Santa Barbara Film Festival

Every year Santa Barbara continues a tradition of being a hot spot for celebrities who travel but also for the International Film Festival. Our town is transformed into a mini Hollywood where some of the "up-in-comers" to the seasoned actors, directors, writers, and documentary film gurus gather to enjoy the festivities including movies and one-on-one interviews with special film award recipients.

The bartending and parties are also at a high during the approximately two weeks of events. The volunteers are at a premium and work very hard to be seen. For some bartenders it is a way of meeting and engaging with famous people. For me it is and opportunity to make their lives a bit more exciting and in return fill mine with incredible moments of satisfaction. They may be celebrities but they put their pants on just like me, one leg at a time.

Let's raise our glasses and toast to the diversity of film!

Santa Barbara Engagement Party

Sometimes you have an opportunity to meet some incredible and fun people doing this job. The family that hired me were just those kind of people. The arrangements were made by the bride's mom and all my initial conversations did not include the groom except by email.

The theme of the engagement party was an Hawaiian Laua and the drinks were designed around tropical and island favorites. I arrived at the home where the party was being thrown for the happy couple. The place looked amazing with all the decorations and was introduced to the brides family, when in came the groom and to my astonishment it was someone I knew. I had never known his last name so the emails didn't click with me.

The event was a great success; lots of happy family, roasts, and great music. It was a pleasure to be able to serve someone I had known through another part of my life and was told to expect a phone call to bar tend at their wedding next summer.

To the happy couple - Good Wishes and see you in the summer!

August 28, 2010 - Ranch Wedding Reception

Another fantastic wedding reception at a remarkable home in Los Olivos. The 80 acre ranch, Racho LaVanche, was a beautiful and rustic setting for a reception where 100+ family and friends enjoyed a warm but breezy afternoon into evening. The food was fantastic and I believe the best Tri-tip I have ever tasted. The evening went smoothly and I enjoyed chatting and meeting with all of the guests.

The Bride and Groom chose seven wines for their guests. The variety was amazing and I wanted to share them with you. For the Whites:

Italy:
Pinot Grigio (Region: Italy > Veneto > Delle Venezie)

US:
Chardonnay - 2008 Clos Du Bois
(Region: US > California > Sonoma Valley)
Bright fruit flavors backed by intense notes of caramel, toffee, spice and toasty oak.

Chardonnay - Chateau Ste Michelle
(Region: US > Washington > Columbia Valley)
Bright sweet citrus fruit character and subtle spice and oak nuances

For the Reds:

US:
Cabernet Sauvignon - 2007 Chateau Ste Michelle
(Region: US > Washington > Columbia Valley)
Dark fruit aromas and flavors with hints of vanilla.

Pinot Noir - 2009 Castle rock
(Region: US > California > Mendocino County)
Layers of strawberry and raspberry leading into a long refined finish.

Italy:
Chianti - Castelspada (Region: Italy >Tuscany > Chianti)

Australia:
Red Blend - Pillar Box (Australia’s Bordeaux)
(50% Shiraz, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 8% Merlot)
(Region: Australia >South Australia > Padthaway)
Dense and juicy, with flavors of fresh blackcurrant and cherry combined with aniseed, dried thyme and mocha oak characters.

Russian Wedding Reception

Now that I have been doing independent events now for over a year I have found that first meeting with the clients are the best way to not only show my personality, but get a feeling of what kind of service they want. One of my more recent clients was a bit harder to read. I arrived at a beautiful home here in Santa Barbara where I was told that they had already interviewed three other potential bartenders for the event by the bride and sister, the groom and another gentleman member of the family. The groom asked me questions about my abilities and whether I could make drinks such as Mai Tais, Pina Colada's, and Whiskey Sours. The other questions were just about my history in bartending. At the end of the interview not hearing much from the ladies, the groom told me that he would be in touch. At that moment, a swirling of Russian conversation arose in the room with the ladies sternly speaking to the groom. As the conversation subsided a minute later and as I smiled patiently, the groom told me that I had the job and that he would be contacting me and appreciated me coming to the house.

My first thought was ok... that was cool that I got the job, but moreover the power of these two women was awesome. I have no idea what they said but I was glad to be the chosen one.

Their wedding reception was at the same home for about 30-40 of their closest friends and family. They had a very simple reception with delicious food and creative choices of drinks. Again we served Mai Tai's and Pina Coladas, two choices of wine, but mostly lots of Vodka. I was praised for my work and the groom told me that he would be a reference for me anytime. These were really good people with a very close family. It was an amazing night of fun.

June 26, 2010 - Reception gone bad!

Last night was the reception on the hill. Elings park is one of the great venues in Santa Barbara for an afternoon to evening wedding reception. The event was catered by well known local caterers and well attended by 125+ guests for a very simple but elegant reception. The family and friends were enjoying themselves with a DJ and dance floor, but the alcohol was quickly running out due to a miss calculation by the caterers. The event was suppose to go until 11pm, but I was asked to leave around 9pm and they would finish opening the beers that were left.

That is the first time and probably the last time I will work with this catering company. I was dissapointed with the level of professionalism they showed and they left the guest with an unattended bar. I am glad that I was not a direct hire and hope that my reputation was not affected.

Santa Barbara Downtown Art & Wine Tour

The Santa Barbara Downtown Organization hosts the Art and Wine Tour once a year. I have attended this event for the last four years as both a volunteer and as a patron. This year I have been fortunate to be pouring for East Beach Wine Company with selections from Carina Cellar Winery at one of the event locations on State Street. The wine was paired with appetizers from Pascucci's restaurant. The event started at the sunken gardens at the Courthouse and ended there with a 15+ wineries and restaurants catering to 500+ guests. There was a silent auction, a live band, and dance floor for the most courageous. The food and wine was such a collaboration of the best of Santa Barbara. I hope that if you are reading this blog that you take the opportunity in the future to attend.

Carina Cellars Winery - Paso Robles:
Rancho del Cielo, or “Ranch of the Sky” is Carina Cellars’ exciting new winery and vineyards on the Westside of Paso Robles! Our 76 acre ranch has over 23 acres planted with our favorite Rhône varietals like Viognier, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre, along with some fun new varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Tannat.

Omni Fresco Catered Wedding Reception

I was asked to bartend my first event with Omni Fresco Catering here in Santa Barbara. They have been voted number one in catering and have one several awards here for their food and catering events. The event was a wedding reception at a private home with attendence of 200+. There was another bartender on staff that was assisting since we were pouring a full bar.

Working with Omni Fresco owner Sarah Dandona was great. They are very professional and the wedding reception was a great success.