Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/253609
february 2014 / the tasting panel / 87 who stayed in the restaurant business, but only after going back to school and becoming a fashion art director, enjoying a 15 year long career in Los Angeles and New York. "Sonja came in with the most chutzpa," says John Morley of Sonja Magdevski who opened Casa Dumetz Wines in the fall of 2011. Taking after her "unconventional and barrier-breaking" grandmother, Babi Ilinka, Sonja is energetic and adventurous, whether it's winemak- ing, marketing, promoting the town or inventing new combinations. She started the Friday night "Words to Live By" speaker series at Casa Dumetz and rallied the town to stay open late for Third Saturday Evening Stroll events, concerts, DJ dance parties and, of course, wine tasting. Sonja and husband, actor Emilio Estevez, were long-time patrons of Flatbread and Café Quackenbush before she opened shop. "From Malibu, if you're going to go out in Los Angeles you're going to be in trafic for two hours. Heading north to Los Alamos there's no trafic, it's a beautiful drive and there's great food and wine and free parking," she boasts. "When you come here you feel like you're on vaca- tion, even if it's for a couple of hours." "I love the people, love the response I get," Sonja exclaims. "There is such a sense of freedom here to grow unconined. You can be who you want to be," she says with enthusiasm. Babi's Tasting Room, Sonja's second location in Los Alamos, features rotating beer tasting, wine tasting and wedding cha- pel—how's that for a new combination! Global Gardens Caliterranean Café left Los Olivos and its rising rents to move back to its home town Los Alamos October, 2013. Owner Theo Stephan, of Greek descent, is passionate about olives and educating the public on the misinformation and mislabeling on shelves. "Not everything labeled EVOO is actually 100% pure extra virgin olive oil," Theo says. "You can safely cook with pure EVOO without fear or risk of harmful smoking point. The problem is, so many of the olive oils on the shelves are not pure." No burgeoning town would be complete without a town baker. Bob Oswaks decided to ill that role with Bob's Well Bread, slated to open this spring at the site of the old Shady Rest Café, cabins and gas station. The newest kid on the block started baking bread at home as self-therapy after being downsized out of a 30-year career in entertainment as President of World Wide Marketing for Sony TV. Anyone who has traveled on Route 101 along California's Central Coast has seen the modest Skyview Motel perched on a hillside east of the freeway. In July 2013, the six-and-a- half acre property was purchased by business partners Carlos Coelho, an Argentinian restaurateur, hotelier and vintner, and local general contractor Matt Drammer. Coelho and Drammer are transforming the Skyview into the Wine Press Hotel, renovating 26 rooms and adding conference facilities with capacity up to 200–300 people. "The concept," says Coelho, emphasizing the fact that his vision must irst pass Santa Barbara County approval, "is to create an upscale viticulture spa, tasting room and dining experience inspired by amenities found at popular ski lodges. We'll also plant four acres of hillside vines." With visionaries of this magnitude, it's no wonder that little Los Alamos is becoming California's next big wine hub. Jamie Gluck of Bell Street Farm holding mini chicken pot pies and pastrami with coleslaw.