERS OF SANTA BARBARA Nice Niche: The Liquor & Wine Grotto With a name like Brian Brunello, it would be a sad mistake not to be in the wine business. Growing up in Montecito, the trendy upscale seaside village south of Santa Barbara, Brunello was born into the biz, as his father was making wine as early as 1968. Partnering with Jason Herrick, whose background was in retail, he opened the new iteration of the Liquor & Wine Grotto (revamping the original 1976 version) in 2009. Selection is key for this niche-y corner market, but Brunello admits when you're a two-man show, you need to be a jack-of- all-trades. "We're serve-focused irst," he insists, "and we're catering to a wealthy clientele with a world of knowledge and experience." While local wines are the big push here, France and Italy are well represented. As the retail inluencers, Brunello and Herrick ind small producers and discover them before they appear on the competition's radar. Passionate Pioneers: Hartley Ostini Hitching Post Winery When you consider the fact that Frank Ostini was born the same year, 1952, that his parents started the original Hitching Post barbecue restaurant in the rural town of Casmalia, in western Santa Barbara County, it's easy to understand why he became a celebrated chef of the region. But how he developed the skills for making ine Pinot Noir is an entirely different story. It's a journey that began when Ostini fell in love with wine after tasting the legendary 1976 vintage of Pinot Noir made at the nearby Sanford & Benedict Vineyard. This ethereal moment lead Ostini and his pal, professional isherman Gray Hartley, to make their irst wine in 1979—a Merlot, using grapes from Firestone Vineyards. Following their passion for Burgundian wines, Ostini and Hartley made their irst Pinot Noir with fruit from Sierra Madre Vineyard of Santa Maria Valley in 1981. And three years later, they crafted their irst commercial release of Pinot Noir at Byron Winery; Ostini sold it for $8 per bottle or $2 a glass at the restaurant. As interest in wines from Santa Barbara County started to grow, Ostini opened the Hitching Post II Restaurant in Buellton in 1986. Over the next decade, Ostini and Hartley began sourcing fruit from more pristine vineyards, including Bien Nacido, Riverbench, Costa d'Oro and Julia's Vineyard in Santa Maria Valley and Sanford & Benedict and Kathy's Joseph's Fiddlestix Vineyard in what is now the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. After establishing these relationships, the Hartley Ostini Hitching Post Winery was bonded in 1991. Today the Hitching Post wines are made in Buellton at Terravant Wine Co., an ultra-premium custom crush facility that features state-of- the-art winemaking equipment, allowing Ostini and Hartley to steadily increase production up to 15,000 cases annually. In addition to producing a series of small-lot, vineyard-designate Pinot Noirs and high-quality cuvées like the elegant and earthy "Highliner" Pinot Noir ($42) and more age-worthy "Perfect Set" Pinot Noir ($55), the winery has carved its own niche by crafting a wide range of delicious wines at affordable prices. —Christopher Sawyer PHOTO: JEREMY BALL PHOTO: JEREMY BALL Brian Brunello, proprietor of The Liquor & Wine Grotto in Montecito. Frank Ostini knows barbe- cue and Burgundian-style wines.