Industrial Eats Archives - Wine Country Getaways

Lompoc Wine Ghetto

It all began in 1998 when Longoria Winery moved into a 5000-square-foot warehouse in Lompoc for wine production and a wine tasting space. Today, in the Lompoc Wine Ghetto, there are 30 wineries with more to come. The Lompoc Wine Ghetto is a very large warehouse section where small wineries can set up shop without the expense of building a winery or fancy tasting room. The upside for wine country travelers and wine buffs is there is a large collection of family-run and boutique wineries all in one spot. Typically, these are all small-production wineries like Fiddlehead, Flying Goat and Samsara. Is a chance for wine lovers to taste many wines and find something that more than likely cannot be found in any fine wine shop or in the Wine Spectator. The Lompoc Wine Ghetto hours are rather limited. Most wineries are open Friday to Sunday, 11 am to 4 or 5 pm. We enjoyed a brief visit to the Wine Ghetto on Sunday. It is a little overwhelming trying to decide which tasting rooms to visit. One tasting room, “Taste of Santa Rita Hills,” is a good choice because one has a chance to taste the wines of four different winemakers in one location. Santa Rita Hills is the coolest climate of any of the wine appellations in the Santa Barbara wine region. All the other tasting rooms at the Wine Ghetto are single wineries. Most make their wines in the warehouse area behind their tasting room.

The Lompoc Wine Ghetto will add additional wineries but in our view in order to attract many more wine country visitors, Lompoc needs some quality lodging and restaurants. We stayed in Buellton, about 20 minutes away, where there are a few good choices for lodging and restaurants. The Marriott is a good choice and for dining we recommend two spots. Industrial Eats is the hippest spot in town and offers some interesting gourmet dishes including pizzas. Local produce and meats are featured. It is family-style seating at large tables and it’s a fun, happening spot. We also like the Hitching Post restaurant. We like it more as a wine spot then a quality dining spot. The Hitching Post was featured in the movie “Sideways,” and it’s worth eating there for that reason alone. The Hitching Post makes their own wine, and they offer a great lineup of PInot Noirs on their wine list for dining or for purchase to take home.

Additional details on Lompoc and the Santa Barbara wine country

Lompoc Wine Ghetto Slide Show

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At the recent Wine Bloggers Conference in the Santa Barbara Wine Country, a small group of bloggers enjoyed a wonderful visit to the Bridlewood Estate Winery in the Santa Ynez AVA. The entrance to the winery is impressive, with its Spanish Mission style of architecture. Our Apple Basket lunch of local sandwiches and salads was served overlooking Bridlewood Lake and was complemented by delicious Bridlewood wines.

Bell Tower at Bridlewood Estate Winery in Santa Barbara wine country

Following the lunch, we had a very informative seminar in the Bridlewood cellar. Rather than the usual panel of winery owners and winemakers, this panel included:

Richard Martin (Moderator), editorial director of Food Republic
Mark Williams, Winemaker for Bridlewood Estate Winery
Jeff Olsson, chef and proprietor of New West Catering and Industrial Eats Restaurant
Jake O’Francis, Pig farmer
Christopher and Johanna Finley, farmers for Finley Organic Farms
Stephanie Mutz, Santa Barbara Fisherwoman

Photo of Stephanie Mutz by Fran Collin, francollin.com

Most interesting to me was the inclusion of Stephanie, a sea urchin fisherwoman. As Stephanie’s website states, she’s been fishing in the Santa Barbara area for 7 years and strives to make fresh, sustainable seafood available to the local population.

Stephanie got her undergraduate degree at UC Santa Barbara and then went on to Graduate School in Australia. Her goal at the time was to become a Community College professor in her field of Marine Biology. While she was writing her Graduate School dissertation, she worked on urchin boats. After a part-time teaching job ended, she decided to concentrate on fishing full time.

Being that most of the people Stephanie fishes with are male, she feels fortunate that they are accepting of her and very helpful when necessary. She usually goes out on her boat alone, unless the weather is bad or she needs extra help getting what she needs for the market. In some cases, she joins other fishermen on their boats for fishing or diving. Stephanie fishes for sea urchins and snails and regularly delivers her catch to local chefs when the weather and the catch are good. There seems to be a fad for sea urchin delicacies in Southern California and that demand is keeping Stephanie very busy these days. She also works closely with Jeff Olsson and his Industrial Eats Restaurant. Stephanie does not always know what her daily catch will be and often she will bring Jeff in something different than he asked for. She praises Jeff for being adaptable and creative in making the best of Stephanie’s haul.

After a day at sea, Stephanie unwinds by sitting in her meadow at home with a glass of wine to recap the day with her boyfriend, also a fisherman. They discuss ways to become more efficient and productive at doing what they love to do. She does her best to promote what the industry is all about to the entire community. She thinks its important to encourage people to have a balanced lifestyle, which includes eating local foods.

For recipes and information on how to find Stephanie’s catch, consult her website: seastephaniefish.com